Archive for May, 2011
Minister turns attention to youngest in system
(CNS): After two years of turmoil when it comes to issues relating to secondary education, the education minster is focusing his attention on the kids at the other end of the education system. Following the recent groundbreaking at the West Bay primary school, heralding the redevelopment of John A Cumber, and promises of refurbishment projects at George Town and Savannah primary, now comes the launch of the Early Childhood Care and Education Unit. Rolston Anglin says he has identified improvements in early childhood care and education as a critical priority for his ministry and was one of the four key drivers identified in his Education Stabilisation Plan, launched in January 2011.
The (ECCE) was launched, according to an official release, on 9 May, with the goal of ensuring that Cayman’s children receive quality early childhood care and education.
“I am delighted that we now have a unit that is staffed with highly skilled, experienced and passionate staff, most of whom are talented Caymanians,” Anglin said. “Their work will enable us to tackle long-standing needs such as appropriate legislation, curriculum, quality standards, teaching quality, training and monitoring.”
Chief Officer Mary Rodrigues said it would not be possible to achieve long-term goals of ensuring success for all children without understanding just how important their earliest learning experiences are to their chances of later educational success. “And once we understand that, we have to back this up with investments that will ensure they have access to world-class learning opportunities. As such, we’ve strategised and reallocated resources to make this unit possible,” she explained.
The five-person unit is led by Julie Madgwick, who has a Master’s in Education and a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning. She has had 25 years experience in education, including providing leadership and implementing best practice in the early years, an official release from the ministry said. Her work in early-years teacher education has given her an understanding of the importance of high quality teachers during the pre-school and kindergarten years. As the senior policy advisor for early childhood care and education, Madgwick will provide research and policy advice to set the strategic direction of the unit.
The team includes Early Childhood Care and Education Officer Reneé Barnes; Early Childhood Instructional Specialist Carol Bennett; Early Childhood Care and Education Officer for Cayman Brac April Tibbetts; and Executive Support Assistant Yvette Rattigan-Jones.
The ECCE Unit began their introductory visits to pre-schools, day cares and reception classes the week of 17 May. Unit staff will all participate in the Ministry’s Parents Education and Information Fair scheduled for 21 May, at the Camana Bay Arts and Recreation Centre.
Exam reveals road death victim died of injuries
(CNS): Police have confirmed that the 64 year old woman from Ohio, USA, died in hospital Monday as a result of the injuries she sustained in a car accident the week before. “A post-mortem examination took place on Wednesday, 18 May,” an RCIPS spokesperson stated. “The examination confirmed that the cause of death was impact injuries connected to the collision.” The husband of the victim, also 64, who was arrested by the police at Owen Roberts Airport on Tuesday on suspicion of causing his wife’s death through dangerous driving, is currently on police bail while the enquiries into the crash in West Bay on 10 May continue.
“The RCIPS is in regular contact with him to update him on the progress of the investigation. He is being supported by a family member and the US Consulate. In addition, RCIPS officers will continue to provide support to him and his bereaved family during this difficult, and sensitive, time,” a police spokesperson said.
The road smash occurred at about 9.45pm on Tuesday, 10 May, when two vehicles collided in the area of Jubilee Lane, off Batabano Road, West Bay.
Police said that a report made at the time indicated that a black Chevrolet Colorado being driven by a 23-year-old local man was struck by an oncoming Suzuki Liana. Although the local driver was not hurt, the driver of the Suzuki, a 64-year-old man, sustained a laceration to his shin, as did his male back seat passenger (aged 58). The driver’s wife, who was travelling in the front passenger seat of the car, complained of head and back pain following the crash and was then taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital, George Town, where she was admitted for observations.
Anyone who was in the area and witnessed the crash last Tuesday is asked to contact Inspector Adrian Barnett of the RCIPS Traffic Management Department on 946-6254.
