ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 High of 92 Low of 80 Slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 THE NEWS MEDIA’S UNHEALTHY DEPENDENCE ON POLITICAL POLLING BUSINESS | PAGE 12 WITH NEW CIMA RULES, MORE COMPUTER SECURITY CERTIFICATIONS Cayman Turtle Farm: Island Wildlife Encounter Discover the adventure at the Join us with our resident rates CI $10 Adults CI $ 4 Children 786 Northwest Point Road, West Bay, Grand Cayman info@turtle.ky | www.turtle.ky | +1 345 949 2894 +1 345 949 2894 / Cayman Turtle The Haitian heart operation Dozens of poverty- stricken kids get new lease on life in Cayman BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com You’ve probably never heard of Kessy Acceme, but he has helped give 64 dying Haitian children another chance at life since late 2014 through surgeries performed in the Cayman Islands. The kids, most of who suffer from congenital heart ailments, were operated on at the Health City Cayman Islands hospital within the past two years. How- ever, without Mr. Acceme – a so- cial worker – and his employer, the Haiti Cardiac Alliance, on the ground in Port-au-Prince, the chil- dren probably would not find their way here. Speaking to the Cayman Com- pass at the Port-au-Prince airport on Saturday, Mr. Acceme was well aware that a few of those children – some just toddlers or babies – had already missed their chance. “In the past few months, we’ve had five kids die waiting for sur- gery,” Mr. Acceme said. “But it’s just beautiful when kids go to the Cayman Islands for surgery and they come back healed and happy. They can do anything they want in life.” Saturday’s visit to Port-au- Prince brought the happier version of this story. “I just have a big, big thanks to say to everyone,” said Marie Jean- Julien, speaking through an inter- preter on the flight back to Haiti on Saturday morning. Her 17-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Jean-Julien, re- cently underwent a corrective pro- cedure for heart disease at Health City Cayman Islands. Marie said the change in her daughter following the medical Surgery success story: From left, Jean Frantz Jean Baptiste and his son, Jean Christiano, age 2, Have a Heart Cayman’s Jennifer McCarthy, Elizabeth Jean-Julien, Sherly Delva and her son Anley Valcourt, age 19 months, Barnabas Rinvil and his nephew Makendy, age 2, and Dart security chief Derek Haines made the trip back to Haiti on Saturday. – PHOTOS: BRENT FULLER Senior Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Sripadh Upadhya of Health City Cayman Islands examined nearly 50 young patients per day in Port-au-Prince. Sixty of them were chosen to come to Grand Cayman for medical procedures. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » Two local Zika cases confirmed CHARLES DUNCAN cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two people in George Town are Cayman’s first official cases of locally transmitted Zika, according to public health officials. The islands have had six cases of Zika imported by people visiting other countries, but these are the first reported incidents of the virus being acquired locally. The Public Health Department re- ported Monday that the first person, a man in George Town North, began ex- periencing symptoms on July 25 and went to a doctor the next day. The Health Services Authority tested the man, who had not traveled to coun- tries with Zika, and the Caribbean Public Health Agency confirmed that he had contracted the virus. A second case, announced Tuesday, is in a woman who lives in George Town West. The Public Health Depart- ment said the woman began experi- encing symptoms on July 10 and went to a private doctor two days later. Public health officials originally clas- sified the case as imported, but later PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Heidi Groves releases genetically modified mosquitoes from the back of the Mosquito Research and Control Unit van Tuesday morning. - PHOTO: CHARLES DUNCAN2 LOCAL&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. y x *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - WEDNESDAY - SUICIDE SQUAD 3D (PG13) 1:00 I 1:30 2D I 3:45 I 4:15 2D I 6:30 7:00 2D I 9:15 I 9:45 2D JASON BOURNE (PG13) 1:20 I 4:15 I 7:15 I 10:00 THE INFILTRATOR (R) 12:45 I 4:00 I 6:50 I 9:50 THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 3D (PG) 1:10 2D I 3:30 I 7:10 2D I 9:30 ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE 3D (PG) 2:00 I 4:20 2D I 7:20 I 9:40 2D Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 640-FILM (640-3456) Cubans head into perilous jungle to avoid deportation BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) – About 1,000 Cubans in- tent on reaching the United States have opted to cross into Panama in the per- ilous Darien Gap jungle re- gion rather than submit to deportation and return to their homeland, a spokesman said Tuesday. Most of the hundreds of Cubans who had been stranded since May in miser- able conditions in the steamy Colombian town of Turbo near the Panamanian border have now departed, said William Gonzalez, the government om- budsman for the region. The government said Monday that only 350 re- mained. Gonzalez said they included 80 remaining at a makeshift shelter where san- itary conditions were poor. Fourteen Cubans who ac- cepted voluntary repatriation were flown to Cuba on Sat- urday on a Colombian mili- tary plane. A spokesman for the Cuban migrants, 34-year-old Aliex Artiles, told The Asso- ciated Press on Tuesday that rather than face deportation, many of his compatriots had ventured into the Darien Gap, a lawless and roadless ex- panse where rebels and crim- inal syndicates operate. “They took the dirt path into the jungle,” said Artiles. “I calculate there