Amid a plane crash in New York and a car crash in Cayman, the front page of the 26 June 1975 edition of The Caymanian Compass contained a story with some happy news – Honduran diver Carvell Bush, who had been paralysed with the bends, as noted in a 22 May article, was pictured walking onto a plane for his flight home. Cayman Diving Club members spent more than 400 man-hours volunteering to operate the hyperbaric chamber to treat Bush.
The Legislative Assembly was looking at a bill that would enable students who want to attend university overseas to borrow money from the government with an interest rate of 6%, repayable over a period of up to 10 years. An initial $50,000 loan to the government from the Caribbean Development Bank would enable the financing for the loan scheme.
A very small story at the bottom of the front page implored readers to ‘Gas Up!’ The price of gas had gone up from 68.1 cents per imperial gallon to 71 cents. When asked about the increase, a Shell distributor said, “Gas went up on the world market.”
The editorial covered two separate issues. In the section headed ‘A Commendable Step’, the newspaper applauded the government for introducing the Higher Education (Loan) Law, noting the bill received the full support of the House when it was introduced. It added that it was endorsing the “policy which the Government is pursuing on higher and technical education”, and concluded that it will be seen as a “means of preparing our own people for leadership in every phase of activity in our country”.
The other topic of the editorial was the government moving closer to launching Radio Cayman, with the station expected to go live during the latter part of 1975. While details of the programming were not yet available, the editorial noted, “we have been given the assurance that nothing repugnant to the people of these Islands will be broadcast”.
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