Archive for July, 2013
SOY foundation scores with football event
(CNS): The ninth annual Save Our Youth Foundation Football Extravaganza/Family Fun Day, co-sponsored by SaxonMG, proved a great event for both players and their supporters after rain caused a two-week postponement.Held at the Annex field in George Town, the day comprised matches among various age groups for boys and girls representing football clubs from throughout Grand Cayman. The final match was between select adult players from the Cayman Islands and Jamaica vying for the Unity Cup.
The event, themed “Positive Choices”, was aimed at bringing as many young people as possible together for a friendly competition. More importantly, the organizers also wanted to provide a forum where they could discuss various issues affecting young people, including drugs, violence, prison and gang-related activities. The event was coordinated to educate Cayman’s youth about the importance of making healthy, positive decisions in their lives.
SaxonMG joined as a major sponsor this year, as part of their ongoing commitment to the community. In addition, volunteers from the company were on hand throughout the day to help out. Brian Williams, CEO of SaxonMG, believes events like the Football Extravaganza can have a beneficial effect on young people.
“The event was a great opportunity to bring home the message of making positive choices by offering our young people the chance to compete with their peers in a healthy, friendly way in the spirit of good sportsmanship,” Williams said.
In addition, speakers from Saxon, as well as others, were able to address the players in small groups, to stress the value of staying in school and working toward a positive goal.
“We are always looking for ways to contribute to the well-being and growth of our society. We will continue to support events like this so we can reach out to as many of our youth as possible,” he added.
At the end of the day, the winning Under-17, Under-15 and Under-13 teams received trophies, presented by Eric Bush, chief officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
SOY President Iris Stoner said the enthusiasm of the young football players and the positive feedback from their coaches, family and friends who came out to support the teams, show that the event continues to be a worthwhile experience for Cayman’s youth.
“The Football Extravaganza is our signature event and one that we at SOY are committed to organising every year. The opportunity to promote a healthy, enjoyable activity while speaking to young people about the importance of making positive choices has proven to be a winning combination.
“We appreciate the support of all of our sponsors and are excited to welcome SaxonMG this year. We also want to thank all the coaches for their contributions in making the day a success. In addition, we want to recognize the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service and Cayman Islands Prison Service for their support leading up to and during the event. We look forward to making the Football Extravaganza even bigger and better in 2014.”
New board still in conflict
(CNS): Following the major controversies that surrounded some of the members of the previous Cayman Islands Airport Authority board, the new line up gazetted by the PPM government last week is still being criticised for possible conflict. According to the government publication, Kirkland Nixon has been made chair of the new board, while Thomas Guyton has taken up the post of deputy, replacing Dick Arch and Steve McField. In addition, Frank Flowers, Roy Grant, Larry Bryan, Arnold Berry, Langlie Powery and Jewel Hydes have all resigned and been replaced by new faces, including Joel Jefferson, Nathaniel Tibbetts, Bruce Smith and Ministry Chief Officer Stran Bodden.
However, despite the PPM’s well publicised concerns about possible conflicts on the previous airports authority board, questions have also been raised about the new representatives as some have possible conflicts with family and historic connections to both the airport and airline services.
CNS contacted the new tourism minister, Moses Kirkconnell, to ask him if he was comfortable that the chair and board members were qualified, capable and non-conflicted in their roles, but so far there has been no response.
The revamp of the airport board comes following a host of issues and problems at the airport, which began with the dismissal of the financial officer, who is now taking legal action against government, and the suspension of the former CIAA director, Jeremy Jackson, and his subsequent dismissal by the board after details of an internal report were leaked to the media.
In addition, the auditor general had raised serious concerns about board conflicts and the members’ interference with the day to day operations at the airport, as well as the direct political interference by former premier McKeeva Bush, who had limited the ground handling service licenses.
As well as changing the line up at the airport, the new minister has also re-shaped the Cayman Airways board, though the services of the chair were retained for a period to ensure a transition for the national flag carrier, which is struggling with major debt and heavily dependent on capital support from the public purse.
The new deputy chairman at CAL is Norman Bodden and the new directors include James Tibbetts, Chris Kirkconnell, Andre Ebanks, as well as officials Eric Bush, Stran Bodden and Department of Tourism Director Shomari Scott.
See new boards on Government Gazette on pages 967/8
http://www.gazettes.gov.ky/gazettes/2013/02/07/gazette-issue-13
Teenager faces robbery trial for $5 and change
(CNS): A 15-year-old boy appeared before Justice Michael Mettyear in Grand Court Friday facing charges of robbery and common assault for stealing just over five dollars. The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied robbing his victim on Watlers Drive in George Town earlier this year and pleaded not guilty to both counts, with the assistance of his attorney John Furniss. The teenage boy is alleged to have robbed a man of CI$5.48 along with a group of others on 20 February this year. The young defendant is expected to stand trial with his alleged co-conspirators in January of next year.
