Archive for November 1st, 2011
Cops arrest serial rapist
(CNS): DS Marlon Bodden said the local cops have their man on Tuesday afternoon as he announced the arrest of suspected serial rapist Jeffery Alexander Barnes. The man was arrested at Ocean Club in Spotts around 1:45pm by an armed response and taken into police custody without incident. The senior officer also revealed that a third sexual assault had also been reported to police on Monday evening by an adult woman, who says she was raped by Barnes several days ago and who has since left the island. Bodden thanked the public for assisting police to get what he said was one of the most dangerous sex offenders the RCIPS have ever had to deal with.
Police confirmed that a young woman was arrested for obstruction during the operation at the apartment in Ocean Club where Barnes had been staying.
Government praised for complying with law
(CNS): Premier McKeeva Bush bestowed praise on civil servants this week, especially those in his own ministry, for complying with the law. For the first time since the Public Management and Finance Law came into effect in 2004, more than seven years ago, government has submitted the 2010/11 Consolidated Financial Statements to the Auditor General Alastair Swarbrick by the 31 October deadline, as prescribed by the finance law. Swarbrick has not yet commented on the quality and information submitted but Bush, who is also the minister of finance, said it demonstrated government’s commitment to improving public reporting. The premier, who is currently in China, said he was extremely pleased that the administration had met another important milestone.
“This adds to our achievement of meeting the deadline of 31 August for the submission of individual financial statements for government’s ministries, portfolios and offices and for its statutory authorities and government owned companies,” Bush stated in a release from government. “These two accomplishments demonstrate the government’s determination to improve public accountability and reporting. I would like to particularly thank the staff of the treasury department and other civil servants who helped to achieve this important result.”
The PMFL requires government’s ministries, portfolios, offices, statutory authorities, companies and other public authorities to submit their annual financial statements to the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) by 31 August each year and the consolidated statements for the government and the entire public sector by 31 October of each year.
The first milestone was accomplished in August this year, when all the public sector submitted their 2010/11 financial statements to the OAG by the prescribed 31 August deadline.
Officials said the entire public sector unit of the treasury department spearheaded the exercise of consolidating the individual 2010/11 financial statements of the government’s 13 ministries, portfolios, offices and its 26 statutory authorities, government owned companies and other public entities into one set of accounts, which is referred to as the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Monday’s submission alongside that in August regarding the year that ended 30 June 2011 represents the first time since the PMFL took effect in 2004 that the deadlines have been met.
The audit office will now examine the report and offer its comments before it becomes a public document. The public will be able to find out more about this process along with much more of the auditor general’s work at an open day at his offices in Anderson Square, George Town, tomorrow afternoon, starting at 1:00pm.
Scholars and Elite continue to roll
(CIFA): Elite Sports Club continues to keep pace with current leaders Scholars International in this year’s Cayman Premier League. The new look Scholars team has been very impressive so far as they remain undefeated and top of the Cayman Premier League 3 points above Elite SC who remain in second place after beating Tigers FC 4:1 this Sunday. Scholars started the game brightly against Tigers and dominated possession as they played some nice football and broke down Tigers resistance in the 14th minute, a quick thrown in from Donald Solomon Jr set off Carson Fagan who produced an outstanding volley to put Scholars 1:0 up.
After the Opening goal Scholars seemed to sit back on their leadmuch to the frustration of Thomas Elliot who could be heard from the sidelines as he tried to rally his troops. Former National Team Captain Elliot produced another great performance as he held together the Scholars backline, Elliot has settled well this season since making the move from Division 1 outfit Sunset FC.
Scholars had a golden opportunity to go two up after being rewarded a penalty but Carson Fagan failed to convert. The penalty miss seemed to inspire Tigers as they came at Scholars on the counter attack, Alfredo Challenger was a constant threat and looked dangerous as he moved the ball forward putting the Scholars defense on their heels.