Terrorists sighted in Cayman
This is not a joke! While watching the local news this evening, I saw what could only be described as suspicious behavior with intent to cause terror. I then immediately realized that I have recently seen other members of what must be some kind of “sleeper cell” of terrorists on local television. What is most disconcerting is that they live and walk among us. We see them everyday and never thought they may be guilty of acts of terror against us.
You will recognize them as our elected officials; those who we chose to represent us and work for us. If you are a civil servant you most surely must be feeling a sense of terror or at least, a feeling of extreme helplessness. You make your living working for Government but you are told you do not have the freedoms of speech that the rest of us enjoy for fear of repercussions or worse, loss of employment. So you keep your feelings to yourself and plod on. This must be like a prison without bars for you. Even if you were told that you could freely speak your feelings about constitutional matters, or dare I say matters of politics, you would probably not risk speaking up for the real fear that lives inside of you. This is an example of terrorism. It is rule by fear. Those whom you have elected are using fear to control you and to ensure their stranglehold on power. The irony of this situation is that, as a group, four or five thousand civil servants wield considerable power but haven’t yet learned how to use it.
Recent events in the Middle East are evidence of the “power of the people” and how that power manifests itself when a breaking point is finally reached. It is usually high unemployment and lack of ability to provide for ones self or family that ignites the uprisings. Cayman is headed in this direction. Some may think I’m going over the top by referring to our elected officials as terrorists.
As I write this, the president of the Civil Service is awaiting a reply from the Deputy Governor on the matter of whether Civil Servants should be allowed to sign petitions that give them the right to be heard on constitutional matters. You must remember that policy and law are two different things. You are bound by laws; policies are put in place by leaders but their policies can never, never, never, violate your legal rights. In this way, with the law on your side you have the judicial system to protect your rights. Look at the can of worms we opened with the “Freedom of Information Act (FOI)”. Politicians hate it because of its power to expose problems that they would rather hide. We now have pretty good human rights and constitutional rights but that does not seem to be the case if you are a civil servant.
The right to speak freely and unimpeded with the brain and voice given to you by God is your most basic right. People like Hugo Chavez. Fidel Castro and McKeeva Bush don‘t like it when people speak their minds or exercise their basic rights because it puts the same fear in to them like they are putting into you. There can be no government policy that prevents you from signing a petition that gives you the constitutional right to vote on matters that affect you, your family and country. Government will argue that civil servants should not bite the hand that feeds them. You must explain that you are not biting the hand but merely telling it what you want to be fed.
This “Viewpoint website” hosted by Cayman News Service gives me and many others thechance to vent and sometimes offer good ideas or solutions to our problems. As you can see from most comments, no matter what the topic is it always comes down to politics and the division of this country into two well defined parties. The party system must go. It has only served to turn us against each other. We need to have “one man, one vote” but above all we need to participate in our future together as a country and not at the exclusion of civil servants. At the end of the day they are still our neighbors, friends and should have the same basic God-given rights to work and express themselves without fear of any kind.
Fear is the strongest emotion that drives us. Fear is frequently used by politicians who want to dominate or control us. Today, more Libyans died in their fight to break free from fear and oppression. Some of our mothers told us that we are judged by the company we keep. This is what is wrong with the party system. Good elected men are heaped together with the bad ones and will eventually go down with the sinking ship unless they get the courage to stand up and say, “Enough is enough”. Such a move would almost guarantee their re-election and new-found popularity. It would show character and a sense of honesty. We can only hope that there are men like this in our current government. But I repeat, FEAR is the strongest of all emotions and fear will guide them more than any other thing in their decision making.
Our future lies in our hands, not in the hands of those we elect. Forget this one principle and we are doomed as a country. As a terrorist once said about police, “I have to be right only one time, you have to be right all the time”. We have to watch our politicians all the time. They have proven to be inept at decent governance and are all about party politics and hot air. There is a huge difference between politics and governance. Their words speak louder than their actions.
