Archive for July 22nd, 2013
Kilpatrick to ‘listen & learn’
(CNS): The governor designate said that her priority will be to listen and learn when she arrives in the Cayman Islands to start work in September as the UK’s representative. Although Helen Kilpatrickis the first governor to be posted to Cayman without any previous Foreign Office experience, she said that she believes her experience at the Home Office will be helpful to her and many aspects of the job won't be that new. A public finance expert and career public servant in the UK, Kilpatrick has never had an overseas posting but, having worked for the Home Office managing budgets for the police, the prisons and local government, she said she believes her experience would translate to her new post.
At a very brief press call at the airport Saturday evening, following her short two day familiarisation visit ahead of her posting, Kilpatrick said that when she arrives to take up the governor’s post, she will be spending her first four to six weeks getting around meeting everybody. She said that she had done a considerable amount of research and work in London but it was nowhere near enough yet and she would need to listen and learn in order to “understand what the major issues are".
Kilpatrick was not appointed to the post but went through an open interview process to secure the job. Despite being a senior number-cruncher in the British civil service and not a member of the diplomatic core, Kilpatrick said she did not think the role would be completely new and not necessarily an enormous career change.
“This job builds on my previous experience in local government, in the Home Office, in policing and prisons … although working in the Foreign Office is new to me, the areas of responsibility I will have here are not new,” she told the press, suggesting that her financial experience would be a great help, as it is an “important aspect of government and an import aspect of business life in Cayman."
Kilpatrick said her first impressions of the Cayman Islands were “absolutely fantastic”, as she described the welcome as friendly and said everyone had been very open with her.
During her brief visit to Cayman from Thursday through to Saturday Kilpatrick met with government ministers, senior civil servants and key officials, as well as the current governor, Duncan Taylor, and had a chance to take a sneak look at Cayman.
Kilpatrick is the first woman to be appointed governor of the Cayman Islands.
Duncan Taylor is departing in August ahead of his new posting to Mexico and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson will be acting governor until Kilpatrick arrives in September.
Scientists try to understand stingray decline
(CNS): With the continued decline in stingrays at Cayman’s premier tourist attraction, Stingray City, scientists from home and abroad are trying to understand what is causing the numbers to fall. Scientists from the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) and the Department of Environment were assisted in a recent survey and health check of the local population by veterinarians, Dr Tonya Clauss and Dr Alexa McDermott, and nutritionist Dr Lisa Hoopes, from the Georgia Aquarium. DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said she hopes the collaborative effort could continue as more needed to be learned about the unique population in the North sound and the impact of the Sandbar.
“There is an urgent need to better understand the impact of the feeding and human interaction taking place at the Sandbar and Stingray City on the overall health, reproduction and behaviour of the rays at these sites,” shesaid.
Although not an annual event, a census of the rays in the North Sound has been carried out since 2002, with the assistance of GHRI and others. This is the second year that the Georgia Aquarium has been involved in the assessment of rays in the North Sound, which includes analysing blood samples for indicators of health, stress, and nutritional status.
The recent decline in the number of stingrays at the Sandbar has made the census even more important. 181 rays were tagged between 2002-2003, 99 in 2008, 61 in January 2012, but only 57 rays were tagged in July 2012.
“These numbers indicate a threat to the continued viability of the Sandbar as a tourism attraction,” Dr Guy Harvey, founder of the GHRI, said. “We need to understand the reasons for the recent decline in numbers of rays at the Sandbar, and the data we collect will be used to inform management interventions for this extremely important economic resource for the Cayman Islands.”
The team also conducted health checks on the stingrays at Dolphin Discovery, which were released onto the Sandbar recently. Dr Clauss, who is the director of animal health at the Georgia Aquarium, said the checks completed on the stingrays at Dolphin Discovery indicate that they were healthy and ready for release back into the wild.
The return of the six captive rays as a result of an amendment to the law was particularly important, Ebanks-Petrie said, because five of them were male and census research has shown that the numbers of male rays have decreased even more than females.
Roundabouts and right of way challenge drivers
(CNS): Police and government officials from various relevant agencies helped drivers with a number of road safety questions recently when the Streetskill team hosted a booth at the Islands Living Show. Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing (DVDL) Supervisor of Operations, Roy Bush, said, "The most common inquiries concerned the proper use of roundabouts and the right-of-way of road users.” To help make such matters clear for drivers, he recommended the Road Code book, which he describes as a 'must have' for all road users, including new and experienced drivers, cyclists and motorcyclists.
“In addition to rules and laws, a simple understanding of the right-of-way, the use of courtesy, and indicators/hand signals can often reduce confusion on the road and avoid incidents,” he explained.
First published in September 2012, the booklet is available for sale at the DVDL offices in George Town, West Bay and Cayman Brac, at a cost of CI$10. The booklet was available for sale at the Island Living show and hundreds of the free NRA ‘How to use a roundabout’ brochures were given out to the public.
Over 2,200 attended the exhibition, which was held earlier this month, many of whom visited the booth manned by Streetskill representatives from the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing (DVDL), National Roads Authority (NRA), Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), Public Works Department (PWD), and Government Information Services (GIS), who answered drivers’ questions.
RCIPS Chief Inspector and George Town Area Commander, Angelique Howell, said the group was motivated by a need to improve the information and education that is available to drivers. “Our roads are busy with many different users, all of whom need to take responsibility to know the rules of the roads and to ensure safety for all road users,” she added.
The Streetskill campaign was launched on 1 May 2006 by the National Roads Authority (NRA), the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), Cayman Islands Road Safety Advisory Council (CIRSAC) and Government Information Services (GIS). It aims to educate motorists and influence their driving behaviour.
For more information, or to contact Streetskill, email roadsafety@gov.ky and like Streetskill on Facebook.