In the 60th minute Scholars regained the ascendancy and didn’t look back, Carson Fagan atoned for his penalty miss with another calmly taken finish giving him 5 goals on the season. Cayman Islands National Team striker Mark Ebanks added the third shortly after before new singing Nahun Rodriguez opened his account for Scholars only to be sent off 3 minutes later after racking up two mindless yellow cards. Lauren Bennett scored a consolation goal for Tigers FC in the 87th minute much to the frustration of the Scholars defense.
Only two fixtures were played this weekend in the Cayman Premier League as heavy rainfall made the field in Bodden Town unplayable, Bodden Town vs. Future and Roma United vs. George Town were postponed and will be rescheduled. The second fixture saw reigning Cayman Premier League Champions Elite SC hammer Cayman Athletic 10:1 and another stand out performance from Elite striker Dewayne Wright. Wright hit another hat-trick as he led Elite to an impressive victory over Cayman Athletic.
After starting out the season with a loss to Roma United, the current Champs have been near perfect in their quest to retain the title. Wright was the Cayman Islands Premier League’s top scorer last season and tops the pile this term 6 games in with 10 goals. Elite’s Renee Carter also chipped in with 3 goals this Sunday, Cayman National Team Midfielder Jedd Ebanks also got in on the act with a goal along with Derrin Ebanks, Calvin Jefford and Alex Belcher.
The Cayman Premier League continues this Sunday, at the Ed Bush Sports Complex in West Bay when Tigers FC take on Cayman Athletic at 5:00pm followed by Future vs. Scholars International at 7:00pm. The T.E. McField Sports Complex (Annex) in George Town will host George Town SC vs. Elite SC at 5:00pm followed by Bodden Town FC and Roma United at 7:00pm.
For Cayman Football updates visit www.facebook.com/caymanfootball
Magistrate receives special send off from court
(CNS): At a special court sitting on Wednesday 26 October the chief justice led the farewells to the departing chief magistrate, Margaret Ramsay-Hale, who left on Friday to take up her new assignment as a Puisne Judge in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The court was unanimous in its verdict that the that Cayman’s loss would be TCI's gain. CJ Anthony Smellie said that from the time he welcomed her to the Cayman courts 13 years ago, she had proven her work ethic, her enthusiasm and her ability to think outside the box. He particularly lauded her pioneering work with Cayman’s Drug Rehabilitation Court, as well as her piloting work with the mental health, DUI and domestic violence courts, which are to be set up in the near future.
Other speakers were Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryll Richards QC, attorneys Raymond Alberga QC, Howard Hamilton QC (on behalf of the Jamaican Bar), Andre Ebanks (on behalf of the Caymanian Bar Association) and John Furniss (on behalf of the Cayman Criminal Bar Association).
At a reception that followed, court staff led by Human Resources Manager Patricia Muschette presented the departing Chief Magistrate a gift in appreciation of her services. Ebanks handed over a certificate denoting Ramsay-Hale’s honorary membership in the Caymanian Bar Association.
Magazine targets all residents with re-brand
(CNS): After eight years of targeting newcomers, Acorn Publishing has rebranded the New Resident magazine to The Resident, acknowledging that locals and those who have been here many years still find the publication useful. The rebranding has involved giving the magazine a fresh look and completely rewriting the old content to provide information that is particularly useful for Cayman residents, Joanna Boxall, the owner of Acorn Publishing, said. Last week the first edition of the new magazine was presented to the governor, who said he had found it very helpful when he moved to the Cayman Islands.
For eight years the magazine has grown in size, Boxall added, stating that The Resident continues that trend by adding another 20 pages, bringing the total page count to 320. In addition the print run will be increased to support a wider distribution.
“I launched the New Resident in 2003 primarily as a guide for new people arriving in Cayman,” the publisher stated. “The loyalty of our readers has been amazing and it soon became apparent that many long term residents found the information in the magazine extremely useful and were picking up the new edition every year. She added, "It was only a matter of time before people were suggesting that we rebrand.”
Charles Grover, Publishing Director at Acorn Publishing, said the complimentary magazine is crammed full with useful information arranged in 27 chapters covering topics ranging from immigration, to finding a health specialist, to running a business.
