Archive for July 11th, 2012
Civil servants need anti-corruption training
(CNS): During the latest meeting of chief officers with the deputy governor, Franz Manderson raised concerns that civil servants and board members were not aware of the provisions of the Cayman Islands Anti-corruption Law, which came into effect in 2010. As a result, the head of the public sector has proposed that the Attorney General’s Chambers train staff in order to ensure there is sufficient exposure to the law which affects all government employees and those working in statutory authorities and government companies, aswell as members of the private sector appointed to boards.
Edlin Myles, a former member of the National Housing and Development Trust, was recently charged after he was arrested under the provisions of the law last year and Patricia Webster, a civilian staffer with the RCIPS, was the first public sector worker to be charged under the law.
More than two years ago the attorney general issued a warning to people serving on government boards about potential conflicts of interest and other issues following the law’s implementation. Samuel Bulgin said the new law would have a significant impact, not just on public officials, but also those in the private sector and general public that work or engage with public officials.
The law covers a range of offences, from bribery of public officers and members of the Legislative Assembly, frauds on government, contractors subscribing to election funds, breach of trust by public officials and members of the Legislative Assembly, abuse of office, bribing foreign public officials and conflict of interest, among others.
Meanwhile, Manderson also suggested that the regular CO meetings with him would benefit from the expertise of the director of public prosecutions, courts administrator and solicitor general, and that in future they would be invited to attend meetings.
Other issues on the agenda at the 25 June meeting included the need for chief officers to ensure that government accounts were submitted in advance of the 31 August deadline and that the chief financial officers must be held accountable for the timeliness and quality of these public accounts.
The civil service bosses also heard that progress was being made on the public service review and that an initial report will be presented to the deputy governor by the end of this month.
The deputy governor also agreed that the Government Administration Building should be used as a shelter in the event of a natural disaster and a plan will be formulated to set out who will be given access and to what areas of the building, along with other logistical and safety considerations.
The latest minutes from the high level government meeting also revealed that a committee has been formed to make recommendations in regards to the recognition of Cultural Day within the Civil Service.
See minutes below.
Cayma and Welsh schools twin for London Olympics
CNS): School kids in North Wales will be cheering on the Cayman team at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London later this month. St. Ignatius Catholic School in Grand Cayman has twinned with Ysgol Esgob Morgan in St Asaph to mark the occasion and will be depending on their new friends to give the Cayman Islands athletes their support on behalf of kids back home. The Cayman Islands Olympic Committee and St. Ignatius have provided them with fan hats and shirts, games pins and Cayman waving flags to take with them to London and help them cheer on Team CI.
The schools have been communicating via Skype, blackberry messenger, e-mail, blogs, etc. leading up to the games and the children from both schools are said to be very excited.
While their new Cayman connection may mean a little bit of split loyalties for the St Asaph school children that will likely be overcome by the excitement of going to London. The two schools hope to develop an on-going relationship with the possibility of exchange trips.
Since the two schools paired up the children in both schools have been learning all about each other’s countries and way of life.
4th man charged in bank job
(CNS): As police continue their investigation into the Cayman National Bank robbery that took place in Buckingham Square last month, a fourth man has now been charged in connection with the daylight hold-up. A police spokesperson said that a 33-year-old man has been charged with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and is expected to appear in court tomorrow morning. Police have already charged Andre Burton (27) of West Bay, who is accused of being the gang’s second getaway driver, as well as George Mignott (23) from Savannah and Marlon Dillon (29) from West Bay, who are charged with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.
The three masked men who held up the bank on the morning of Thursday, 28 June, escaped with around a half million dollars as they attempted to flee the scene. However, they collided with an armoured cash van and the men then headed off on foot. As they fled scene they are believed to have dropped around $100,000 of the cash booty before being picked up by another getaway car.
So far, seven people, including two women, have been arrested in connection with the robbery.
Cayman 7s make great showing in Canada
(CRFU): The Maples National Academy 7s rugby team set of for their developmental tour of Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver in preparation for the World Cup 7s qualifiers in Ottawa in late August. The tour started Friday 6 July with one of three very challenging tournaments playing against the elite Canadian 7s teams. Cayman were drawn first against last year’s winners of the tournament the ‘Dog River Howlers’ a team with a number of prospective Canadian National players. The Cayman team started very well and scored three tries in the first half through excellent team play; Joel Clark, Vanassio Tokotokovenua and debutant Johann Regnard .