Minister and junior support existing education plan
(CNS): Although Alden McLaughlin, who began a massive overhaul of education in 2005, is now premier, his new education minister and her junior appear to be sticking with the plan created by his successor. Before McLaughlin was booted out of his education job following the 2009 election defeat for the PPM, a new education law was passed. However, the regulations were never implemented. and Rolston Anglin, who took the reins of education in 2009, followed a different path, which resulted in the national education plan a few months before the former cabinet minister lost his West Bay seat.
During a recent visit with government school principals and the back-bench coalition MLA and councillor in the education ministry, Winston Connolly madeit clear that he and his boss, Tara Rivers, the coalition cabinet member, were in support of the Strategic Plan for Education created by Anglin, the former UDP minister and then PDA member.
Connolly said the ministry team was well advanced in an exercise to identify and fill any gaps in the action plans that had been identified by the new government.
“The good news is that there are a lot of synergies,” he said, adding that special education needs (SEN), was also a key area of focus for the minister and government.
Connolly offered his support for the Principal’s Consultative Council as a mechanism for principals to be involved in advice and decision-makingwithin the education system, and to support networking and their professional development. He also told the school heads that Rivers was committed to visiting each school in the new school year.
However, Rivers has a major hurdle to cross before September as she will be in court next week defending her election to office, having been challenged by the spouse of the UDP candidate Velma Hewitt, who came in fifth in the West bay race just outside the four seats. Rivers is been challenged on the grounds that she did not meet the residency requirements for candidates and because she possesses a current US passport.
Defendant refuses to appear in court as case drags on
(CNS): A 41-year-old man from George Town, who has been on remand in HMP Northward for more than a year as a result of his on-going difficulties with appointed counsel, refused to come to court Friday when his case was set for mention in the Grand Court ahead of his trial this month. Garry Hurlston is charged with attempted murder following a stabbing June, in which Wesley Clarke received a serious stab wound to his neck and remains in hospital. Hurlston began a trial in April, but part way through he sacked his attorney, John Furniss, and the matter was adjourned. Now unrepresented, Hulston has said he wishes to mount his own defence with the assistance of Furniss.
On Friday the local lawyer told the judge that he was willing to assist Hurlston throughout his trial but he would not be willing to represent him as counsel.
Hurlston is accused of stabbing Clarke during an altercation at a party in the Windsor Park area during the early hours of 21 June last year. Hurlston continues to claim his innocence and has denied ever stabbing the victim. A friend of Clarke, who was also a witness, reported that Clarke grabbed his neck and shouted, "They killed me!" just after the two men were seen arguing. The victim was taken to the hospital immediately following the incident but slipped into a coma. Clarke has been in an unresponsive state connected to a life support machine since and it is reported that he did not name his assailant before he lost consciousness.
Throughout this case, Hurlston has had multiple trial conflicts and personal disagreements with his many attorneys but during his last appearance he explained that he wants this matter "disposed of as soon as possible".
Summer rugby lights blue touch paper
(CRFU): The start of a new touch rugby summer season always brings great anticipation and this year has already broken records – more teams than ever before (29 in total), and more players too, around four hundred. Touch rugby is undoubtedly one of the biggest participation sports in the Cayman Islands. The KRyS GLOBAL Summer Mixed Touch Rugby League 2013 has three Divisions of differing standards and abilities but the emphasis from the Cayman Islands Rugby Club is all about participation, competition and enjoyment for all. Each Division sees a host of new teams and the Club is keen that all feel welcomed into rugby family. So light the blue “touch” paper, sit back and enjoy the first round highlights.
DIVISION 1 kicked off with a titanic battle between the two teams from last year’s Grand Final – Maples1 and SteppingStones. Just like the infamous cruise-liner the previously thought unsinkable Maples1 hit a solid, immoveable and ice-cold SteppingStones on this maiden voyage into their summer season. The result ended in Maples1 sinking to defeat and resting near the bottom of the league table, although happily all aboard survived to tell the tale in the bar.
Captain Marty Livingston loyally went down with his ship, Riley Mullen dancing around like a dervish in the hold and Mike McGrath orchestrating the band on deck all in the forlorn knowledge that they were going down. The usually efficient Maples1 attack looked largely impotent and the early season cobwebs will need to be brushed away quickly as the quality in this division gets higher year on year.
