The top article in the 12 Feb. 1976 issue of the Caymanian Compass was on a by-election which Captain Charles Kirkconnell won by 10 votes. It was one of the closet elections in the history of the Cayman Islands at the time.
Captain Kirkconnell pledged to give his salary to the needy and aged, the old people’s home and other charitable institutions. He also said, “I will do everything in my power to reopen the airport in Little Cayman. The poor residents of Little Cayman, without an airstrip, can’t afford to come to the Brac by boat to buy supplies.” He also declared: “It’s time now for the Legislative Assembly to get it out of the way once and for all.”
In the election, 509 voters cast their ballots out of a potential of 758. A total of 38 were by postal ballet.
The front page photo shows the moment of victory for Captain Kirkconnell who flashed the V sign.
Further to last week’s story on CUC, there was an article on power company’s staff settling for an across-the-board wage increase of 15%. The agreement was reached within 24 hours after engine room personnel threatened a complete power shutdown, starting 4 Feb., at 4pm and lasting until their demand for a 30% increase was met.
Bert Jackson, chief engineer at CUC, said, “We thought it was better to settle for the 15% than to up the rates.”
As a follow-up to last week’s article on Cable & Wireless rates, the anticipated increases were announced.
To rent a business line, the rate went up from $8 per month to $11. Residential line rentals increased from $3.30 to $4.50 per month. Installation for new services rose from $22 to $40. The unit call rate also increased from 7.5 cents to 8 cents.
Another article discussed taxi rates, saying that the 1975 taxi rates would not increase.
Ira Walton, who was the president of the Taxi Association, stressed that despite the increase in taxation and a rise in the price of gasoline, the taxi owners had agreed to keep the rates down.
The editorial that appeared on page three said that the increase of Cable & Wireless rates required justification. “Regrettably, the standard of telephone service here and the long waiting period for installation of equipment are totally unacceptable.”
It also addressed agricultural zoning, saying that “objectors to the proposed development plan contended that too much land is in the category of agriculture and forest reserve”.
The editorial also said that opponents of this idea believed economic considerations should be first entertained before zoning too much land for agricultural purposes, and that “agriculture is not now the Caymanians way of life”.
The last topic the editorial addressed was taxi operators. “Taxi operators are to be commended for their efforts in trying to prevent a further rise in the cost of living by their recent decision to keep their rates down.
“There have been times when we have censured our taximen and women. Now they deserve a bouquet.”
Page C1 in the paper had an advert introducing the new ‘Celica Liftback’ at Cayman Economy Cars on Walkers Road.
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