Companies like Walmart or IBM or CNN as recent events demonstrate, all have policies that prohibit their employees from speaking publicly against the company or employer. Several big names in broadcasting have been fired recently on the spot for saying negative things publicly that defamed their employers or companies. Cayman Government is not a company that sells goods and services. Its purpose is to serve us the people. There should not be policies in place prohibiting free speech and expression by civil service or anyone else for that matter. Any such policies are made with bad intentions by those wishing to govern by fear. I so firmly believe that there is nothing more important than the rights of civil servants to be able to speak their minds and vote and sign petitions like the rest of us that I will no longer be writing letters here like this until such rights are given. All the comments and ideas for solutions are worthless without this basic freedom in place and exercised.
Existing phones will work on 4G, says LIME
(CNS): Following the buzz in the wake of LIME’s announcement about the introduction of a 4G network across Grand Cayman before the end of the summer, any concerns that existing phones won’t work on that new superfast network have been allayed by the firm. LIME stated that all existing phones will work on 4G and they will work better. The communication company said it would not be deploying CDMA technology as it rolls in what Cayman Islands LIME manager Tony Ritch said was a network that would blow users minds.
The firm has not yet revealed how much the new network will cost users or what rates and packages will be available. It did state however when it comes to international data plans, the Blackberry Passport would remain the same as it is now.
4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards succeeding the 2G and 3G technologies. LIME said the initial deployment of 4G wireless is based on HSPA+ which allows for shared download/upload speeds of 21/11 Mbps in a single mobile sector, with 3 sectors typically deployed at a mobile site.
LIME’s plan to roll out 4G in the Cayman Islands before any other country in the Caribbean was announced this week at a glitzy launched at the Ritz Carlton. The management team said it would eventually revolutionise mobile networks across the Caribbean with an investment of US$80M to finance the major improvements to the regions mobile networks but it will happen in Grand Cayman first
The firm said 4G will also serve as a platform for LIME’s future network development as the protocols are fully compatible with the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology that will power mobile networks in the future.
With 4G, LIME’s mobile subscribers will have the power to instantly send and receive large files such as videos, music, graphics and photos from enabled wireless devices including mobile phones, tablets, laptops and netbooks. LIME’s customers will also be able to enjoy real-time online activities including video streaming, online gaming and social networking while on-the-go all at the same time as making a phone call.
“People of all ages, especially the young, want to be online all the time and need fast, affordable mobile data service that enable them to do all the things they can now do with a fixed internet connection while on the go,” said Ritch “Our mobile 4G network will ensure that LIME can satisfy customer needs as the insatiable demand for mobile internet service grows.”
Ritch said the move from 2G services, to both EDGE and 4G “will be like going from riding a bicycle to driving a Ferrari,” as it was a massive step forward for mobile service.
Concerns raised over imprisonment without trial
(CNS): The incarceration of a thirty-year-old West Bay man for well over one year without any sign of a trial date is “oppressive” and “unconscionable”, a local attorney has said. Craig Johnson, who is facing an accessory after the fact to murder charge, was arrested in April 2010 in connection with the murder of Marcus Duran in Maliwinas Way in March of that year. Although he has been in custody since that date, because of the legal representation problems of one of the men charged with the actual murder the authorities have not fixed a date to try Johnson for his role in the crime. The crown has also persistently fought his attorney’s attempts to have his client bailed as a result, the prosecutors say, of theseverity of the crime.
Appearing in crown court last Friday afternoon, Johnson was again informed that it was still not possible to set a date for his trial.
The reason behind the delay is that Raziel Jeffers, the man the crown believes coordinated the plan to rob Duran and who had recruited both Jordan Manderson (who is currently on trial for the murder) as well as Johnson to execute the robbery, must be tried first. On-going legal representation problems for Jeffers, however, have led to constant postponements in the trial of the 27-year-old West Bayer, who the crown believe is the ring leader of this robbery which resulted in Duran being shot dead outside an apartment block.