The ‘Howlers’ then started the second half with some very strong play and scored 3 very good tries and were in the lead with only a minute to play, a break and chip ahead resulted in Joel Clark scoring the winning try to leave a shell shocked ‘Howlers’ defeated 26-20 by Cayman.
The next match was played against the ‘Cannibals’ a team made up of resident Fijian’s after a inconsistent first half Cayman returned to their very good structure and form of the first game to beat the Cannibals 26-5 with tries from, Vanassio Tokotokovenua, Dan Bond, Joel Clark and Michael Wilson.
After a very successful two games on Friday Cayman returned for their next game on Saturday morning against the Regina Prairie Fire in the Elite men’s competition. Cayman again produced an excellent team display with the forwards, Dan Bond, Edward Westin, Johann Regnard and Josh Clark winning the majority of restarts to provide the ball for the team to score 34 unanswered points winning 34-0. The tries were scored by; Josh Clark, Johann Regnard and four by Joel Clark. The Maples Academy team were unbeaten in 3 games and now in the semi-final of the men’s elite division to play Edmonton Exiles.
Against a large and very physical team the score was tied at 12-12 at the final whistle with tries from; Venasio Tokotokovenua and Joel Clark. In extra time Josh Clark exerted excellent pressure at the kick off resulting in a Cayman Scrum where Garrett Conolly scored a very good individual try to win the game and place Cayman in the final.
In the final, Cayman were against the home team of the Calgary Mavericks who had a number of talented and physical southern hemisphere players. After a slow start and going down to three quick tries Cayman scored just before half time through Venasio Tokotokovenua with the score at 17-7 to Calgary. In the second half Calgary scored straight from the kick off and were now 22-7 ahead.
The Cayman team then put in an excellent final five minutes scoring a great individual try from half way by Keswick Wright followed by a hard earned forward try through Johann Regnard. In the final seconds Joel Clark was bundled into touch short of the Calgary line resulting in a final score of 22-17 to Calgary.
Cayman played every team in the ‘Top’ Elite division winning four games and only losing in the final by 5 points. It was an excellent squad performance and a great learning experience for the Maples 7s academy in this developmental tour. Cayman now move on to Victoria where they will train with the Canadian men’s 7s team and also benefit from the further support of Morgan Williams in the coaching team in preparation for two very challenging international tournaments in Victoria and Vancouver.
Cox conquers the Suisse mountain
(CRFU): Ding! Ding! Round 2 of the Cayman Summer Mixed touch Rugby League started with some fiery games, some dazzling strikes, some dodgy footwork and a couple of knockout punches (not literally) insome fantastic touch rugby – all on show at the South Sound Rugby Ground. The match of Round 2 came in Division 3 when Delta Force took on Credit Suisse. Originally billed as a team who had hardly stepped onto a touch rugby pitch Delta Force is quickly gathering a group of players who not only have some game but also some belief in their team’s ability. (Photo Caroline Deegan)
Division 3
Like all great sporting stories it is the human element behind the game itself that creates the drama. Tales of triumph over tragedy, defiance over defeat and conquest over catastrophe are stuff of Hollywood legend. The greatest sporting movies ever made such as Friday Night Lights, Raging Bull, Rocky, Cool Runnings and Caddyshack all detail how the lowly underdog, often beaten down by tragic events, overcomes adversity to land on top of the pile. Step forward one Shelly Cox. Having had serious back surgery not four months ago, Cox had been told never to play again. Her touch rugby career was finished.
Would the game lose one of its most colourful characters? Like heck it would. It wasn’t a Friday and there weren’t any lights as Cox pulled on her boots and surveyed her opposition with steely resolve. The challenge facing her was the Division Three equivalent of scaling Mont Blanc. Credit Suisse have a number of big name and big game players who perform with an intensity that can be too much for many a Division 3 side.
