The top story on Tuesday, 11 May 1976, told of three Jamaican nationals, awaiting trial for charges of assault and false imprisonment of Angelo Palomino and her employer Gerald Brian Chamber, making a getaway from the island by boat. This story had been unfolding over the previous weeks.
The three men were Vincent McDowell, Kenneth Walker and Charles Wynter. A fourth man charged with them was Vinimore Blaine, who was still on bail in Grand Cayman.
The men had bought a boat for $3,000, which was later confiscated by police. It appeared that they then travelled in a different vessel off of Spotts to get away.
“It is understood that the entire incident, together with its legal and possible political implications, has been the subject of weighty discussions by top officials in the country,” the Compass reported.
There was also an article wishing a happy birthday to Frances Bodden, who was turning 73 the following day.
On Friday, 14 May 1976, the main stories both focused on bees – in a way.
‘Bees in her bonnet’ was a story of an incident where a swarm of thousands of bees following the queen alighted on a car parked in front of Kirkconnell’s Home Centre. Apparently, they were Italian honeybees waiting for their scouts before moving to establish a hive, according to Otto Watler of Savannah, a beekeeper who came to try to attract the bees into an artificial beehive. He eventually smoked them off of the car, having been unsuccessful with capturing them. A photo accompanied the article showing Watler attracting the bees.
The other article was ‘My Honey creates a stir’, which stated that two men from the vessel ‘My Honey’ were interviewed at police headquarters after accompanying a squad of CID officers who had boarded the ship.
The arrival of the boat had led to rumours and speculation about whether it was the vessel in which the three Jamaicans had made their escape. The Compass reported, “Whether the two incidents have any connection is yet to be proved.” No arrests or court appearances had been made at the time of going to press.
The editorial in Friday’s edition was on auditing public accounts and Commonwealth Day.
“A very important aspect of government administration is the need for a vigilant and constant check on the accounts of the various departments. The government has a very safe internal audit system which … has been responsible for spotting … irregularities,” the editorial noted. The system was administered by the Auditor General’s Department in Jamaica at the time.
The editorial continued, “Proof that both systems is working satisfactorily is shown by the fact that irregularities – some of them criminal – have been detected just within months, whereas in some other Caribbean territories, such misdemeanours took years, often with the inevitable result that the sums increase in quantum almost with the same rapidity as the time lapse before detection.”
It added, “The public need not fear any squandering of public funds … because the system provides a proper safeguard.”
Referring to Commonwealth Day, the editorial noted, “This is a time when peoples of various nations remember the goals and aspirations they share in common. Cayman remains a peaceful place and a haven for nationals from more sophisticated and industrialised countries.”
On page 6, a programme for ‘Family Fair Day’ shared the plans for the day, which included a banana-eating competition, wheelbarrow race, tug-o-war and a half hour of ballet.
The Cayman Compass searchable archives, going back to 1965, are now available here.
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