High of 87 Low of 75 Moderate with wave heights of 3 to 5 feet. Puss in Boots in a Christmas caper Who stole the star from the tree? B12 Viva VIVO! Vegetarian cafe specializes in flavor B14 Biography Dining Technology Star Wars soon come Feel The Force at the Rotary premiere B5 ■ art We’re Stoak’d! Talented artistic trio emerges B11 Bob Soto’s Extraordinary Adventures Biography book signing at Book Nook with Suzy Soto B8 Friday december 11, 2015 • Cayman Compass STORE HOURS: MON SAT 10AM TO 8PM The Main Store, Shedden Rd • The Wine Cellar, Galleria Plaza OPEN UNTIL 10 PM Countryside Shopping Village, Savannah • Morritts Shopping Centre, East End BUY 2 GET 1 FREE! Select any 3 bottles from the brands above and get the least expensive FREE! BUY 2 GET 1 • Morritts Shopping Centre, East End Select any 3 bottles from the brands above and get the least expensive FREE! Select any 3 bottles from the brands above and get the least expensive FREE! Select any 3 bottles from the brands above and get the least expensive FREE! Select any 3 bottles from the brands above and get the least expensive FREE! Select any 3 bottles from the brands above and get the least expensive FREE! cayman weekender We’re Stoak’d! Editorial | pagE 4 ThoughTs on The sensiTive subjecT of cemeTeries eSTaBLISHed 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 75 CENTS – friday december 11, 2015 Cayman cemeteries face grave problem brenT fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two Cayman Islands dis- tricts face looming problems with cemetery space, with the problem in West Bay district being the most severe and East End looking to close one of its cemeteries next year. The issue was brought to light in a report completed ear- lier this year by the Department of Environmental Health and ob- tained by the Cayman Compass via a freedom of information request. The review looked at available cemetery space at lo- cations in all Grand Cayman dis- tricts at the time the survey was conducted. It did not consider a new cemetery site in Bodden Town district. According to the report, the main West Bay district cemetery has effectively been out of space, reaching what is referred to as its “closure year” back in 2012. Meanwhile, the North West Cayman to host One Young World leaders in 2016 Kelsey juKam kjukam@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands will host hundreds of young world leaders next year at a spe- cial international summit on the topic of sustainable finance. Dart Cayman Islands announced Thursday that it will host the One Young World Sustainable Finance Summit at the Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa from Nov. 16 to 18, 2016. One Young World, founded in 2009, is a global forum for young leaders ages 18 to 30 which allows them to share ideas and develop solutions to urgent global is- sues related to anything from peace and security, human rights, business and the environment. The summit, often referred to as a “young Davos,” is supported by nu- merous world leaders who often appear as speakers. Sir Richard Branson, Kofi Annan, Bob Geldof and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus are just some of the fa- mous names who frequently appear on One Young World’s stages. The sustainable finance summit, the first-ever One Young World summit to focus exclusively on this topic, will bring 500 young world leaders and many notable speakers to the Cayman Islands to discuss CarePay trial ContraCt was ‘highway robbery,’ witness says Defense alleges political maneuvering in probe brenT fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Fees that were expected to generate more than US$2 million a year for a Jamaican com- pany providing services to the Cayman Islands public hospital system under the CarePay contract were called “highway robbery” by a Crown witness who testified Thursday in an ongoing criminal trial. Former Health Services Authority chief in- formation officer Dale Sanders also told the jury in the trial of Canover Watson and Miriam Rodriguez that he “suspected” there was a cor- rupt relationship between the Jamaican con- tractor, AIS [Advanced Integrated Systems] and Watson, a suspicion that Mr. Sanders said eventually forced his exit from the authority. “I felt very strongly and actually quite sadly [in June 2011] that there was some form of corruption that existed between AIS and Mr. Watson and that it was time for me to leave,” Mr. Sanders said Thursday. Those allegations of “corruption” were made by Mr. Sanders in July or August 2011 to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman MLA Moses Kirkconnell and his sister Nancy Kirkconnell-Ewing on a trip to Cayman Brac. It was stated that Mr. Kirkconnell and now- government Minister Osbourne Bodden met One Young World Summit attendees at this year’s conference in Bangkok, Thailand. The Cayman Islands will host the first-ever One Young World Sustainable Finance Summit in 2016. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » West Bay Cemetery has already reached its capacity. - photo: taneos ramsay PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 12 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 »2 LOCAL NEWS Friday december 11, 2015 • Cayman Compass with DJ Flex Free lessons with Kirk starting 9.30pm Every Tuesday Salsa Tuesdays with DJ Flex starting Salsa with DJ Flex Salsa with DJ Flex with DJ Flex “BOOGIE NIGHTS” Friday, December 18th ‘Special Night’ Old School Dance Party 70’s disco & 80’s classics Music By DJ FLEX Starting at 9:30pm Open every day throughout e Holidays TONIGHT! Friday Happy Hour 5pm-7pm DRINK SPECIALS!!! Don’t forget NEXT WEEK NEXT WEEK Friday Dec. 18th Enjoy your Company Christmas Party with us and come Boogie to the sweet sounds of 70’s Disco and 80’s Classics Call 949-2231 or email: thewharf@candw.ky Open daily 10am -10pm West Shore Center, SMB WHY COOK? Est. in 1992 345-945-4411 info@cirealty.ky caymanislandsrealty.com 1 x 1bed; 2 x 2 bed 1 x 3 bed; 2997s/f NEW! US$525,000 Member CIREBA MLS#405169 SPOTTS NEWLANDS 4-PLEX www.capitalrealty.com.ky Alvin Sluchinski 525.8850 alvin@capitalrealtycayman.com Britannia 2 bedroom Penthouse! All Britannia resort amenities included. US$535,000 CIREBA MLS 405076 Husband recovers ring lost at sea Jewel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com A ring in the ocean caused quite a commotion when it slipped off the finger of the husband of a New York couple on their first trip to Cayman. “I was heartbroken … it was a sense of dread,” said Steven Koller, who had given up all hopes of ever seeing the ring that he lost during a snor- keling trip to Cayman Barrier Reef on Tuesday afternoon. Married for 24 years, Mr. Koller, 56, and his wife Gail, 57, arrived on island last Sunday. “It was like a second hon- eymoon for us because it was the first real vacation we have taken since our first child Benjamin was born,” Mr. Koller said. The Kollers have three chil- dren, Benjamin, 22, and twins Joshua and Daniella, 19. The couple came to Cayman to attend a friend’s daughter’s wedding, and they planned an itinerary of fun ac- tivities, including snorkeling, to enjoy as much of the island as they could while here. The day began with the couple driving to Governors Harbour, Raleigh Quay. They were greeted by Captain Marvin’s water sports boat captain Jerry Ebanks and two other crew members. After a short lecture on what they would be doing and where they would be going, the Kollers, along with 25 other passengers, set out to sea on the boat Jimmy. Their first stop was at Stingray City sandbar, where the Kollers held and kissed the rays. A stingray kiss is said to bring seven years’ good luck. However it did not seem as if the promised luck was holding, as they moved on to their next stop, the Barrier Reef, where Mr. Koller lost his ring. “I must have been in the water snorkeling for about 10 minutes or so, and when I headed back to the boat, I dis- covered my wedding ring had slipped off my finger at some point,” Mr. Koller said. He was heartbroken. “When I told my wife on the boat, she comforted me and told me, she knew I was upset, but [the ring] is just a thing,” Mr. Koller said. “She said it was replaceable, and I would be OK, but I did not feel so.” Some moments later, Captain Ebanks learned that Mr. Koller had lost his ring. Mr. Ebanks immediately put on his snorkeling gear and fins and jumped into the water to look for it. The boat crew and some other passengers jumped in behind him. For the next five to 10 min- utes, Mr. Koller waited with his wife in anticipation. The rest of the passengers waiting with them on the boat could only watch and pray it would be found, he said. “I was not holding out much hope. I thought it was like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Mr. Koller said. “All of a sudden, I saw Jerry, like a bird diving down after a fish, head to the bottom of the ocean. I knew he had seen something but I could not be- lieve he actually saw it.” Mr. Koller held his breath, hoping the captain had found the ring. About 15 seconds later, he saw Mr. Ebanks sur- face with his hand in the air. He was holding the ring. “Everyone on the boat was amazed and started cheering. When he came back to the boat, I gave him a big hug and a kiss,” Mr. Koller said. Mr. Ebanks said that after looking around for a few min- utes, he spotted something shiny at the bottom of the ocean. “I knew exactly what it was and dove back down for it,” he said. Mr. Koller was so relieved at finding the ring that he did not put it back on his finger for fear it would come off again. Instead, he gave it to his wife for safekeeping. Mrs. Koller said her hus- band had looked so incredibly upset when he came out of the water, all he could do was hold up his hand for her to see the ring was missing. “All I could say was, ‘it’s just a thing, and it is replaceable,’” she said. When they found the ring, Mrs. Koller said she was shocked and thrilled. “I just could not believe they had found it. Everyone on the boat was so excited and happy.” The ring was a one-of-a- kind piece. During a craft fair in Tarrytown, New York, the Kollers met a man who made jewelry, and they loved the work he had on display. So they commissioned the jew- eler to make specially de- signed wedding bands for their big day. “It’s a relatively plain gold ring, but on the outside we have wavy lines engraved on it which reminds us of water. Maybe it was fate for this to happen,” Mr. Koller said. “It was almost a miracle that I got the ring back, and I can only say it must be the power of the love that helped bring it back to us,” he added. Steven Koller, second from right, with Jerry Ebanks, who found the ring. Crew members Eric Andrade, left, and Polo Nunez, right, celebrate with them. The Kollers’ wedding bands were specially designed for them by a jeweler in New York. The wavy lines on the rings represent water. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY Gail and Steve Koller were still smiling the next day over the recovery of Mr. Koller’s wedding ring. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 Cayman Compass • Friday december 11, 2015 discoverflow.ky/xmas let the warmth flow Plus you could win $1000 each week or a Supermarket Sweep as well as $5000 cash. Flow terms & conditions apply Huawei Y360 + 500mb data Free when you TopUp $20 or more $ 49 spoil someone with aThe islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. Friday deCember 11, 2015 • Cayman COmpass Thoughts on the sensitive subject of cemeteries Intertwined with culture, religion and public health, the practice of burial is a defining characteristic of the human species. Neanderthals, in fact, may have been conducting intentional burials before the emergence of modern homo sapiens around 100,000 years ago. Throughout history, and even before, humans have obsessed over the treatment and disposal of the remains of people who have died. The earliest known burial sites have been found in caves, where bodies were accompanied by animal bones and red ochre, a ritualistically important earth pigment. As time went on, humans gathered in greater numbers and civilization developed, ceremonial burials became more complex and, for the most powerful members of society, oftentimes quite impressive. Ancient megalithic stone structures, shrouded in mystery, can be found across the world. The pyramids of Egypt remain a source of wonder. Less monolithic are the ordinary tombstones that mark the graves of the more recently deceased, including in cemeteries in the Cayman Islands. While relatively modest, compared to, for example, the legendary catacombs of Rome or Paris, the cem- eteries in Cayman have long fulfilled important social, religious, personal and practical functions. In addition to providing final resting places for departed Cayma- nians, the cemeteries — traditionally located on sandy ground, in part because it’s easier to dig there — have also served to “earmark” stretches of beach that have become popular spots for public recreation. Scarcity of land, however, combined with actuarial arithmetic, threatens to render obsolete our local custom of beachside burial. The issue is this: Strips of sandy beach are becoming increasingly rare (and valuable), and the existing cemeteries are inevitably becoming more crowded with the more frequent passing of each person in Cayman’s growing population. A story in today’s Cayman Compass highlights crowding problems at a pair of cemeteries in West Bay and East End. According to a governmental report, the main West Bay district cemetery “has effectively been out of space” since 2012. On the other side of Grand Cayman, the Gun Bay cemetery is projected to have “no vacancies” left by next year. While those cemeteries have effectively reached full capacity, room still remains at other cemeteries in those districts and across the island. For now, there’s no need to worry unnecessarily about arrangements for elderly relatives. However, from a public planning perspective, the problem of overcrowded cemeteries isn’t one that is going to diminish over the longer term. Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush has been pushing the govern- ment to set aside more land in West Bay for cemetery vaults, saying that an earlier agreement with the Dart Group would allow for the creation of a new cemetery in his district. Creating new cemeteries, ad hoc, however, isn’t the most effective or efficient solution to Cayman’s “grave problem.” The current system of establishing taxpayer- funded facilities on prime land is simply not advisable — or sustainable. In early 2013, the owner of a local funeral home called on government to stop buying land for new public cemeteries, in order to let the private sector step in to provide those final services. East End MLA Arden McLean said, at the time, that potential legisla- tive changes could assist by allowing a crematorium to be built on the island. Cremated remains, of course, have far less volume than entire bodies. Although some people may raise personal religious objections, this last “ashes to ashes” approach may be the most viable in the long run in combination with private sector interment, for those who would prefer that option. The Frank Sinatra we remember WASHINGTON – In today’s culture of hyperbole, born of desperate attempts to be no- ticed amid the Niagara of Internet and other outpour- ings, the label “genius” is af- fixed promiscuously to eva- nescent popular entertainers, fungible corporate CEOs and other perishable phenomena. But it almost fits the saloon singer – his preferred de- scription of himself – who was born 100 years ago, on Dec. 12, 1915, in Hoboken, New Jersey. It is, however, more precise and, in a way, more flattering to say that Frank Sinatra should be celebrated for his craftsmanship. Of geniuses, we have, it seems, a steady stream. Actual craftsmen are rarer and more useful because they are exemplary for anyone with a craft, be it surgery or carpentry. Sinatra was many things, some of them – liber- tine, bully, gangster groupie – regrettable. But he unques- tionably was the greatest singer of American songs. How should an art- ist’s character and private life condition our apprecia- tion of his or her art? How, say, should knowledge of T.S. Eliot’s anti-Semitism condi- tion one’s admiration for his poetry? With Sinatra, tune out the public personality and listen to his music as Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan and Oscar Peterson did. They all, according to the culture critic Terry Teachout, named Sinatra their most ad- mired singer. For decades he was, Teachout says, “the fixed star in the crowded sky of American popular culture.” It speaks well of Sinatra, and reveals the prickly pride that sometimes made him volcanic, that he refused to adopt a less Italian name when ethnicity was prob- lematic in the waning days of America’s