It was too late to back out or even to put her back out so on she went with a Delta Force team that had no girl substitutes. However, if you are going to climb a mountain, as Yazz once sang, “The Only Way Is Up”. She hassled, she cajoled, she stole ball, she took on the opposition and beat them down. Would her as yet untested back stand up?
I can report that Cox’s lumbar is made of stern stuff. Having not only survived the game she conquered the summit of the Suisse Mountain with a pièce de résistance. Two discs missing and two inches shorter than at her statuesque-best, Cox received a loose pass five metres out in the final minutes of the match. In her desire Cox to score she stretched for the line. I could be wrong but I swear she visibly grew six inches just to touch the ball down over the try-line. Blood pumping through her veins she punched the air. Her comeback was complete. The excited members of her team came over to congratulate her on the score and for providing such a thrilling climax to the game. She came, she scored, she conquered.
LIME are an entertaining team. Both on and off the field they are bold, they are brash and a lot of fun. Taking the game seriously-ish enough on the pitch, and definitely not too seriously off it, they epitomize the fine spirit of touch rugby. In their match against Ernst & Young they ran out 7-4 winners. As the game unfolded, the desire and intensity of both teams ramped up. Ernst & Young hurried and harried LIME like an annoying little terrier with a firm bite on your trouser leg. LIME could not shake off the young pups of Ernst & Young.
Barnaby Richardson, often described as a bit of a bulldog in a china shop himself, made a couple of clean line breaks and gave LIME a well-deserved lead. Ernst & Young pressed the LIME line and it was only the crackerjack performance of the elastic Jonny Hillyard that stopped several certain tries from being scored. It was as if Stretch Armstrong himself had come to Cayman and had joined the LIME defence. Unfortunately for LIME he can’t be on the pitch the whole time and eventually two tries from Ronan McCarthy, and one each from Curtis Wilson and Bronwen Gangler put Ernst & Young in the hunt but were not enough to hold LIME at bay who held on for the win.
Zolfo Cooper, another team in their first season of touch, look more handy than the Hindu God Krishna wearing giant foam fingers at a Miami Dolphins game. Their many hands made light workof Queensgate Grizz’s Old Fellas with tries from Marc Randall, Loletta Hanna, Iain Gow, Neil Coley, Gwynn Hopkins, Tammy Fu, and Katherine Maw. Following a simple “pass, pass, pass, score” game-plan Zolfo Cooper never needed to get out of second gear. Mind you, they were up against an Old Fellas team which has come to resemble a circus clown’s knockabout car of a side. Self-destruction doesn’t really cover it and for all their endeavour they left gaping holes in their rusty bodywork of a defence.
Dennis Hunter, Captain and quarterback for this team showed some nice touches but the move of the day had to come from the lilliputious Graeme Thomson. His tongue-in-cheek attempt to emulate the hitch-kick of the great Fijian rugby star Waisale Serevi looked more like a long-since-retired Michael Flatley trying to Riverdance his way through the Zolfo Cooper lines. Tickets to the next showing of the Lard of the Dance will be available in Round 3. I’m booking front row seats now.
In the final game of Division 3, GCM ran out comfortable winners over KPMG2. A brace from KPMG2’s Ian Roberton won him the MVP award but all his considerable efforts were fruitless against a well-stocked GCM team who notched up five of their own through Niall O’Sullivan, Paul Hennessy, Colin Travers (2) and Ronan McCarthy.
Division 1
A game of contrasts is always a fascinating prospect and this was true when Maples2 confronted the Genesis Five Nations. Maples2 are the wide-eyed, rabbits-in-the-headlights newcomers to Division 1, Genesis Five Nations the oncoming 40 ton/1000 watts juggernaut of touch rugby.
Both teams were short of some key players but both teams put together an exciting game that kept the crowd sitting on tenterhooks until the final whistle – an eye watering prospect you’ll agree.
Maples2 stunned Five Nations with an early individual strike from Marc Randall. This was an early warning of what Randall had in store for them as he continually tormented the ‘Nations defence with his speed of thought and speed of foot. Ably accompanied by the barnstorming Finn O’Hegarty, Maples2 took a surprising 3-1 lead into half-time. However, just as a tiny snowball rolling downhill slowly builds into a colossal mega-death ball, so Genesis Five Nations started to get their act together in the second half. Exploiting defensive weaknesses out wide first Mick Kehoe, then Laren Gillespie and Caroline Deegan ran in easy tries from two metres out. It looked like Maples2 had shot their bolt but once again Randall and O’Hegarty crossed the whitewash to take a 5-4 lead.