Johnson is accused of driving Manderson, who was also shot at the scene of the murder, from the scene of the crime. However, Johnson has denied the charges, saying that all he did was merely pick-up the teenager when he saw that he was hurt on the roadside.
Anthony Akiwumi, who is representing Johnson, told the court on Friday that for being a “good Samaritan” his client had languished in jail for some thirteen months and still had no clue when he would be tried. “It is unconscionable that somebody should be kept in confinement unaware of his fate for this length of time,” Akiwumi told the court as he asked for his client to be bailed.
The lawyer explained that his client was a father of young children, had a letter offering him work once he was released from jail and strong family support willing to put up the financial bond. He said that aside from the bond, his client could be electronically tagged and placed under curfew, which he said would be adequate measures to protect the public interest and ensure his return to court when a date could be finally set. “To keep him in confinement is oppressive,” Akiwumi said, pointing out that it went against all acceptable human rights considerations.
However, the crown insisted that the charges were too serious and that there was a significant flight risk given the severity of the charges and asked the judge to balance public interest against the difficulties the crown had in providing the accused with a fixed trial date. The prosecuting counsel said that there was significant evidence against Johnson, including telephone records connecting him to Jeffers and Manderson.
With Jeffers expected to return to court in June to address his representation issues and set a date for when he will be tried for the Duran killing, the judge said he would not yet grant bail to Johnson. However, he said he would reconsider the situation if after Jeffers’ next appearance the crown was still not able to set a date for Johnson’s trial.
More kids say no to drugs
(CNS): Despite concerns of increasing drug misuse among young people and perceptions that many students are spiralling into out of control drinking, on average well over half the kids in the Cayman Islands said that they had not consumed any booze, ganja, cigarettes or any other drugs in the last year. According to the results of the National Drug Council’s latest survey, which was conducted last year among students from years 7 through to 12, 54% of kids are clean. This is a significant increase on the number of kids staying away from drugs in the previous 2006 survey, when only around 42% of students said they did not use any drug, including alcohol or tobacco.
It is four years since the last survey conducted by the NDC and given global trends and perceptions of alcohol and drug misuse among young people, the results show that in general abuse among kids in most cases is not getting worse and more kids are defying trends by staying clean. Although there was an increase in the numbers of kids using ganja, and worrying trends in binge drinking, most kids say they don’t use drugs of any kind.
When it comes to serious class A drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, LSD and methamphetamine, less than 2% of young people here said they had ever tried these types of drugs in their lives and a fraction of 1% said they had used any of them in the last year.
Aside from booze and ganja, the next most common drugs consumed were solvents, donkey weed (local weed/bush) and tranquilizers, with 3-4% of kids admitting to having used these drugs in the last year. Almost 8% of kids said that they had sniffed glue or other solvents at some point in their life.
The survey found that the most commonly used drug is still alcohol, with 39% of kids saying they had used booze in the twelve months before the survey. The highest use was among students in grade 11 and 12, which includes young people who are legally old enough to drink, with 63% and 65% respectively saying they had consumed some alcohol in the last year. Less than 11% of kids in grade 7 admitted drinking in the previous 12 months and less than a quarter said they had ever had a drink in their lives.
The average age for taking the first drink, according to the NDC research, is 11.6 years with 37% of kids who drink saying they reported an “early onset” which means they had their first drink between the ages of 6 and 11 years.
A significantly worrying trend when it came to alcohol consumption is binge drinking, with indications that although less numbers of students on the whole are using booze, the ones that do are drinking more. Students reporting having had a drinking session where they consumed more than five drinks in one sitting in the two weeks prior to the survey had double compared to the 2006 research. 32.1% of students in 2010 admitted a binge drinking session compared to 15.2% in the last survey.
While overall alcohol use in Cayman was lower when compared to research conducted in Canada and the US, when it came to binging Cayman kids were drinking more heavily than their North American counterparts. While 5% of eighth graders in Canada admitting binging and 8% in the US, 22% of kids in 8th grade here in Cayman said they were binge drinking.
