Recent Articles
HMP Northward shapes up on rehabilitation
(CNS): After many years of acting like a warehouse for criminals waiting to get out to commit more crime than a place of real change, HMP Northward appears to be making some advances in rehabilitation of prisoners. Officials said that this year 15 different educational and rehabilitation programmes were offered to over one hundred inmates. Speaking at a special event marking their achievements, recently, the prison director Neil Lavis said he was proud to be a part of a prison “changing its approach to rehabilitation,” as he urged the private sector to continue partnering with the facility.
The deputy chief officer in the ministry of home affairs, Kathryn Dinspel-Powell said her office was dedicated to continuing the programmes underway at the prison and to expanding on the “good work” that has been carried out so far.
Over 110 inmates at Northward received commendations during the fourth Annual Prisoner Recognition Day, on Friday, 28 November. The prisoners recognised had taken part in vocational training, work activities, chaplaincy, and individual and group intervention programmes. Ten of the prisoners received special awards for outstanding achievement, having successfully completed four or more of these programmes. Gifts certificates were donated by Book Nook and Foster’s Food Fair.
Officials said IT, maths, English, parenting education and drug abuse prevention, employability skills and anger management are just some of the programmes now on offer along with several crafts and vocational pursuits. Community service has also become an integral part of the rehabilitation and work-preparation process. Inmates who qualified, based on risk level, behaviour and skills were allowed to undertake work within the prison compounds, or to go outside the prison for community work – with some undertaking paid employment.
Joanne Vaughan, Policy Officer with the Governor’s Office, congratulated those involved as noted that everyone needs to be involved in meaningful activities in order to have self-worth and pride, but it also facilitated future employment.
Deputy Director, Rehabilitation, Aduke Joseph-Caesar said prisoners may be anxious over the process of changing but noted the importance of learning new skills to address their thoughts, beliefs and the attitudes which had led to their offending behaviour. She pointed out that recognising the need to change and that they had created victims along the way by what they had done they might not like the picture in the mirror. But urging inmates to look inward, to recognise their duty to society, and to accept responsibility, she said they should appreciate the opportunity to change.
Supporting agencies, non-profit organisations and volunteers also received acknowledgement at the event including The National Drug Council, Department of Community Rehabilitation, Government Information Services, Family Resource Centre , National Workforce Development Agency, Department of Children & Family Services, National Gallery, Rehoboth Ministries, Cayman 1,000 Man March, Feed Our Future, Cayman Islands Red Cross, Cayman Islands Reading Aides, Rotary Sunrise, Savannah United Church Girls Brigade and the Parole Commissioners Board.
Struggling students supported by charity and school
(CNS): With the help of a local literacy charity, its volunteers and the school’s teaching assistants, John Gray has introduced a specialist literacy programme to help struggling readers in Year 7. The programme has been underway since September and students have already shown improvement and responded well to the intervention, officials said. As part of the partnership to improve literacy standards among all kids the education service and LIFE – Literacy is for Everyone, an independent charity, have selected Levelled Literacy Intervention a supplementary small group intervention program that encapsulates expert teaching; quality levelled books; and good instructional design.
Despite the massive improvements in recent years of student’s year end exam results literacy standards in students are still a hot topic and the education system has come in for criticism from the private sector that it is not producing students that it can employ.
There are also a significant number of local students who have special needs but after some success in the primary school with the programme, LIFE has helped the education ministry to introduce the programme into John Gray for new students there.
“LIFE received a lot of positive feedback about LLI from primary school teachers last year,” said Woody Foster, Chairman of LIFE, as he added the group was pleased to bring it to JGHS.
The programme runs during the regular school day with the help of JGHS’s teaching assistants and is being spearheaded by the school’s Special EducationNeeds Coordinator Elliot Smith, and supported by the school’s principal, Lyneth Monteith. “We are delighted to partner with LIFE and grateful for the hard work of the two teaching assistants running the programme. The literacy initiative bodes well for literacy at JGHS,” said Monteith.
LIFE volunteers are using a Diagnostic Online Reading Assessment (DORA) to anonymously measure progress in student achievement.