Conversely in the initial exchanges it looked, in spite of SteppingStones’ star-studded line up, that the R.M.S. Maples1 might win the argument with that iceberg. The crew maybe getting older and slower but Scott MacDonald showed a lively pair of heels to break through for the opening score. This try was only to be bettered by the Try of the Day when new recruit Biancca Johnson wonderfully side-stepped and blew past Maples1’s speedster Jyoti Choi to level the scores.
Tries were in short supply as each team was quick in attack but often quicker in defence. This highly competitive game kept referee Mat Bishop on his toes as at times it seemed that there were several other people on the pitch who thought they could ref it better than he. They were wrong of course. The ref’s word is final. The teams traded scores in a tight affair.
Despite her early wonder-try Johnson was having an off-day with dropped balls and missed passes. Her redemption came in the second half with a break that sucked in defensive markers before she beautifully floated a pass over opposition heads for Steve Henshaw to gratefully collect the pass and drop to the floor for the score.
Morgan Shelver gave SteppingStones the lead from a pass that looked deceptively forward before adding a second to make the game 5-3. His overall performance showed that he’s going to be a real force in the league this season.
It’s true that the league cannot be won in June but the ‘Stones have slapped their fiercest rivals in the face and given them a bloody nose. The challenge has been set. How will the other teams in the league now respond? Iceberg 1 Titanic 0.
Island Air may be a new name to the Summer Touch League but the faces on the playing roster are very familiar. In other guises they have made various finals and even won touch tournaments so must be taken as serious challengers for the Division 1 title. In their game against Genesis Five Nations, they looked cohesive and have a try threat across the team. Brandon Smith looked good for his hat-trick but it was Ellie Kerr who caught the eye with her nifty footwork and speed of travel over the turf.
Chris Brussow had a great debut for Genesis scoring two tries. Mind you, if you will wear yellow boots then you have to put on a bit of a show don’t you? The final score of 8-5 to Island Air will have them flying high after round 1.
Maples2 ran out for a fine victory over Harmonic with star performer Marc Randall scoring a fine trio of tries and setting up a couple of others, at least that what he told me. Smouldering Justin Colgan got 2 as did Dave Acutt. Harmonic’s new boy Alastair Lum and old boy Rob Aspinall also got a pair each but it was not enough as Maples2 ran out 7-6 winners.
DIVISION 2 will be highly competitive this year and there are a few teams that will have designs on the title. The stand-out performance in the league came from Broadhurst. Carrying on the good form of 2012 and with some notable new recruits Broadhurst played hard committed touch rugby. Containing a number of players from the senior men’s rugby competition, the Alex Alexander Trophy, these guys have fast hands, fast rugby brains, and wheels to burn. They are also highly motivated and very competitive.
Dave Acutt had a star performance and the stand-out moment was his burst down the touchline to score from halfway, topped off with a flamboyant full length dive, soaring through the air like a Breekoperand Martial Eagle (one of South Africa’s largest raptors) to score. This guy clearly has an eye for the spectacular. New boy Shaun Hardcastle has also some real rugby pedigree and opened his account with two tries, Roz Glanfield and Kate Macpherson also got on the scoresheet, along with Richard Lewis and the vocal Jason Scarff. His ability to co-ordinate the plays whilst operating at dummy half helped the team go forward and brought his teammates into the play.
In a new trophy this year, the “Del”Cup, last year’s Champions Deloitte scored a thumping 9-0 win over the newly promoted Delta. Spreading the tries around the team it was Kate Cilliers and Bryan MacLaughlin who both waded in with two tries a piece that made the telling scores.
Walkers, one of the longest serving teams in Cayman touch rugby, started their campaign with a stuttering 4-2 win over UBS. Early season mistakes are inevitable as players get back into the game after a few months break. Paul Smith scored a brace but it was the performance of Jacky Rowland, in her return from retirement that caught the eye. Usually, a returning player may hang on the fringes of play as they get re-familiarized with the sport. Not Jacky though. Clearly her policy was to get into the thick of it straight away and was often seen as dummy-half or first receiver doing the hard yards. Jason Windsor scored two for UBS.
Two new teams to the league faced off as Travel Pros Ticklers took on the Village Greenies and received a bit of a pasting too. The final score of 7-1 maybe flattered the Greenies a touch but this team, full of players from the cricket team of the same name, should know a thing or two about catching and throwing a ball around. The Ticklers weren’t laughing as Captain Wiki Hitchman led the way with a double and husband and wife duo Dicky and Karen Sawle-Thomas as well as Matthew Walker, Nick Quin and Andrew Dean also troubled the scorers with a quick single each.
