Archive for July 16th, 2013
CIFA appeal for volunteers for footy tournament
(CNS): As the host of the major international football tournament next month, the Cayman Islands Football Association is appealing to the community for volunteers from all walks of life to help out at the CONCACAF U-15 regional competition. From medical personnel to translators, officials say they need people to offer help in wide range of areas. Ushers, ball boys and girls, administrative staff, security, drivers, sellers and tellers and many other people are wanted to help support the first major soccer contest that Cayman has hosted. With as many as 3,000 people expected to come to Cayman for more than two weeks during the tournament, the event is a big deal for the islands and government hopes it will kick start a bright future in sports tourism for the islands.
Officials from CIFA are emphasizing the need for volunteers. As is the case with any major sporting event held in any country, it would not be possible without the hands-on support of the community. However, lacking a large student or retirement population, Cayman needs even more volunteers because many of the people who have signed up to help also have full time jobs and can only offer their services for a few hours each day.
Anyone who can help in anyway at all is asked to contact CIFA on 949-5775 or fill in the volunteer form posted below.
Health instructor charged with DUI in road death
(CNS): The woman driving the car which killed a Canadian tourist in February on the West Bay Road has been charged with Driving Under the Influence but not with causing the man’s death. Mindy Pistacchio (33), a swim and yoga instructor, was released on bail after being formally charged with DUI and will shortly appear in court. Pistacchio was arrested on 8 February, the night of the collision, around 10:30pm on suspicion of DUI after hitting Dan Marce, who was attempting to cross the road by the Lone Star restaurant. Marce, who was formerly a board member of the Canadian football team Riders, was severely injured in the crash and died soon after as a result of his injuries.
Pistacchio was driving a white Toyota Cavalier travelling towards West Bay when she hit 66-year-old Marce, who was visiting Cayman with his family and friends.
GT man begins 2nd trial in mutiple stabbing case
CNS): A 21-year-old man from George Town appeared in Grand Court Monday on trial for the attempted murder of Andrew Lopez in August last year. Justin Ramoon faces trial for the second time after the first court hearing in the matter was cut short and adjourned in January as a result of legal arguments made by his attorney, Ben Tonner. Ramoon now sits before a new panel of jurors, which is made up of five women and two men. They will either convict or acquit him of the charges, which include an alternative count of wounding with intent. Ramoon is alleged to have stabbed Andrew Lopez about eight times outside of Archie's Bar on Shedden Road, George Town, before running off in the direction of Sea Inn Bar. He has denied the allegations and awaits the jurors' verdict expected later this week.
In his evidence about the night he was stabbed, Lopez told the court that he had two beers before arriving at Archie's Bar on the night of his attack and was standing beside his car near a few men who were playing a game of dominoes under a well-lit tent.
It is his evidence that, after receiving a cigarette from a friend, he felt the first stab in his back before he turned around to try and face his attacker. Lopez said that the stabbing continued even after he'd tripped and slightly fallen. It was at this point that he was able to identify his assailant as a man he has known for almost seven years called 'Pot', which is Ramoon's nick-name.
Lopez explained that he did not try to defend himself other than trying to get away, but he was able to see the defendant flee on foot. Lopez said that he then got into his car and his initial reaction was to go to his brother's house before he returned home, where he failed to stop the excessive bleeding coming from the multiple stab wounds that he had received.
He then went to the hospital and arrived a short time after midnight on 25 August, where he was treated for a collapsed lung and multiple puncture wounds.
Police reported that Lopez was carrying on in an intoxicated manner despite his claims that he was purely acting out in rage and anger over the events of the night.
The victim said he believed the incident stemmed from an altercation that happened a week before at a well- known after-session spot known as Jah-T's in central George Town. He told the court it was over a scooter which Lopez took from Ramoon's cousin's in Prospect because he believed that it had been stolen and would attract the police to his neighbourhood.
He claimed that Ramoon had approached him while holding onto his waist as if to gesture he had a gun while questioning him about the scooter before Lopez stepped to him and responded, "If you take that out, you better use it." Ramoon's cousin spoke to a friend of the victim stating that he should leave before they kill him.
Lopez began to get emotional after explaining that he did not think that the incident would have transpired into something so serious and had avoided reporting anything to the police until the night of the stabbing. Flustered, Lopez said, "I don't want this to ruin my life," as he explained that he was not intending to seek revenge but wanted the matter to be disposed of as soon as possible.
Asafa Powell among five Jamaicans to test positive
(Yahoo!): Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell is among five Jamaican athletes to have tested positive for taking banned substances. Powell tested positive for a stimulant at last month's national championships, his agent told Reuters on Sunday. Powell, who has never won an individual global sprint title, held the 100m world record between 2005 and 2008 when his then-best of 9.74 seconds was broken by current record holder and fellow-Jamaican Usain Bolt. In a statement, Powell said: "I will confirm that a sample I gave at the national trials in June earlier this year has returned 'adverse findings'.