The majority of students who were drinking also said that alcohol was accessible, with almost 62% of all students saying it was “very easy to obtain”, which increased significantly to over 85% among 12th graders who reach their 18th birthdays that year.
The next most commonly used drug among young people, according to the NDC, was ganja, and although use has increased compared with the 2006 survey, more than 77% of kids said they had not consumed the drug in the year before the survey.
While slightly more girls than boys were using booze, the survey revealed that among kids smoking dope more boys are using the drug than girls in all grades. Ganja use also increases with grade level with almost a quarter of kids in 11th grade saying they had used the drug in the past year. However, just over 1% of kids aged between ten and eleven said they had consumed ganja in the twelve months before the survey was conducted and the average age for kids first using the drug was over 13 years old. However, around 18% of the kids that said they used ganja admitting have first used it before they were 11 years old.
Over a third of all students thought ganja was very easy to get and most said they got it from friends. Only one in ten kids said that students who had used ganja once or twice had any “great risk” from harm either physically or in other ways.
Compared to North America, Cayman kids’ use of ganja was considerably lower, and even among the highest using age groups, local student are using ganja half as often as kids in Canada.
Cayman Islands Student Drug Use (CISDUS) 2010 – MultiSubstance Use Brief
Cayman Islands Student Drug Use (CISDUS) 2010 – Ganja Brief
Cayman Islands Student Drug Use (CISDUS) 2010 – Drugs Brief Amended Feb2011
Cayman Islands Student Drug Use (CISDUS) 2010 – BingeDrinking Brief Amended Feb2011
Cayman Islands Student Drug Use (CISDUS) 2010 – Alcohol Brief
Outstanding students off to United World Colleges
(CNS): Three Caymanian students will be travelling abroad this fall to further their studies and represent the Cayman Islands at the prestigious United World Colleges (UWC). Selected from a very strong pool of applicants, Kathryn Schirn of Cayman Prep and High School, Abigail Drummond of St. Ignatius Catholic High School and Zachary Jones of the Layman E. Scott Sr. High School (formerly Cayman Brac High School) were selected as UWC scholars by the United World Colleges (Cayman Islands) National Foundation for the 2011-2013 academic years. They will be attending on full-scholarship the UWC Costa Rica, the UWC of the Atlantic in Wales and the UWC-USA, respectively.
The United World Colleges (Cayman Islands) National Foundation (CIUWC) is a charitable organisation dedicated to providing scholarships for outstanding Caymanian students to advance their academic careers by completing the challenging International Baccalaureate Diploma program. Funding for scholarships is provided by both corporate and individual donations. For the third consecutive year, CIUWC was able to maintain its expanded scholarship program. This was made financially possible by the donation of US$20,000 by Deutsche Bank Cayman Islands, their third of five committed years to do so.
Orchid Morrison, Chairperson for the CIUWC Board, stated, “We are absolutely delighted that Deutsche Bank have continued their commitment and support for our organisation. CIUWC affords bright young Caymanians the opportunity to advance in their future endeavours by placing them in a very academically and socially challenging yet rewarding environment, which prepares them for the competitive environments of University and life in general. We would not be able to send these young Caymanians to these UWCs without the consistent support of Deutsche Bank and other corporate sponsors.”
Janet Hislop, Chief Country Officer for Deutsche Bank Cayman Islands, said, “Supporting young Caymanians and helping them realise their full potential is an important part of our commitment to the local community. With such a broad mix of students and a diverse range of nationalities, an education at a United World College is a fantastic experience that can really help students explore and develop an appreciation of international and cultural issues. Helping local students to benefit from life-changing experiences such as this is something we believe passionately in, so that in the future they might return to contribute towards Cayman society in a unique and positive way.”
Founded on the ideals of international peace and understanding, the United World Colleges (UWC) are a two-year, university preparation programme for students aged 16–18 years that awards the International Baccalaureate Diploma on successful completion. A multidisciplinary, rigorous academic program, strong emphasis on community service and a wide range of cultural and outdoor activities are all part of the challenge and excitement of a UWC education. The thirteen UWC campuses are located across the globe and each presents a unique and exemplary learning environment for those in attendance.