Could they hang on for an unexpected victory? Sadly, no.
Durability is woven through the heavy fabric of the Genesis Five Nations and at the very death, or at least the last rites, of the game they pulled out a score that broke the heart if not the spirit of Maples2. A commendable 5-5 draw left the honours even. Rarely in life can a cute fluffy bunny stop a big truck in its tracks – it did that day!
DART notched up their inaugural Division 1 victory with a great 5-3 win over Ogier. Originally daunted by their inclusion in the highest Division, DART showed that they clearly belong at the top table. A blistering hat-trick from Ryan Ostendorf made all the difference as Ogier struggled with a reduced roster for the second round in a row. The extras were added by Alex Parvnik, down the centre and right-winger Mat Bishop. Jennifer Collins made a valuable contribution for Ogier to win the MVP award but tries from Brad Conolly and David Cooney couldn’t rescue the result for Ogier.
Maples1 gave Trident Titans a lesson in clinical finishing and handed the Titans their first loss of the season. The new season has started well for the Champions with two big wins. Ten Maples1 tries from Jyoti Choi (3), Joanne Ziegler (2) and one a-piece from Scott MacDonald, Adam Huckle, Chris Palmer, Mark Fagan and Joan Murphy were answered by three from Trident Titans’ Nic Swartz, Dean Curtis and David Laau taking the honours – final score 10-3. A special mention must go to Dean Curtis who is departing the island to return to his native New Zealand. A fine player of speed and agility combined with the good humour needed to play touch rugby, he will be sorely missed by his teammates and opponents alike.
Stepping Stones continued their good form of Round 1 with a controlled 6-1 victory over KPMG1. Sharing the tries throughout the team, they use a combination of quick passing and quick thinking to overrun their opponents. Vikki Piaso won the MVP not only for scoring a great try but also for her effervescent performance and encouragement of teammates.
Division 2
Division 2 is rapidly proving to be the most competitive in the league. Harmonic top the table with two wins on the bounce. Quite a contrast to last season performances where they only had a 21% win ratio. They usually suffer from long term absences over the course of the summer so any wins at this stage of the season are points in the bag.
Vying for second spot are Campbells, Heineken Light Maidens, Island Heritage and UBS all just a single point behind. Their forthcoming match-ups over the next few weeks will be intriguing. Deloitte and Walkers Blue Iguanas have made a steady start with two draws each proving themselves difficult to beat but lacking the killer instinct right now. Rawlinson &Hunter, DMS and Broadhurst find themselves at the wrong end of the table but there are still a lot of games to turn that around. They’ll be looking forward to Round 3 to start their comeback.
Division 2 Results
Broadhurst 3 v. 8 Harmonic
UBS 7 v. 6 DMS
Deloitte 6 v. 6 Campbells
Walkers Blue Iguanas 2 v. 2 Heineken Light Maidens
Island Heritage 2 v. 1 Rawlinson & Hunter
Women’s flag football reaches season mid point
(GCFFA): The Dart Women’s League within the Grand Cayman Flag Football Association is nearing the mid-way point of the season with the Burger King Wolverines gaining the top team standing after week six of intense flag football action. The Lone Star JagerMonsters squeezed in their second win of the season in a hard-fought overtime battle against the Hot 104.1 Cheetahs last Friday evening at the Camana Bay Field. Quarterback for Lone Star, Tricia Miller, had a rough passing game, completing just 10 of 27 passes with two interceptions thrown. Backup quarterback, Erica Bosch, stepped in as a second option, completing two of four passes.
Monique Roberts got aggressive on offense for the JagerMonsters, catching five balls,followed by Kristin Kipp with three receptions. It was Renee Thompson who caught the winning touchdown pass in overtime that sealed the win for Lone Star. Tricia Bell was a monster on defense with two tackles and two interceptions. Marline Williams sacked the Cheetahs’ quarterback one time, and the rest of the Monsters’ defense was split amongst the team, with Thompson and Nickey Martinich coming up with two tackles each.