Duncan Taylor said he has continued to use the magazine and website since he arrived and said rebranding made perfect sense. “The Resident is the most comprehensive guide for living and working in the Cayman Islands and I would recommend that everyone keeps a copy close by. The accuracy of the information in The Resident and quality of production really showcases the Cayman Islands,” he stated. “I am not aware of such a useful and comprehensive guide like The Resident in any other jurisdiction in the Caribbean and I think Cayman really benefits from it,” he added revealing that he and his family still recommend it to people as he commended Acorn Publishing for their hard work.
The Resident will be distributed island-wide in the second week of November to over 350 businesses, government departments, schools, hotels and will be available free of charge from other locations, such as the Airport Post Office, the Chamber of Commerce, Seven Mile Beach Post Office, together with other permanent locations on Grand Cayman.
The website www.caymannewresident.com contains all the information from the magazine and in many cases additional information that could not be printed. For more information or for a free copy please contact Acorn Publishing on (345) 946 3200 or email info@acorn.ky.
Competition fierce at national sailing rally
(CISC): Youth sailors converged on the North Sound over the weekend of 22nd and 23rd October 2011 to compete in the 2011 Scotiabank Youth National Sailing Championship. The annual National Sailing Championship is one of the most anticipated sailing regattas on the Cayman Islands Sailing Club’s calendar, and once again this year the regatta lived up to its reputation. There were four different classes: Laser Radial, Pico Double handers, Optimist Championship fleet and this year’s new entry, the Optimist green fleet. The competition was fierce as the young sailors were all vying for top honours and bragging rights particularly after the recent event in the Bahamas.
The first day of racing had to be cancelled due to torrential rain and lightning: much to the disappointment of the competitors. The following day all sailors were rigged and ready to go by 11am, despite the ominous clouds hovering over the sound. When the sound for the first warning signal went off at mid-day those threatening clouds had long gone. The sailors were greeted with a gentle 6 – 9 knots of north-westerly breeze. This made for some close and intense battles around the racecourse.
The Optimist fleet had the most hype and was the most talked about event, leading up to the weekend. Prior to the championship, the Optimist sailors had been training five times a week.
The two time defending Optimist champion, Allena “Rocket” Rankine, (above) had warned her fellow sailors, especially her friend and arch sailing rival, Florence Allan (who had beaten her to take top girl honours, a few weeks ago at the Bahamas Optimist Nationals), that the Cayman Optimist Nationals was her regatta and she was going to “bring it” on the weekend. And boy did she bring it… She got five bullets in as many races, which guaranteed her a third consecutive National Optimist Championship in a row, a feat which has never been accomplished by any other Caymanian youth sailor. Florence took second place and Finley McDougall took third. In the beginners Optimist green fleet; Jonathan Wight took 1st place and Caylem Hill took 2nd.
In the Laser Radials, former Optimist champion, Matthew Courtis, took top position with four bullets out the five races; Alex Robertson, second place and Stryker Ebanks in his first ever regatta took third. In the Pico double handed fleet, first place went to Alex Johnson & Iain Robertson; 2nd place went to Douglas Rowland & Matthew Hanson; and Alex Price & Jackson Wight took 3rd place.
Overall, it was a fantastic day of sailing and all the kids had a great time on the water. Head coach Raph said, “I was very impressed with the level of sailing skills that was displayed on the water on Sunday”. He also noted that there has been a noticeable positive change in attitude towards training, since the kids returned from the Bahamas Optimist Sailing Championship (a regatta in which they all did really well). Kudos also goes to coach Kelvin and Rebecca for their continuous hard work and dedication to the sailing programme.
The Cayman Island Sailing Club and National Sailing Centre would like to thank Scotiabank for their continued support of National youth sailing in the Cayman Islands. Without their support this regatta would not have been possible.
Cayman career advice to be posted on Youtube
(CNS): A local recruitment firm is calling on local business and members of the financial services sector to help produce a series of videos for YouTube about potential careers local students can pursue in the Cayman Islands. Targeting young Caymanians, organisers said the series will provide information about career opportunities available within our local financial services sector. The videos intend to offer constructive advice on securing employment, academic pre-requisites and scholarship opportunities. The different paths that can be taken in the various professions to achieve long-term career goals will also be highlighted.