Companies and individuals interested in making a donation to CIUWC are invited to contact Morrison at CIUWCFoundation@yahoo.com or (345) 814–2734. Photo top: Deutsche Bank Chief Country OfficerJanet Hislop (Left) and CIUWC Chairperson Orchid Morrison.
East End port EIA released
(CNS): The developer proposing to build a commercial sea port in East End has published the results of a privately commissioned environmental impact assessment, in full, on his website.The EIA reveals potential risks to the water lens, the need to remove six acres of coral reef and the destruction of more than 500 acres of land habitat which is home to some of Grand Cayman’s unique flora and fauna, including the endangered silver thatch and indigenous orchids. The report points to a number of other negative impacts on the local community and the country at large as well as hazards and dangers. But because the authors claim the developer can mitigate the negative impacts it dismisses a number of issues, likely to cause controversy, as negligible.
However, all of the details of the report are in the public domain and the developer is inviting those who are interested to contact him directly for copies of the appendices, which include the water flow charts and other data.
The full EIA, written and conducted by Hesperides Group, of Florida is over 240 pages long and examines the impact of the proposed development on the land and marine environments, the ground water supply and the local community.
It looks at potential dangers from the hazardous materials that will pass through the commercial port, should it become a reality, and the danger of spills, as well as the impact of noise, construction, transport and myriad other points.
In each case, however, even where risks have been clearly noted, the report’s authors have dismissed them by proposing mitigation, have said the losses are outweighed by other beneficial issues or have suggested moving plants to the Botanic Park, live corals to other reefs or replacing lost habitat somewhere else.
The report reveals that the terrestrial habitat that would be destroyed “supports the highest vascular plant diversity of all the island’s vegetation zones” and went on to reveal that there are several rare tree species “along with a variety of epiphytes (orchids), including a number of imperilled taxa.” The EIA states that there has (until now) been limited invasion by exotic species and the habitat value was described as “quite high due to the maturity and diversity of the native plant community.”
The authors state that during the observation period no imperilled vertebrates were seen, though officials here have previously indicated that there are possible signs of blue iguana inhabiting the area. The EIA did admit that the critically endangered and iconic blue iguana may inhabit the area, along with the country’s national bird. The Cayman parrot is already locked in a battle for survival as a result of over development, and because of the loss of wild habitat the national bird has been forced into further conflict with farmers as it searches for food.
The report also points out that the Vitelline warbler and the West Indian whistling duck, along with a wide range of flowers, including endangered indigenous orchids, as well as other unique plants and trees are in the 500 acre location, which will be ripped out in order to excavate a port basin.
The report states that the impact will be significant to the natural resources but suggested that the developers could “offset impacts to these habitats and plant formations” by collecting endangered plant material for preservation.
“Select trees and shrubs may be removed and transplanted offsite wherever possible. Epiphytes such as orchids may be harvested and transplanted or propagated to enhance genetic diversity,” the authors stated. “Seeds will be collected and propagated to enhance native plant populations. If possible, the Development Corporation will use materials originally harvested from the project site for EES landscaping and buffer creation.”
When it came to the ocean environment, aside from the obvious and significant impact on the reefs that will be destroyed, the report said that turtles would also be at risk. It suggested that the developer could help re-sand Half Moon Bay beach, which was a nesting site damaged in Hurricane Ivan, as a way of offsetting the impact the port would have on their environment. The report also spoke about moving corals that would be otherwise destroyed to create the channel that would be required for the port.
One of the most controversial issues surrounding the project has been the potential threat to the area’s fresh water lens. The report stated that the proposed development would bring seawater further inland and overtime would increase salinity of levels. The authors said that groundwater modelling was performed as part of the EIA to evaluate potential impacts. “Predictions based on themodel show that excavating the EES basin may cause the southwest boundary of the lens to migrate further inland and the thickness of the lens to decrease within a small area of the lens,” it warned and suggested that the situation would have to be consistently monitored.