Although they played great defense, the Hot 104.1 Cheetahs couldn’t keep their flame burning till the end. Quarterback for Cheetahs, Kimberley Rivers, completed just seven of 21 passes with two interceptions thrown.
Jessica Richards was Rivers’ favorite look, catching five balls on offense. Sophia Dilbert and Jamesette Anglin caught one ball each. Missed balls on offense led to a breakdown in the Cheetahs’ momentum, as Rivers was on target with most of her passes but her receiving team just couldn’t hold onto the ball.
Leading the defense for Cheetahs was Jennifer Cotarelo who had six tackles. Anglin managed four tackles and one interception, while Tracey Seymour came up with the second interception plus two tackles, and Leyla Jackson added three more tackles.
Saturday’s games started with the top two seeded teams, the Burger King Wolverines versus Androgroup Killa-Panthers. No team managed to score until the end of the first half and Wolverine’s barely walked away victorious with a score of 14-0.
Offense was sluggish for the Wolverines, as quarterback Antoinette Lewis was at just 45% throwing, completing just 10 of 22 passes. Joni Wood’s steady hands caught four of Lewis’ passes, followed by Benecia Thompson, Christsania McLean, and Alex Terry with two receptions each. McLean added the second score as she leaped to catch the touchdown pass in the end-zone, and Thompson contributed with conversion points.
Saneata Smith was the saving grace for the Wolverines, as her six tackles and three interceptions- one which led to a defensive touchdown- brought the Wolverines on the score board. Smith stopped Androgroup from scoring with one interception at the 15 yard line. Her second pick was at the 35 yard line, where Smith eluded most of Killa-Panthers’ offense as she ran the ball in for a defensive touchdown.
Carrie Barnett was also a force on defense,contributing with five tackles. The speed Jahzenia Thomas brings resulted in one sack to the quarterback, three tackles and an interception. Shinette Rhoden added two sacks, and Alexandria Saintvil also barreled through Killa-Panthers’ offense with a sack to their quarterback.
For Androgroup Killa-Panthers, the first few weeks of the season looked promising for the team as they held onto first-place, but their second loss in a row has knocked the team from being one of the top two contenders.
Quarterback for Androgroup, Christina Hefner, completed 17 of 33 passes with four interceptions thrown. Hefner’s stationary style of playing hurt the Killa-Panthers the most, as Wolverines were easily able to rush her which resulted in miscalculated throws. Both Caron Murphy and Alicia Dixon were Hefner’s favorite looks, receiving four balls each. Cassandra Bodden also helped her team advance up the field with three receptions.
Leading the defense for Androgroup was Suyen Coe with four tackles. Janique Sampson and Bodden had two tackles each. Denise Delpesh came up with two sacks to the Wolverines’ quarterback, and Glenita Logan fought through to add a sack to her defense.
Hammerheads Lady Sharks continue their winning streak after defeating Zulu Warriors 22-0. Quarterback for Lady Sharks, Hong Nguyen completed 12 of 26 pass attempts and used her lithe frame and swift hips to rush in one touchdown.
On offense, Sophia Foster excelled with three receptions including two touchdown catches and one for extra points. Lilia Conolly helped keep offense strong with her seven catches. Hammerheads didn’t have to do much on defense as the Zulu Warriors weren’t finding their receivers. Leading in tackles was Conolly with three, followed by Judy Rivers and Jennifer Leggett with two tackles each. Leggett also came through with a pick and Simalee Ebanks added a sack to the defense.
Quarterback for Zulu Warriors, Jessica Pawlik completed eight of 18 pass attempts with one pick thrown. Emily Vakauta was open in the middle with four receptions and Dionne Whittaker followed with three catches.
The Warriors saw much more action on defense as they tried to stop Hammerheads from advancing their score further. Agueda Broderick led the defense with five tackles and one sack. Wendy Torres and Shamar Ennis had three tackles each, and Adriana Christian and Tanjana Campbell both sacked the quarterback one time each.
Maples Bliss celebrated their first win of the season against Subway Stingers with a final score of 14-0. Quarterback for Bliss, Ellenor Berry had her best game yet, completing 12 of 18 pass attempts. Berry had an incredible 40 yard run in the second half, up the middle of the field, dodging at least four defenders to secure a touchdown for her team.