The charity has also contributed to literacy by organising groups of volunteers to support children in primary schools, purchasing literacy resources for government school use, partially funding the purchase of Levelled Literacy Intervention kits for government school use, and funding pilot projects as well as the Partners in Print programme across the system.
Tara Rivers the education minister said the commitment and collaboration with the e ministry has produced a partnership that benefits young Caymanian students and helps ensure the best education possible is provided in government schools.
Local riders start show jumping season
(CIEF): The Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation launched its National Jumping Series for 2015 last week. Isabelle Smith on Edson Arantes MB was the only competitor to take on the 1.1m and 1.2m jumps going clear for first place in the 1.1m class and finishing on twelve faults in the 1.2m class. Pheobe Serpell executed a clear round on Sunday’s Edition to take first place in the 1m open class with Amara Thompson on Rumour Has It in second place with 12 faults. In the open class for adults and juniors at 0.85m several riders fought it out with Jenna Boucher on Katrina taking first place with zero faults.
Also clear was Serpell on Sunday’s Edition in second place. Meanwhile Thompson took third, with four faults, on her own horse, Rumour Has It, and Fowler followed suit with four faults to come fourth on Shirley. Rounding it out was Michelle Boucher on Filipio H with eight faults.
The fences had started at 0.6m and over the course of the day doubled to 1.2m, a new class added for 2015. The CIEF said the lower classes “were encouragingly competitive” with new riders Abbey Swartz and Laney Bodden joining the series for the first time.
In the 0.6m junior class, Chloe Fowler, rode Eva Muspratt’s pony, Oscar, to a clear round and took first place with Basil Humphries on Storm in second, with a cleanly executed clear round. Abbey Swartz was clear on Zeus for her first round of the series taking third place. Ashley van den Bol on Pony Up and Lea Rado on Never Ending Story both collected four faults with a knock down placing them fourth and fifth, with Laney Bodden and Star in sixth with 5 faults.
At the lower levels, the adults and juniors compete separately and in the 0.6m adult class Amara Thompson was the sole competitor and introduced newcomer Cayman horse, Teddy, to the Series, with a clear round to take first place. The 0.7m junior class, there was as much competition for riders as in the 0.6m class. Jenna Boucher was last to go with a clear round taking first place with the fastest time of the day. Three other riders went clear. In second was Rado on Never Ending Story, third was Fowler, this time on her own horse Shirley, and fourth was Humphries on Storm. Bodden on Star and van den Bol on Amarilla took fourth and fifth, respectively, with four faults each.
In the adult 0.7m class, all four riders went clear, leaving it down to the clock to separate the placings. In first place was Juliette Forrester on Apollo, second was Amara Thompson on Teddy, third was Tanja Braendle on Harry and fourth was Michelle Boucher with newcomer to the Series, Filipio H.
CIEF also hosted cross rails classes for beginners to get their first taste of competition.
The second round of the National Jumping Series is on 1 February and will follow a week of intense jump coaching for members of CIEF, when UK show jumping coach, Corinne Bracken, visits Cayman to help riders develop their jumping skills.
Planning denies infractions over Kimpton permits
(CNS): The director of planning has written to the independent member for North Side, Ezzard Miller, denying allegations that it had not issued the necessary permits to Dart Realty and its associated businesses in connection with the development of a new hotel. Despite revelations made public through an FOI request released by the department last week indicating that a red permit had not been issued until well after the construction of the hotel, Haroon Pandohie said the permits were all in order as the developer had received a foundation only permit in October last year, a structural shell permit in April, and it was the full building permit which was issued to the hotel just last month.
This is at odds with the release by the information manager, which pointed to a different process (See Dart’s waivers exceed $11m on CNS). As a result, that FOI request now appears to fall outside the spirit of the FOI law, if not the letter. That law requires public servants to be open and honest about requests and not attempt to manipulate the information requested in an effort to limit what information is given out.