Anglo-Saxon as- cendancy. Anthony Dominick Benedetto (Tony Bennett) and Dino Paul Crocetti (Dean Martin) adjusted. Sinatra was an unadjusted man. In spite of the spectacular vulgarity of Sinatra’s choices of friends and fun, he be- queathed to postwar America a sense of style, even male elegance. His Las Vegas ca- vorting with “The Rat Pack” (Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford) was an embarrassing mani- festation of 1950s arrested- development masculinity – adolescence forever. But never mind his toupees and elevator shoes, his loutish flunkies and violent body- guards, his many awful movies and public brawls, his pimping for Camelot. And never mind that the come- dian Shecky Greene was not altogether joking when he said: “Sinatra saved my life in 1967. Five guys were beating me up, and I heard Frank say, ‘That’s enough.’” Never mind the tawdri- ness so abundantly reported in the just-published second volume of James Kaplan’s 1,765-page biography (“Sinatra: The Chairman”). But you must remember this: In a recording studio, Sinatra, who could not read music, was a meticulous collaborator with great musicians – including the Hollywood String Quartet – and arrangers. For Sinatra, before a song was music, it was words alone. He studied lyrics, internal- ized them, then sang, making music from poems. His good fortune was that he had one of the nation’s cultural trea- sures, the Great American Songbook, to interpret. It was the good fortune of that book’s authors – Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Johnny Mercer and many others – that Sinatra came along to remind some Americans and inform others of that book’s existence. This is one kind of pop- ular music: “I can’t get no satisfaction, I can’t get no girl reaction” This is Sinatra’s kind: “The summer wind came blowin’ in from across the sea It lingered there, to touch your hair and walk with me All summer long we sang a song and then we strolled that golden sand Two sweethearts and the summer wind Like painted kites, those days and nights, they went flyin’ by The world was new be- neath a blue umbrella sky Then softer than a piper man, one day it called to you I lost you, I lost you to the summer wind The autumn wind, and the winter winds, they have come and gone And still the days, those lonely days, they go on and on And guess who sighs his lullabies through nights that never end My fickle friend, the summer wind” Frequent performing, and too much Jack Daniel’s, and too many unfiltered Camel cigarettes took their toll be- fore he acknowledged this and left the road, much too late. However, his reputation is preserved by the short- term memory loss of a na- tion that will forever hear the Sinatra of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Kaplan reports, according to “legend,” that Sinatra’s casket in a Palm Springs cemetery contains some Jack Daniel’s and Camels. If so, even in death, Sinatra did it his way. George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2015, Washington Post Writers Group Printed and Published by: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town send us yOur VieWs Or neWs: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com adVertise With us: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS daVid r. legge and Vicki l. legge EdITOR-In-CHIEf daVid r. legge A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way” GEORGE F. WILLThe islands’ most-trusted news source 5 Cayman Compass • Friday december 11, 2015 6 LOCAL NEWS Friday december 11, 2015 • Cayman Compass †Scotiabank Gold MasterCard® Holiday Bonus: Receive an additional 2% cashback bonus along with the current 3% Cash Back at all Grocery Stores & Supermarkets for a total of 5% Holiday Bonus Cashback. Offer good from Dec 1st to Dec 31st 2015. Holiday Bonus of an additional 2% cash back on all qualifying purchases made by the cardholder at merchants which are classified in the MasterCard network as Grocery Stores & Supermarkets (Merchant Code: 5411). The referred additional 2% cash back will be applied on their first $2,500 USD qualifying purchases (or equivalent in local currency) spent during the Promotional Period. The maximum cash back reward amount to be earned on the additional 2% bonus during this promotion is $50 USD (or equivalent in local currency). The amount of qualifying purchases and the amount of cash back reward earned will be shown separately in your credit card statement. The cash back earned in this Holiday Bonus Promotion will be credited in the credit card account in November 2016. The Holiday Bonus Promotion will be governed by all the clauses stated in the Scotiabank Cash Back Rewards Program for Credit Cards Terms & Conditions. ® Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. ® MasterCard and BusinessCard are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated, used under licence. Visit cayman. scotiabank.com/creditcards for more information. /ScotiabankKY#MostCashBackEver Visit your nearest branch or cayman.scotiabank.com/creditcards Just for the holidays! Discover what’s possible From December 1 to 31, 2015, get up to 5%† cash back when you use your Scotiabank Gold MasterCard.® Need a card? Apply today! FOR THE HOLIDAYS!