Rookie player Marleena Smith had four receptions, including one catch in the end-zone for a touchdown. Amber Watson was also a dominant force in the middle, utilizing her height to secure four catches for Maples.
Defense was on point for Maples Bliss, as the team was able to halt any progress made by Subway. Diannera Whittaker led the defense with four tackles and one sack in Subway’s end-zone which resulted in a safety for the team. Isatou Sey and Somali Small each are proving to be key defenders for Maples as both players came up with four tackles each. Smith also contributed to the defense with three tackles.
Although high off their momentum from their first win the previous week, Subway Stingers played a shaky offensive and defensive game. Once again it was bad snaps and false starts that first hurt Subway in the beginning of the game, and then not utilizing the blockers on offense also led to a poor performance from the team.
Quarterback, Christina Pineda connected with her receivers in the latter part of the game, completing 12 of 19 pass attempts. She found Dionne Anglin and Keisha Anglin open down the middle most of the time, as both players had five receptions each. Latoya Cover stepped in as quarterback for one throw, but it was the only pass that allowed Subway Stingers to advance past the 40 yard line.
Leading the defense was Timisha Edwards who locked down the corner with six tackles. Keisha Anglin played just as well on defense with five tackles, and Melanie Bastos followed with two.
Week seven, the final week before the second half of the season for the Dart Women’s League in the Grand Cayman Flag Football Association, sees Subway Stingers versus Zulu Warriors this Friday evening at 8pm at the Camana Bay Field. Games resume on Saturday morning at 10am with the Hot 104.1 Cheetahs against Hammerheads Lady Sharks. At 11am on field one is Androgroup Killa-Panthers versus Maples Bliss, and field two sees the Burger King Wolverines go up the against Lone Star JagerMonsters.
Mac rallies against OMOV
(CNS): A public gathering held in West Bay on Monday night, advertised as an educational meeting on the forthcoming referendum, seemed more like a UDP rally as the premier spoke about the political issues rather than the process and criticised his opponents. He equated the idea of voting for the democratic principle of one man, one vote with voting for the opposition and told his constituents that if they stuck by him, he would stick by them. McKeeva Bush also used the opportunity during the public funded meeting to recite some poetry about those he expects will stand against him at the next election.
Bush railed against his opponents as well as the concept of one man, one vote and single member constituencies and accused the supporters of the change of seeking power. The “reckless and sudden” introduction of the international standard of voting, common across the democratic world, would be the cause of “torrents of community division”, the premier told the crowd as he toted the expected message of division over single member constituencies.
The premier said that he was spending less than $100,000 from public funds on promotions against the referendum question but the national poll would cost money, which he said he was forced to spend because the opposition would not wait until the general election. “It’s going to cost us,” he said. “But we as a government took a position to try and calm things down and have it earlier.”
Bush and the other members of the UDP made it clear that they did not support the change and wished to maintain the multi-member constituencies. However, he did not offer a clear position on what his government would do if the referendum does not carry on adding the extra three seats at the next general election.
Although the meeting was billed as an educational session about voting systems and the advantages of multi-member constituencies and multiple voting rather than single member voting, Bush mainly criticised his opponents rather than defend the status quo.
He did say, however, that in a multi-member constituency, if he got sick, voters could go to another representative for help, and that it was more united — as opposed to what he believed was the decisive system. He pointed to Singapore and Prince Edward Island as illustration of places which still have multiple-voting systems and accused the OMOV campaigners of misleading people about how common that type of voting is, although it is, in fact, used in general elections across the democratic world.
The West Bay gathering was the first in a series of what the premier is calling public education meetings, one week ahead of the much anticipated referendum for one man, one vote. Despite having stacked the deck against the ‘Yes’ vote, it was clear Bush was concerned that moving to single member constituencies could even break his own hold on his West Bay constituency as he pleaded with his people to go to the polls and vote ‘No’.
The public meetings will be continuing this weekend and through next, however the premier’s office has not supplied CNS with details of those meetings. Generation Now will be holding a debate covering both sides of the issue at the Harquail Theatre on Thursday evening.