Cara Hennessy scored a great solo try for Travel Pros as she outstripped the defence with a long sprint for the touch line. Given it was her first game in two years this was a special moment for her. Zolfo Cooper beat DART 6-3. Katherine Maw continued her fine form of last year with two great tries and Joel Edwards also got a brace.
DIVISION 3 saw a big win for GCM gives them an early season smile in what is a division all about smiles. Division 3 is designed as the social division to help introduce players to the sport of touch rugby and the emphasis is on enjoying the game no matter what the result. Wins for EFG Bank, KPMG2, and DMS show the importance of having initials in your team name if you want to be a success at this level.
DIVISION 3 Results:
Appleby 3 Trident 1
Queensgate Grizz’s Old Fellas 3 EFG Bank 7
Rawlinson & Hunter 3 Ogier 3
Ernst & Young 2 KPMG2 3
LIME TV 3 DMS 4
BDO 0 GCM 8
Elderly diver loses life on Brac’s Double Wall
(CNS) Updated: A US national who was visiting Cayman Brac died during a dive on Sunday afternoon, the authorities have confirmed. The RCIPS said that emergency services received a report that the 80-year-old man was seen in the water by a crew from a nearby boat yesterday (7 July). William Lemuel Lawson, from Florida, was found floating while diving with a group at the dive site Double Wall, which is situated northwest of Cayman Brac. At about 3:20pm, he was seen floating by a member of the crew, who alerted other divers. He was removed from the water and taken on a diving boat, where he was given CPR and other first aid.
He was then transported to Brac Reef Dock, where further CPR was given by medical personnel. The diver was then taken to the Faith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The matter is under investigation by the Cayman Brac police but no foul play is suspected.
Tropical storm races towards Lesser Antilles
(CNS): The third storm of the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane season was racing towards the Lesser Antilles on Sunday night at 26mph as governments in the eastern Caribbean issued weather warnings. At 11pm Tropical Storm Chantal had formed over the central tropical Atlantic and was headed west-north-westward with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Forecasters said the same rapid speed westward or west-north-westward was expected to continue during the next couple of days.
According to the predicted pathway, Chantal should pass north of Cayman Brac next Friday.
Chantal was due to approach the Lesser Antilles late Monday night or early Tuesday and move into the eastern Caribbean sea on Tuesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph but some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the centre.
National Gallery summer art camp finishes
(CNS) Local youngsters enjoyed a fun and creative week at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands. The gallery’s week long summer arts camp has included group art activities, painting, ceramics and the opportunity to make a 3d sculpture by recycling unwanted objects. The children got to work with a number of local artists and develop a wide range of skills over the week. On the final day of camp the children put on an exhibition of their work and invited guests to come and view their artistic creations.
Ginny Copley, Education Manager, explained that “The camp was free to children because of kind sponsorship by Scotiabank. Their sponsorship also helps us to provide drop in art sessions and screen movies for kids during the summer vacation.”
Simone Hull, Marketing Manager for Scotiabank and Trust Cayman said “Scotiabank is pleased to partner with the Gallery to host this exciting camp for 8-13 years old. We think this age is ideal to expose the students to unique ways of expressing themselves through art and to build their understanding of how art contributes and integrates into society. We are proud of the work that the National Gallery did this week with the students, some of whom have shown tremendous potential and trust that this will inspire them to continue to explore avenues to showcase their skills”
Deadline for CNCF art grants coming up
(CNS) The Grants Committee is now accepting applications for the September ’13 session. The deadline for submission is Monday, 15 July and applicants will be notified of the Committee’s decisions by Friday, 15 November. The CNCF Grants for the Arts were designed to encourage residents to develop their ideas, linked to their artistic needs and future plans. It aims to be flexible and to encourage new ideas.
Grants are for individuals who are resident in the Cayman Islands and have been resident for the preceding twelve months, and for arts groups operating in the Cayman Islands. Grants for individuals range from $250 to $1,000. Grants to art groups range from $500 to $3,000.
Grants are awarded for arts-related activities running for a limited time, such as the following: Projects and events, Commissions and productions, Research and development, Activities for people to take part in, Educational activities, Professional development and training, Organisational development to improve the long-term stability of arts organizations, Touring (Touring activity might involve performances or exhibitions, artistic residences, artistic work involving people from particular communities, or possibly all of these things), or any combination.
You can apply online on the CNCF website (www.artscayman.org) or, if you cannot apply online, you may pick up a copy of the Application Guidelines and the Application Form at:
The CNCF Office
17 Harquail Drive