The video series is the brainchild of Steve McIntosh, CEO at CML Offshore Recruitment who has signed an MOU with the education ministry and the Cayman Islands Society of Human Resource Professionals (CISHRP).
“CML is delighted to have the support of both the government and the CISHRP in producing the Career Guidance video series. It’s important for young Caymanians to have accurate information on the wide range of career options available to them. We believe this video series is an excellent way to provide high-quality information in an engaging format and through a medium that appeals to young people,” Mcintosh said.
He explained that he is looking for private sector sponsors willing to work with CML to produce the videos for their industry sectors. The recruitment expert said 16 distinct career paths had been identified in the financial sector to profile.
“I ask those with an interest in helping young Caymanians make good career choices to urge their employers to contact us and find out how they can get involved,” McIntosh added.
Samantha Nehra president of CISHRP said the she hoped the series would raise the profile of the many career options available in Cayman.
Interviews will be conducted with Caymanians at various levels within each profession, including HR professionals, executives, partners and recently qualified trainees and students. The objective is to obtain aholistic view so that young Caymanians can get a full sense of what each occupation offers, the organisers stated. Each segment will run for 5 – 15 minutes depending on the subject being captured.
Rolston Anglin, the education minister, thanked CML for leading the project stating that it was extremely important to help young people select the right career path so they can excel and be happy in their chosen profession. “Through such videos, they can make fully informed decisions and get a true sense of what each profession is all about,” he added.
Once finalised, the videos will be hosted on the public video-sharing website YouTube. CML plans to make them available for viewing until June 2013, after which they plan to refresh the series.
Interested companies should contact CML on 949-1345. The company guarantees that they will make no profit from these videos.
CHEC denies subcontractor accusations
(Jamaican Gleaner): The international firm China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), the main contractor in the US$65-million Palisadoes Shoreline project, has broken its silence on several allegations made against the company by some local subcontractors involved in the project. The company characterised allegations concerning the non-payment of funds to subcontractors as baseless, damaging and unsubstantiated references that portrayed the CHEC in a very bad light. "Several references are made about subcontractors and various grouses. China Harbour wishes to state for the record that it has only one subcontractor on the Palisadoes Shoreline Project – that contractor is Y.P. Seaton and Associates."
The company stressed that no other contractors or suppliers are contracted directly to China Harbour. "Unless the 'subcontractors' quoted in the article is Y.P. Seaton and Associates then none of their references can be taken in respect of China Harbour."
However, several truckers and suppliers of road work material who described themselves as sub-contractors, told The Gleaner that they began to work for China Harbour under a verbal arrangement when payments from YP Seaton were not forthcoming. They said they had gone to China Harbour representatives to work out arrangements whereby they would bypass Y.P. Seaton and deal directly with the company. The claimed, however, that they have been forced to withdraw their services as the amount being paid by China Harbour cannot sustain them.
Caring for our kids
Holidays can prove challenging for parents, particularly those with work commitments and limited vacation days. A lack of school environment means they have to find alternative child care, so that they can continue to work, while simultaneously know that their children are safe. I get it – I am a parent.
I am fortunate because I am able to afford summer camps and my son has many friends whose parents I can turn to when camp finishes. Others have less disposable money for such services but are blessed with supportive families and friends … there are always ways and there are always solutions if you look hard enough for them.
Having opened with the problem, I feel compelled to highlight what I consider to NOT be an option. Neglect, essentially. This week I found a 7 year old boy in the kitchen at work. He was parked in front of the TV watching Cartoon Network. Employees were carrying on as normal, basically ignoring him. I noticed his arms pulled into his t-shirt and engaged in a conversation, asking if he was cold. He was. I found a snuggly chair for him to curl up in and headed to HR to find a t-shirt he could put on over his own clothes. I asked if he was hungry – he was. No food or drink had been left for him. Did he know whether his father was coming for him? He said he was but didn’t know when. This is a parent who decided that leaving his child in the kitchen all day with nothing to do, eat or drink, nor warm clothes to protect his skinny little frame from the frigid a/c was ok.