The original FOI response given to Miller also related to duties and waivers but not all of those were included in the FOI either. Days after Miller received the response, Finance Minister Marco Archer revealed these figures in the Legislative Assembly when he answered a parliamentary question submitted by the East End member Arden McLean. However, they were considerably less than those given via the FOI request.
In his letter to Miller, who had raised concerns about rules and regulations being bent to assist specific and often powerful or wealthy individual developers, Pandohie maintained that the rules had been followed.
Listing when the Kimpton permits had been issued for both the hotel and the proposed condo development, he said the “applicant had obtained all the necessary permits”.
See letter below.
Ebanks: ‘I didn’t kill Bise’
(CNS): Leonard Antonio Ebanks repeatedly denied killing a Swiss Banker in 2008 with Chad Anglin, when he took the stand in court this week. The West Bay man said there was not a “scintilla of truth” to the allegations against him that he had killed Frederic Bise with Chad Anglin, which come exclusively from two women. One he said is a scorned ex-girlfriend whom he admitted treating badly and who, he said, was having sex with most of the local police force. The other he accused of practicing Obeah and saying whatever the police told her to say because she was desperate for money. Owning up to a long criminal history because of drug addiction he denied being a murderer.
However, the court heard the details of Ebanks’ conviction for the killing of Tyrone Burrell, in 2010, which he also denied. He said the evidence against him in that case again came from the paid witness and the judge had believed her as oppose to all the evidence that indicated he had not killed Burrell.
Ebanks (44) who was belligerent and argumentative undercrosss examination at times was still clear and emphatic on the stand as he gave an account of his life at the time of the Bise killing in 2008 when he was living on Birch Tree Hill Road in West Bay. He said he couldn’t remember exactly what he was doing on the night Bise was killed, or any specific day, as at that time his life was all about hustling for money to get a fix of crack and he said he was using both cocaine and ganja heavily at the time.
But over and over Ebanks told the court that, “I have no knowledge of when he was killed, why he was killed, or who killed him,” as he denied the murder.
He recalled meeting Bise, on one occasion at Maccabucca in West Bay some time towards the end of 2007, when he was in the company of man who Ebanks knew and who was known to be gay.
But Ebanks said he had never been to Bise’s house and knew nothing aboutthe killing until after the fact when the word spread around West Bay. He said he didn’t know anything about what Chad Anglin was up to and he said he could not vouch for him but he was not withAnglin on the night Bise was killed and he did not drop blocks on the man or help Anglin with the body or anything else.
Ebanks said he was not particularly close with his cousin and they did not hang in the same circles. He pointed out that despite the claims by the witnesses that he and Anglin had communicated that night there was no telephone evidence to link them. He noted that while Anglin was seen leaving Kelly’s Bar with Bise and his DNA was found at the house and in the dead man’s car, there was nothing that suggested he had been anywhere near, Bise or Anglin. Ebanks said he was not involved at all.
He denied driving around West Bay with the body of Bise in the murdered man’s car, as one witnesses had alleged, claiming not only was he not driving that night he did not drive at all and got around on a bicycle. That point was supported by another witness who had known him all his life who told the court that he never seen Ebanks drive a car.
Ebanks pointed to inconsistencies and differing statements given by the two women against him. He told the jury that his former girlfriend had very close relationships with the West Bay police and at some point had said she was a special constable. Ebanks said he later learned that she had gone to the police alleging he had confessed to her that he was involved in the Bise murder on the day after he walked out on her and gone back to his wife.
Ebanks said that he had been taken aback by the confession from the helper who worked at the local drug yard in West Bay which he frequented as he said they were friendly. But he believed she was desperate. As a result he said she was persuaded to lie about him as a result of the cash inducement of the witness protection programme. He said at the time she made up the allegations she had complained repeatedly of many problems and not getting paid at her job.
Despite rigorous cross examination by the crown’s leading QC, Simon Russell Flint, Ebanks did not waiver about not killing Bise and although he told the jury that he was “fighting not to tell this man some bad things” he said he was not the killer and did not know who was.