†ALL YEAR ROUND! at gas stations & grocery stores at pharmacieseverywhere else 3% 2% 1% at grocery stores 5%† Just for the holidays! West Bay Road, Opposite Foster’s Republix 20-60% OFF STORE-WIDE B.O. Ebanks & Son Ltd. BLOWOUT SALE! Saturday Dec 19th 7am til’ 5 pm plus In-Store Discounts! GREAT DEALS ON: Tools, Tool Boxes, Drill Sets, Ceiling Fans, Plumbing Supplies...and much more!!! Huge Tent Sale Devon Anglin triAl Judge: Verdict expected Jan. 19 Closing speeches conclude in retrial of child murder case CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Justice Charles Quin has scheduled Jan. 19 as the date to deliver his judg- ment in the trial of Devon Anglin, who is charged with the Feb. 15, 2010 murder of 4-year-old Jeremiah Barnes. Defense attorney David Fisher concluded his closing speech before the lunch ad- journment on Thursday. af- ternoon. Mr. Fisher and Crown prosecutor Andrew Radcliffe agreed that Justice Quin had been given a great deal of evidence and argument to consider. Given the schedule of other upcoming cases he is to hear, and the time he will need to consider and write his decision, Justice Quin fixed Jan. 19 for Anglin to return to court to hear the delivery of the verdict. Anglin, who was ac- quitted of the murder charge after trial in 2011, again chose trial by judge alone after the Court of Appeal overturned the ear- lier verdict. The defendant did not give evidence in either trial. Identification central to case Both Crown and defense agreed that the case against Anglin depended wholly on the correctness of the identi- fication of him by Jeremiah’s parents, which Mr. Fisher al- leged to be mistaken. Andy Barnes and Dorlisa Ebanks Barnes were in the front seat of their car at the Hell Service Station with their two young sons in the back seat when a gunman opened fire. The Crown’s case is that it was the shooter’s intention to kill or seriously injure Mr. Barnes, but the principle of “transferred malice” applied, so the shooter was guilty of Jeremiah’s murder. Contradictions in evidence Mr. Fisher empha- sized the contradictions in the evidence of Mr. and Mrs. Barnes. He said Mr. Barnes’s ev- idence had been based on assumptions, while Mrs. Barnes’s identification of Anglin was based on a fleeting glance. Mrs. Barnes had told the court she saw the gunman, recognized him as Anglin, then screamed and closed her eyes and ducked under the dashboard. Witnesses who are in- dependent can support ev- idence of other witnesses’ identification of a defendant, Mr. Fisher agreed, but Mr. and Mrs. Barnes were not independent of one another; they had been together in the car and may have made the same error of assumption. Motive alleged As to motive, Mr. Radcliffe had suggested that Anglin thought Mr. Barnes was after him because it was thought that Anglin had murdered Mr. Barnes’s best friend, Carlo Webster, in 2009. Anglin was found guilty of Mr. Webster’s murder in January 2012, after a judge-alone trial, and is serving a sentence of life imprisonment. Mr. Fisher said this conviction would play no part in the judge’s as- sessment of the evidence in this case. Mr. Fisher also noted that “many others” also had a mo- tive to shoot Mr. Barnes. Clothing identification The defense summary highlighted what were said to be weaknesses in the identification evidence. These included the poor quality of the CCTV at the service station, so that a comparison of the shoot- er’s clothing with Anglin’s clothing resulted only in the expert witness saying that specific items were similar or could not be eliminated. Mr. Fisher said the Crown had attached sig- nificance to the fact that Anglin took a shower at his cousin’s house after the shooting. But visiting his cousin, taking a shower and borrowing a shirt were not unusual actions by Anglin, “so we are not dealing with some extraordinary coinci- dence,” Mr. Fisher said. Gunshot residue As to the evidence of gunshot residue, Mr. Fisher said the moderate amount found on Anglin’s clothing could have been deposited through innocent contam- ination, given that he was arrested by armed officers and taken to the George Town Police Station where a later study showed the pres- ence of gunshot residue in various locations. Anglin had been identi- fied as the driver of a car in which gunshot residue was found on the seat and in- side of the driver’s door, Mr. Fisher agreed. But there was not a sig- nificant concentration of gunshot residue to indi- cate how it was depos- ited and there was a sig- nificant chance that it was not present from the Feb. 15 shooting. Mr. Fisher concluded by saying that Anglin should be found not guilty of all three charges against him because they obviously stood or fell together: the murder of Jeremiah; the at- tempted murder of Andy Barnes; and the possession of an unlicensed firearm. Both Crown and defense agreed that the case against Anglin depended wholly on the correctness of the identification of him by Jeremiah’s parents.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Friday december 11, 2015 CHRISTMAS ON CARDINALL SATURDAY, DEC 12TH · 4PM - 7PM Family Street Fair with different activities in each Kirk Freeport Cardinall Avenue store! A SPECIAL EVENING FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY Join us Saturday, December 12th for a free and open to the public event in all our Cardinall Avenue stores. • Refreshments • Popcorn • Cotton Candy • Balloon Maker • Face Painting • Cookie Decorating • The Church of God Chapel’s Children Choir • St Ignatius Bands • Fireworks Bayshore Mall : Cardinall Avenue : The Strand (345) 949.7477 : kirkfreeport.comThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Friday december 11, 2015 • Cayman Compass Your life was a blessing, Your memory a treasure… You are still loved beyond words and missed beyond measure. Always in our hearts at Christmastime and forever. Your wife, Children, Grand-Children and the rest of the Family & Friends Thinking of you on your 4th Anniversary in Heaven Your life was a blessing, Your memory a treasure… Sunrise: August 13, 1936 ~ Sunset: December 11, 2011 Holroy ‘Roy’ Walton Thinking of you on your 4th Anniversary in HeavenThinking of you on your 4th Anniversary in Heaven In Memory Of We regret to announce the passing of Alma Altona Ebanks Who departed this life On Friday, 27th November, 2015 Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page The Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Saturday, 12th December, 2015, at the Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre,at 3:00 p.m. Viewing will take place from 5:00-6:30 PM Friday 11 December at Bodden Funeral Service, 117 Walkers Rd. Georgetown. Interment will follow at the Chisholm’s Cemetery, North Side . Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com at the Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre,at 3:00 p.m. Viewing will take place from 5:00-6:30 PM Friday We have been asked to announce the passing of Ms. Carolee Jervis who passed away on Friday, December 4th, 2015. A Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Saturday December 12th, 2015 at the Webster Memorial United Church, Bodden Town Road at 1:00p.m. Viewing from 12:00noon until 12:45p.m. Interment to follow at the Old Pease Bay Cemetery. Condolences can be registered at churchillsfuneralhome.com We have been asked to announce the passing of Ms. Georgina Blanco Gonzalez who passed away on Friday, December 4th, 2015. Condolences can be registered at churchillsfuneralhome.com A Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Saturday, December 12th, 2015 at The Church of God at West Bay, #108 Capt. Reginald Parsons Dr., Mount Pleasant at 2:30p.m. Viewing will be from 1:30 until 2:15pm. Interment to follow at North West Point Cemetery. We have been asked to announce the passing of Risco Yaris Batten who passed away tragically on Sunday, November 29th, 2015. A Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Saturday December 12th, 2015 at the Cayman Islands Baptist Church, Pedro Castle Road, Savannah, at 2:00p.m. Viewing from 12:00noon until 1:45p.m. Interment to follow at Prospect Cemetery. Condolences can be registered at churchillsfuneralhome.com Point cemetery, also in West Bay district, is not due to close until 2026, but the department noted that only 16 new ceme- tery vaults are planned to be constructed during that time. A third cemetery, the smaller Boatswain Bay, has space for 167 vaults and will not close until 2052, the report noted. Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush has urged the Progressives-led gov- ernment via a private members’ motion filed in the Legislative Assembly earlier this year to agree to set aside more land in West Bay district for cem- etery vaults. Mr. Bush said in the motion that an ear- lier agreement with Dart Realty Cayman Ltd. al- lowed for the transfer of 20 acres from Dart to gov- ernment in his district. The motion asked that “some of [the property] be used for the develop- ment of a new cemetery for the district of West Bay as was the intention when the agreement was signed” once government has taken possession of the property. That private mem- bers’ motion was amended and passed, according to House records. East End district’s shortage is less pressing, but the 2015 en- vironmental health re- port did note that one site, Gun Bay cemetery, was ex- pected to close next year. The other East End cemetery site still has space for more than 200 vaults and is not expected to close until 2042. Other districts The problem with lim- ited cemetery space in other Grand Cayman dis- tricts is less pressing, ac- cording to the environ- mental health evaluation. The lesser populated district of North Side has two available cemeteries, one in Old Man Bay due to close in 2058, and the main cemetery that is not expected to reach its clo- sure year until 2145. George Town district has a huge cemetery in Prospect with space for more than 2,800 vaults. It is not expected to close until 2091. Bodden Town district, which also had some pending issues with cem- etery space, opened a new site near the district po- lice station in September 2014. The site is ex- pected to have between 900 and 1,000 vaults available at the end of its construction. the ways young people can drive financial policy and en- sure that governments and businesses take action to create more sustainable busi- ness markets. Dart Enterprises CEO Mark VanDevelde said in a press release that recruiting and sponsoring a presti- gious conference such as One Young World aligns with the company’s vision to “have the world to recog- nize the Cayman Islands as a global centre of excellence and innovation.” Mr. VanDevelde said the One Young World Summit on sustainable finance will pro- vide an “incredible, once-in- a-lifetime opportunity for our young future leaders to interact with peers from around the globe right here at home,” in addition to cre- ating compelling reasons for people around the world to learn more about the Cayman Islands, and have a substantial positive impact on the tourism economy. Dart helped bring the summit to the Cayman Islands through discussions with One Young World co- founder David Jones, who will be a guest speaker at Dart’s Alternative Investment Summit in February. The sustainable fi- nance summit will be the second One Young World International Summit, a smaller offshoot of the One Young World Global Summit which brings together 1,300 young leaders annually. Chris Duggan, vice president and head of community devel- opment at Dart Enterprises, said Dart also has a “vision to bring the global summit to the Cayman Islands” and will be talking to the or- ganizers