I asked if he knew where his father sat so he could go to him if he needed him – he did not. So I set about printing off dot-to-dots, mazes, pictures to colour, found a stack of paper, and coloured pens. I gathered my own snacks – an apple, some cheese and crackers and poured him a glass of water. I checked that he knew where the bathroom was and showed him where I sat if he needed anything. The child never smiled, barely spoke above a whisper, but ate his apple, andgot busy drawing some very creative pictures.
His father eventually took him out to lunch at 1:30pm, having failed to check on him once over the course of the morning.
I have talked to staff in the George Town library who commented that they hate seeing kids dropped off and left for the entire day with not enough food or drink, only to be picked up at the end of the day. Children need more than to just be in a safe environment (under the watchful eye of people who are not employed to watch them). They need stimulation (and no the Cartoon Network and Nintendo DS do not count), they need conversation, regular feeding with healthy food and water, exercise and care.
I believe that this little boy’s father failed him today – a little thought and no extra cost would have meant that this boy had food, drink, a sense of security that he could find his Dad, warmth, brain stimulating entertainment and a notion that his Dad COULD be bothered to make the effort, even if he couldn’t sit with him.
From a community perspective, I was equally perturbed that so many people walked past without so much as acknowledging this little boy or checking that he was OK. I believe in community. When we find ourselves lacking parenting skills, the community can pick up the slack, to show the neglected or loved but poorly parented children that someone cares, wants to help and takes an interest in them. Each one of us can set an example to a child, which may inspire him or her to make decisions on what or who they want to be as they grow up. With no role models, what does their future hold?
I am not a perfect parent, I don’t pretend to be, but I do know that kids are our responsibility to nurture, guide and raise, so that they have a strong foundation onto which to develop and build their character, ethics and future. We must listen to them, answer their wide-eyed questions, explain why some things are right and others are wrong, be consistent in our teachings and help them to learn that choices lead to consequences – and that we should all be accountable for the decisions that we make.
It costs nothing to care, nor to lead by example, nor to talk to a child and really listen to what they have to say. But with our youth turning to crime in the most alarming way, surely it is the very least contribution we could make to our society … and costs not a dime.
Victims urged to report crime
(CNS): Despite recent complaints by a local shop owner that calling the police after a robbery ended up costing him more than the robbery itself, a senior officer from the RCIPS said it is critical that people report all crime, especially gun crime to the authorities. Detective Superintendent Marlon Bodden said that when robbers are using firearms, the need to collect the information from witnesses in an effort to reduce the number of guns on island and hopefully save lives has to take priority over money. The owner of Uncle Clem’s lost a bag of coins in the latest robbery but says he will lose far more as a result of the investigation. (photo Dennie Warren Jr)
The latest victim of Saturday night’s armed robbery told Cayman27 news that while he lost very little in the actual armed heist, the closure of his shop and the need to pay an IT expert to extract the CCTV footage and other expenses related to an investigation unlikely to yield results will cost him far more that the bag of coins the robbers escaped with.
Bodden said, however, that lives were more important than money and victims of gun crime need to report the incidents to the police in an effort to assist the authorities in getting these dangerous weapons off the streets.
At around 7:30 on Saturday evening Uncle Clem’s grocery store in Mary Street was robbed at gun point for the second time in two months and the third time overall. The two masked suspects were both said to be carryinghandguns. The robbers were confronted by staff and fled with only a bag of coins.
Police said at the time that they had difficulties with witnesses in the wake of the crime but Bodden stated on Monday afternoon that this criticism was aimed at witnesses in the vicinity and not the owners of the supermarket, who, he said, had assisted the police with their enquiries.
Acknowledging the reluctance of owners to have their businesses disrupted further as police collect witness statements and evidence, the senior officer said that where firearms are involved the police need to be able to investigate. He pointed out that while no one may have been injured in this incident, that may not be the case next time and the only hope police have of catching the offenders is by collecting evidence, noting the point that officers were trying to prevent future crimes.
"Life is more important than money,” Bodden stated.