When the QC asked if Ebanks if he was “a batty boy” a term brandished around during the trial in reference to Bise being gay and that Ebanks himself had a local reputation as a homosexual he denied that he was gay or that he had ever had sex with men for money to get drugs. He said Flint was “talking rubbish of the highest order,” as he struggled to rein in his temper.
He emphasized the common mistrust of the police in the district and alleged conspiracies and corruption as he repeatedly denied not just the Bise killing but the Tyrone murder as well. He implied that the police had assisted the women to coordinate their stories.
Ebanks said he was no saint and throughout his life his cocaine addiction had driven him to do many things including burglary, assault and even robbery but he said he never killed anyone.
Immigration boss suspended
(CNS): The Home Affairs Ministry has confirmed that Linda Evans, the chief immigration officer, has been placed on required leave. A number of questions sent to government officials by CNS on Tuesday remain unanswered but government issued a short statement confirming that the immigration boss had been placed on required leave. “The ministry has received information related to a number of allegations of misconduct by the CIO, which require a full investigation,” the statement read. “As a result it determined that invoking the provision for required leave was appropriate in the circumstances, to allow the allegations to be investigated quickly and thoroughly.”
CNS understands that Evans’ suspension is not directly connected to the investigation into Kimberly Davis, the director of immigration boards who is also on required leave in connection with irregularities and potential immigration and labour infractions relating to her private businesses.
In recent weeks CNS has been given copies of complaints and correspondencesent to government officials, including the former premier, regarding the CIO. the complaints make myriad allegations about her approach to the job and the management of the department. There were also unsubstantiated allegations regarding more specific and serious infractions regarding status grants and other issues relating to the department.
Man killed hanging lights
(CNS): A 56-year-old man was killed on Tuesday after he fell from a ladder at a house in Prospect while he was hanging Christmas lights. A spokesperson from the RCIPS confirmed that police are looking into the circumstances relating to the incident, which happened at Omega Bay, Prospect at around 2pm Tuesday afternoon. The police said they had received the critical incident report that the man fell while hanging the decorative lights but the matter is still under investigation. Police also confirmed that the man was pronounced dead by a doctor at the scene where he fell.
Hundreds live with no power
(CNS) Updated with editor's note: A freedom of information request to the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) has revealed that more than 640 CUC customers have been cut off by the power supplier, mostly as a result of non-payment of bills. Many of those cut off are families who have been living without electricity for 90 days or more. The request, which was submitted by a CNS reader, asked for the details of residential customers who had been cut off because their bills were not paid. The statistics show hundreds of people, which will include children, across GrandCayman have been without a power supply for more than three months, confirming fears that the number of people living in real poverty is increasingly significant.
The ERA said it was not able to break down all the statistics because CUC tracks connections and disconnections but not all of the details as a result some non-voluntary disconnections may also be due to safety reasons and not always because customers failed to pay their bills. The ERA also explained that CUC did not indicate whether these more long term cut offs were commercial or domestic.
Although some businesses may indeed be involuntarily disconnected, the situation would not be for extended periods, as any commercial enterprise without power would not last for very long. It is fair to assume that the disconnections are predominantly residential. According to numerous other sources and significant anecdotal reports to CNS it is clear that the number of people not able to afford to pay power bills is reaching unprecedented numbers.
CUC statistics show that as at November 24, there were 1,418 consumers both commercial and residential disconnected and had been for a period greater than 90 days. Of those 777 were voluntary disconnections and 641 non-voluntary disconnections ie customer cut off by CUC for non-payment, safety or other reasons.
The largest number of non voluntary disconnections are in the capital, where 306 premises have been cut off for more than three months, as at 24 November. Another 119 customers in Bodden Town were disconnected by CUC and some 117 in West Bay. Meanwhile, another 29 people were cut off in North Side and a further 23 in East End. A spokesperson for the ERA explained that the missing 47 are accounts that have been written off as CUC believes they are abandoned premises.
In addition, the ERA was able to state that 273 residential consumers had been disconnected for a period of less than 90 days, but these figures are constantly changing and any number could have been reconnected to the supply while additional households could have been cut off.