The substance oxilofrine (methylsynephrine) was found, which is considered by the authorities to be a banned stimulant.
"I want to be clear in saying to my family, friends and most of all my fans worldwide that I have never knowingly or wilfully taken any supplements or substances that break any rules. I am not now – nor have I ever been – a cheat," he added. "This result has left me completely devastated in many respects. Professionally, this finding fully negates any possibility of me being a part of Jamaica's contingent of athletes competing at (the) world championships in Moscow later this summer."
Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallist Sherone Simpson said on Sunday she had tested positive for a stimulant at last month's national championships. Simpson, 28, was a member of the Jamaican team that finished second in the 4×100 relay at last year's London Olympics. She finished equal second in the 100 metres at the 2008 Beijing Games and won a gold medal in the 4×100 relay four years earlier in Athens.
"This is a very difficult time for me," Simpson said in a statement to Reuters. "I was notified on July 14, 2013 that my urine sample taken at the National Senior Championship, June 21, 2013 after the 100m finals returned a positive analytical finding for a stimulant, oxilofrine (methylsynephrine). "As an athlete, I know I am responsible for whatever that goes into my body. I would not intentionally take an illegal substance of any form into my system."
The sources said two of the athletes were sprinters while three competed in field events. They said one of the athletes was a junior.
Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission chairman Herb Elliott confirmed the body had received "reports of adverse analytical findings from "A" samples".
"The process of the result management has commenced in accordance with the JADCO Anti-doping rules," he told Reuters. "We cannot disclose any further information until the athletes have responded to notification of the "A" sample."
The managers for Bolt and world 100m champion Yohan Blake said their athletes were not involved. Blake did not compete at the championships because of injury while Bolt won the 100m.
Last month Jamaica's most successful female athlete Veronica Campbell-Brown tested positive for a diuretic, which can be used to mask the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The twice Olympic 200m champion has been suspended by the Jamaican Athletics Administrative Association pending the outcome of a disciplinary panel hearing.
ERA cancels award to Dart for power generation
(CNS Business): In the wake of numerous controversies in connection with a request for proposals to supply an extra 36MW of power for Grand Cayman, the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) has canned the bid. The ERA had announced in February that DECCO, Dart’s construction company, had been selected to begin negotiations with CUC, the island’s power company, over the details of how and how much in connection with the generation of future power. However, the authority has now cancelled the solicitation for the additional power. The ERA said Monday that it was as a result of “unavoidable and unforeseen delays” that interrupted the timetable for the various milestones in the RFP which could no longer be achieved. Read more and comment on CNS Business.
Woman appears in court over missing person enquiry
(CNS): Twenty-year-old Karli Rankin appeared before Magistrate Kirsty Gunn Monday after being charged with offenses in connection to the disappearance of a 31-year-old man who went missing last December. The young woman’s case is expected to be committed up to the Grand Court as a co-defendant with a man by the name of Canute Nairne, who is charged in connection with the same missing person enquiry. Hemerson Gonzalez, a Guyanese national who is still missing, is reported to have been staying at Rankin's residence in the Savannah area with her and her boyfriend before he mysteriously disappeared while visiting the island.
Rankin is represented by local attorney Clyde Allan and will return to Summary Court next week for further discussions on the matter but it is expected that the she will be joined onto the same indictment as Nairne. He was arrested upon his return to the island at the Owen Roberts International Airport in January and has already been committed into the higher court. The prosecution claims that that there are inconsistencies in the police witness statements given at the time of Gonzalez' disappearance by Rankin and Nairne, who both face charges of doing an act to pervert or defeat the act of justice and misleading the police.
Gonzalez was last seen at around 5:30pm on 11 December of last year and is known to be a frequent visitor to the island. Police said that he was feeling ill at the time of his disappearance and had been suffering from severe vomiting. After checks with local hospitals, it was confirmed that he had sought treatment for his sickness.
A search was carried out by the RCIPS, including the Air Operation Unit, and a public awareness campaign was launched with media coverage and the distribution of flyers but Gonzalez has been missing for over nine months. There have been no sightings of him nor has a body ever been recovered but there is no record of Gonzalez leaving the island or returning to Guyana since his disappearance.
He was last seen wearing brown jeans shorts, a t-shirt and low cut cloth shoes. He weighs about 180lbs and stands at 5'8" tall, with a compass tattoo on his left forearm and a writing tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. Gonzalez is of dark brown complexion with curly black hair.
Government opens talks with Dart over FCIA
(CNS Business): The new government has opened talks with the islands’ largest developer over the stalled ForCayman Investment Alliance (FCIA) and in particular the NRA agreement signed by former premier McKeeva Bush in December 2011. The current premier, Alden McLaughlin, told CNS that negotiations have begun with Dart Realty Cayman Ltd regarding the future of the West Bay Road projects, the Esterley Tibbetts Highway and other elements of the deal. However, because talks between the new government and the developer are ongoing, he said he did not want to say too much about where things are presently but hoped to be able to make an announcement about the deal very soon. Read more and comment on CNS Business