about potentially launching a bid to host the 2020 summit. Dart also took two young Caymanians, Madeleine Rowell and Julian Solomon, to the One Young World Global Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, last month. Ms. Rowell and Mr. Solomon are recipients of the William A. Dart Memorial scholarship. Ms. Rowell, 19, is a soph- omore at Stanford University where she studies philos- ophy and feminist, gender and sexuality studies, in ad- dition to pursuing an honors course in ethics in society. At the summit in Bangkok, she enjoyed attending ses- sions which focused on such topics as women’s rights, sexual well-being and repro- ductive health. “There was a reproduc- tive health advocate that spoke about the stigma surrounding sex in the Caribbean, which really res- onated with me,” Ms. Rowell said. “I’m a huge advocate for more comprehensive sex education in Cayman, as well as better access to contraception, abor- tion, etc. Promoting safe sex and better access to sexual health resources is so in- credibly important to the future of our country and the world.” The sessions aligned well with Ms. Rowell’s work at university, and with a project she will be pursuing next year which aims to em- power victims of sexual as- sault on college campuses. Ms. Rowell said that while she is still figuring out what the future holds for her, she is pursuing a career in advocacy. She said the connections she made from One Young World will be useful, regardless of where her career path takes her. “The conference reminded me how important it is to get out of our comfort zones and learn from people who are different from us,” Ms. Rowell said. “Cayman is very much its own little bubble, which can be great, but also very limiting when it comes to understanding other cultures and people who [have] very different values than us.” Mr. Solomon said that meeting young leaders was “inspiring, uplifting and “motivating.” The 21-year-old, who studies business man- agement at King’s College in London, enjoyed partici- pating in two breakout ses- sions, one on Islam and de- mocracy and one on the history of banking in Asia. He said that, most of all, the experience of attending the conference “reinforced the need for action.” “The main takeaway from the conference for my- self was the fact that people have to recognize that they are capable of playing a greater role in society and have a responsibility to do so,” Mr. Solomon said. “Especially in a society such as Cayman’s, the role every citizen plays in problem solving is vital to our pros- perity. We must not see this responsibility as a burden, but for what it is, a privilege and honor to be embraced and aspire to.” Mr. Solomon said it is “fantastic” that Cayman is hosting the upcoming sus- tainable finance summit, and that Dart is consid- ering bidding to bring the larger summit to the country in the future. “We need to undertake ambitious projects that will introduce Cayman to current and future world leaders, allow us to play a role in global solutions, and expose our Caymanian leaders to all of these ben- efits,” he said. Cayman cemeteries face grave problem CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 According to the report, the main West Bay district cemetery has effectively been out of space, reaching what is referred to as its “closure year” back in 2012. Cayman to host One Young World leaders in 2016 The sounds of Christmas The Cayman National Choir and the Cayman National Orchestra presented their annual Carol Concert at Elmslie Memorial Church in George Town on Wednesday in the first of two scheduled performances. The program included Christmas hymns and carols and encouraged audience participation in some of the songs. - Photo: AlAn MArkoff CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Friday december 11, 2015 We regret to announce the passing of Condolences can be registered at www.boddenfuneralservices.com Funeral services, on Cayman Brac, will be announced at a later date. Arlin Tatum Who departed this life On Thursday, 3 December, 2015. We regret to announce the passing of Alma Altona Ebanks Who departed this life On Friday, 27th November, 2015 Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page The Service of Thanksgiving will be held on Saturday, 12th December, 2015, at the Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre,at 3:00 p.m. Viewing will take place from 5:00-6:30 PM Friday 11 December at Bodden Funeral Service, 117 Walkers Rd. Georgetown. Interment will follow at the Chisholm’s Cemetery, North Side . We regret to announce the passing of Condolences can be registered at www.boddenfuneralservices.com Mr. Kodman will be repatriated to the U.S.A. Gary Kodman Who departed this life On Friday, 4 December, 2015 We regret to announce the passing of Condolences can be registered at www.boddenfuneralservices.com Mr. DeSouza will be repatriated to Jamaica. Harvey DeSouza Who departed this life On Sunday, 6 December, 2015 We regret to announce the passing of Condolences can be registered at www.boddenfuneralservices.com Ms. Luca will be repatriated to the U.S.A. Rosetta Luca Who departed this life On Saturday, 5 December, 2015 We regret to announce the passing of Rolin H. Ebanks Who departed this life On Saturday, 5th December, 2015 Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page A funeral service will be held on Sunday, 13th December, 2015, at Church of God Chapel, West Bay at 3:00 p.m. Viewing will take place from 2:30-3:00 p.m. prior to the service. Interment will follow at the Boatswain Bay Cemetery New fire chief plans focus on response times, risk management Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com David Hails underwent what he described as a “bap- tism by fire” this week during an unannounced visit to the Cayman Islands, where he was introduced as the new chief fire officer. Meeting with a small group of fire officers at West Bay Fire Station on Wednesday, Mr. Hails – a dec- orated veteran of the U.K.’s fire and rescue service who has trained many Caymanian firefighters over the years – said he would not be suc- cessful without the backing of the rank-and-file. “I can’t do it without your support,” Mr. Hails told about a half-dozen fire officers gathered in the break room. “All politics aside, we need to remember what we’re here for, and that is to save lives and protect the community.” Mr. Hails, 56, just off eight years with Serco International Fire Training Centre, told the Cayman Compass he intends to work to dispel the image that local fire crews “sit around and play backgammon all day.” “I want to promote the Cayman Islands to the Premiership [referring to the top division of English foot- ball] of firefighting,” he said. Mr. Hails said he became interested in Cayman after speaking with a few local fire- fighters who had come to the center for training courses. He said Wednesday that he views Cayman as “a good challenge” and prom- ised the fire officers that re- cruiting in the department would not be “skewed” in favor of “his friends” as he had heard some firefighters allege in his first meeting with them Monday. Mr. Hails said he was not even certain at this point if he would bring his family – including two high school age children – to Cayman with him because he did not want to interrupt their studies in the U.K. He will leave Friday to finish out his current posting in the United Arab Emirates and will not return to Cayman to take up the post until February. However, Mr. Hails said he has identi- fied some areas where some work is needed. Firefighter safety The first item Mr. Hails in- tends to conduct is a training “needs assessment,” basically indicating where firefighters’ skills need to improve and where overall firefighting techniques need an upgrade. One of the things that goes along with such an as- sessment is risk manage- ment, he said. “You have to look at all of your buildings in the fire code, ask what would we re- quire to put a fire here out, and assess each area,” Mr. Hails said. Generally speaking, Mr. Hails said it is critical for firefighters to have an idea of what they are facing when they go into a building where pathways are ob- scured by smoke, and he wants to ensure this is done to protect them. Risk management was one of the areas Mr. Hails was quizzed on by West Bay firefighters Wednesday. Response times Another major focus ini- tially for Mr. Hails will be improving fire service re- sponse times. Currently, there are three main fire stations on Grand Cayman – at Owen Roberts Airport, in Frank Sound and in West Bay. Mr. Hails said he spent part of the day Tuesday timing a “run” from the Frank Sound station in North Side to Bodden Town, Savannah and George Town. Response times will be key to determining whether there should be a new fire station built in Bodden Town, as was suggested in a fire service consultant report ear- lier this year, he said. Also, Mr. Hails said the types of vehicles used to respond to incidents by fire crews are impor- tant in ensuring a speedy emergency response. “The [current] fire vehicles are good, in fact, they’re very large,” he said. “Now, some of the roads in this area [re- ferring to West Bay] … it’s going to be difficult to get to the fires.” That’s not to say West Bay Fire Station does not need the large ladder truck it currently houses, Mr. Hails said. “Just down the road … you’ve got the new hotel that’s going up,” he said. “This station is going to be the first in at- tendance to Seven Mile Beach where all the hotels are.” Computer aided dispatch The fire service consul- tant report released earlier this year noted that emer- gency calls to the Cayman Islands Fire Service were being unacceptably delayed by the department’s system for handling calls. When a call for fire ser- vice is received by the 911 center, it is passed to the fire service control room at the airport fire station. The call is logged by hand and then the nearest fire station is mobilized to answer the call. For some reason, the fire service does not use the 911 computer-aided dispatch system, as do the local po- lice and ambulance ser- vices. “We’ve had in-depth discussions about that,” Mr. Hails said, declining to comment further on the matter. Work schedules Firefighters will be given a daily work schedule, which includes a number of tasks, such as vehicle main- tenance, daily training, community services and in- spections and the like. “It will be spelled out for them on a daily basis,” Mr. Hails said. One staffing issue Mr. Hails said he noticed imme- diately was that fire crews typically number three of- ficers per shift at each fire station. In West Bay, that means there are three offi- cers and three fire trucks in the station. “There’s a truck for each of you to drive!” Mr. Hails joked with the West Bay sta- tion staff Wednesday. In reality, that is not an ideal situation, he said. Typically, larger trucks re- quire three or even four firefighters aboard. If a smaller number is required at an emergency scene, a smaller vehicle is used. Newly appointed Chief Fire Officer David Hails, left, speaks with Lead Fire Officer Mitchell Connor, center, and Acting Senior Division Officer Wayne Ebanks on Wednesday at West Bay Fire Station. - Photo: Brent FullerNext >