However, on 24 November there were 51 households in Bodden Town, six in East End, 50 in George Town, Seven in North Side and 59 in West Bay without power that had been disconnected within the last 90 days.
CUC recently confirmed to CNS that the firm is now cutting off power suppy without warning to customers who fail to pay their bills within 30 days.
CNS Note: The ERA has asked CNS to clarify that these figures are not necessarily representative of the numbers of people living without power. The ERA states that the article fails to convey the fact that most of the disconnections may actually be caused by the transient nature of Grand Cayman i.e. people who choose not to pay their bill when they leave the island or simply due to vacant apartments/homes/commercial properties.
However given the information from other sources including the department of children and family services, the police, MLAs based on representations from constituents, as well as anecdotal evidence, the figure probably does represent genuine disconnections of households that cannot afford to pay their bills. Transient non-bill payments would represent only one or two months bills and those properties would be reconnected when a new tenant moves through and less likely to be represented in the three months plus category.
As a result CNS stands by the article based on the ERA figures.
Cops charge suspect mugger with robbery
(CNS): A 34-year-old man from George Town who was arrested at the weekend has now been charged with robbery. The man is accused of a street mugging that took place in the early hours of Saturday 22 November on the waterfront in George Town. A couple walking along the harbour front were threatened by a man with a knife and ordered back to their parked car, where they were robbed of personal belongings that were in the vehicle. A spokesperson for the RCIPS said the charged man will appear in court on Thursday.
Divers still battling to restore crushed GT reef
(CNS): Lois Hatcher, who has been diving for more than 30 years, is leading the group of volunteer divers who are still working hard to restore the large section of reef damaged by a cruise ship anchor in September, as reported by CNS. Over the last few months the divers have been sifting through the rubble and dead coral and salvaging pieces that are still alive in an effort to reattach the living coral in the area destroyed by the anchor in the George Town harbour. Using proven techniques that she has learned from some of the world’s leading experts in coral restoration, Hatcher and the team involved in the Magic Reef Restoration have already “out planted”, or reattached, about 15 pieces of live coral.
“If the pieces still have a little keyhole of light, the coral is still alive,” said Hatcher, who dives five days a week as the Photo Pro for Ocean Frontiers but spends her days off at the recovery site. “We are trying to focus on the slow-growing corals and attaching them to open areas in the surrounding reef to give them a chance to keep growing. We are seeing signs of life and this gives us hope. They are looking really, really good,” she told Adela Gonzales in an interview for the local dive press.
Ken Nedimyer, one of the experts that Hatcher learned from, said the restoration work was moving in the right direction. “Some people look at it as too little too late, but the little bit of progress being made is better than inaction. Like me, Lois has spent a lot of time underwater and has come to appreciate all the little creatures there, both big and small. She has seen first-hand the dramatic decline of coral reefs in the Caribbean, so she has sought out ways to help,” he said.
The project coordinator, Keith Sahm of Sunset House, said that Hatcher knows her stuff when it comes to coral restoration. But they both say the biggest challenge to the potential year-long project is keeping up enthusiasm among the volunteer divers, whose numbers are dwindling as business picks up in advance of season and there is clearly a need to empower recreational divers to help restore the reefs.
Sean Kingscote, a regular volunteer diver, said that until the reef is repaired he will be out as often as he can to help. And volunteers are already reaping the rewards of their work by witnessing life return to the damaged reef.
As well as the almost 12,000 sqft of crushed reef, which was hit by a cruise ship anchor after it was directed to the wrong location and dropped anchor directly on the corals, there are wider problems for Cayman’s marine environment.
“The Elkhorn and Staghorn coral that used to be plentiful here are now hard to find," Hatcher said. "We need to stop the loss of coral – if we save half of it, it’s still better than none and complete loss.”
As a result, Ocean Frontiers co-founder Steve Broadbelt plans to establish a coral nursery at the resort in East End.
“East End has the healthiest reefs on the island and we want to keep it this way by being prepared for environmental challenges that may come up,” he said. “The nursery will be an on-going coral farm to help seed our reefs as needed to keep them healthy and thriving.”