Meanwhile, the report by Deloitte focuses entirely on the financial aspects of the development and came up with a total direct impact on the Cayman Islands’ economy of US$133,300,000. This included US$108,200,000 on materials and services from local suppliers, US$13,100,000 on payroll for persons employed by the developer and US$12,000,000 on royalties, stamp duties, and work permit fees paid to government.
The consultants also said pre-excavation expenditure, including the purchase of land and design, engineering, legal and other professional fees, have already had a total direct impact of US$12,500,000. Indirectly, Deloitte said, the excavation phase would benefit the economy by almost US$50 million.
The project would create 204 jobs during the seven year excavation period, Deloitte claimed, 179 of which the consultants said would go to Caymanians. While indirectly, it said an average of 86 jobs will be created each year between 2011 and 2017,
“This estimate is based on calculations made by Deloitte of the average ratio of additional number of employed persons to additional GDP between 2005 and 2009. The ratio suggests that for every US$1 million invested in the economy, 12.24 more persons are employed in the Cayman Islands,” the report states. The report also anticipated a direct boost to the construction sector and money for government coffers if the project was to go ahead.
The EIA is available in full here and anyone who wants a copy of the appendices is asked to email: info@eastendseaport.com
The Deloitte survey is available here
All reports and documents relating to the East End Seaport are here.
Lawyers face gruelling pedal for charity
(CNS): A group of amateur cyclists from Walkers' Cayman Islands office are in training for a 100-mile endurance charity bike ride around Lake Tahoe to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This will be the third year running that some members of 'Team Walkers’ have taken on the charity challenge. So far the team has raised over US$100,000 in the battle to defeat leukemia and blood cancers. This year's ride takes place on Sunday June 5. The team is more than half way to their sponsor ship goal of $40,000 but is looking for public support to help them reach it before the race.
Team captain Nancy Lewis (Chief Executive Officer) and Mark Lewis (Walkers' Managing Partner) are preparing for their third ride. Wade Tamasa returns for his second appearance and three new team members – Pete Slocock (IT Group), Laren Gillespie (Management Services) and Jonathan Tonge (Managing Partner) all join the team for their first ride.
"We would like to thank everyone in the community that have already supported us financially or encouraged the team in other ways. It is truly appreciated," said Nancy Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Walkers Management Services.
"As we get older we find that cancer in all its forms seems to spread its insidious tentacles and touch people we love. The six of us are all riding in memory of, or in support of different people and our mission is to raise funds through this ride to help eradicate this disease, or at least help bring better treatment. Anyone in the Cayman Islands unfortunate enough to require treatment for blood cancer will more than likely need to travel to the US so we believe the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is an important charity for those of us living in Cayman to support."
Team members have been riding over 100 miles each week as they prep for the challenge. Conditions at Lake Tahoe will be very different to the high temperatures, humidity and wind that 'Team Walkers' is currently dealing with in Cayman. In Tahoe, 'Team Walkers' will face the challenge of riding at altitudes of approximately 6,300 feet above sea level. Numerous and demanding switchbacks and mountain climbs add over 2,800 feet of vertical elevation gain, and riding conditions, at least in the early hours following the 6am start, will be near freezing point. More than 3,000 riders will take part in this year’s Lake Tahoe ride, hoping to eclipse the near to US$ 9 million total sponsorship raised for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2009.
To support 'Team Walkers' and donate to this worthy cause, either access the link on the 'Professionals' page of the Walkers website www.walkersglobal.com or visit the Walkers 'Team in Training' webpage
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/ambbr11/TeamWalkers. Those interested in obtaining more information on 'Team Walkers' and sponsorship opportunities for the Lake Tahoe ride should contact Mark Lewis at Walkers on 345 914 4223 (mark.lewis@walkersglobal.com).