were more than 1,000.” He said others had headed south for Ecuador, which had long been a transit country for Cubans until its govern- ment began cracking down. Cubans who fear that de- tente with Havana will lead the U.S. government to end the preferential immigra- tion treatment that Cubans now get when reaching U.S. soil have been heading by the thousands for North America. But they’ve been stymied by a crackdown on migra- tion by Central and South American nations that have their borders to the Cubans. More than 7,000 Cubans were stuck in Costa Rica for weeks earlier this year when Nicaragua closed its border to them. They were eventu- ally airlifted to Mexico and El Salvador to continue their journey. Thousands of others took shelter in Panama be- fore it tightened its border with Colombia. The migrants stranded in Turbo had requested safe passage to Mexico, but its government turned them down. Colombia’s migration of- fice said that “to permit the passage of irregular migrants to other coun- tries is to open the door to criminals dedicated to human trafficking …” The government says it has deported more than 5,500 such migrants since May. In this 2012 file photo, Cuban migrants rest at a shelter along with another group of migrants from Bangladesh, after being found by Panamanian border police in the Darien province in Panama. - PHOTO: AP COMPANIES INVITED TO ‘STUFF THE BUS’ Organizers of a “Stuff The Bus” initiative to donate school supplies to hundreds of children are inviting local companies to take part. Caribbean Alliance Insur- ance has joined with Hur- ley’s Media for the drive, which is accepting dona- tions until Aug. 20. The goal is to fill a big yellow school bus with basic school sup- plies, such as paper, crayons, scissors, pencils, pens, glue, folders, erasers and markers. The insurance company initially appealed to the public to join the drive, but is now asking companies to coordinate internal donation drives with their staff. “This year, thanks to community-minded in- dividuals and a partner- ship with another business, our school supply drive is bigger and better than ever,” said Aleisha Lalor, branch manager of Caribbean Alli- ance Insurance. “By … contributing to ‘Stuff the Bus,’ business leaders can show our col- lective strength as corpo- rate partners and investors in our community,” she said. All donated supplies will be presented to the Depart- ment of Children and Family Services, the Cayman Islands Cancer Society and the Needs Assessment Unit, for distribu- tion to children most in need. Donation boxes are at Cost-U-Less, Foster’s Food Fair IGA – Countryside, Lee’s Office Supplies, Office Supply, Hurley’s Media Group office and Caribbean Alliance office at 203 Alissta Towers. For more information, see StuffTheBusCayman on Facebook or contact Aleisha.lalor@Caribbeanalliance.com or call 949-9744. Signing set for attorney’s third book Cayman Islands at- torney and author Douglas Schofield will be at Camana Bay’s Books & Books store from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday for a reading and book signing of his third novel “Time of Departure.” The book focuses on fictitious Florida prose- cutor Claire Talbot who reopens an investigation into a series of kidnap- pings that occurred before she was born. Together with a retired police of- ficer, Talbot finds more victims and also discovers … well, readers will have to find out for themselves. Mr. Schofield, a former Crown prosecutor who was acting solicitor gen- eral before moving to pri- vate firm HSM Cham- bers, has managed to make the book a nail-biter while also getting the law and “logic” of the situ- ations right, according to a number of reviews on the book. The former pros- ecutor’s debut novel, “Flight Risks,” was pub- lished in 2010. His follow up, “Succession,” was printed in 2012. FATCA NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING DUE DATES EXTENDED The Cayman Islands government has extended the soft enforcement due dates for notification and reporting under the U.S. Foreign Account Com- pliance Act and its U.K. equivalent to Friday, Sept. 2. The Department for International Tax Coop- eration in the Ministry of Financial Services is- sued a notice on Aug. 5 stating that notifications and returns submitted on or before Sept. 2 will not attract any adverse com- pliance consequences or enforcement measures. The extension gives fi- nancial institutions addi- tional time to undertake their reporting obligations under U.S. FATCA and U.K. CDOT, after users experi- enced issues with the de- partment’s IT portal used to exchange U.S. and U.K. taxpayers’ information. EL FARO ‘BLACK BOX’ RECOVERED FROM 15K-FEET BENEATH SEA JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Search crews have retrieved the “black box” from the wreckage of the freighter El Faro that sank in 15,000- feet of water near the Ba- hamas during Hurricane Joaquin last year, officials said Tuesday. Using a remotely oper- ated vehicle in the pitch black deep sea, crews brought the El Faro’s voyage data recorder to the sur- face Monday night, the Na- tional Transportation Safety Board’s chairman said. The 790-foot El Faro sank Oct. 1 after losing pro- pulsion and getting caught in the hurricane while trav- eling between Jacksonville and Puerto Rico. All 33 crew members died. “The recovery of the re- corder has the potential to give our investigators greater insight into the in- credible challenges that the El Faro crew faced,” NTSB Chairman Christophe Hart said in a news release. Search crews found the recorder in April attached to a piece of the ship, but were unable to remove it. They returned Monday after leaving port in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and piloted the remotely operated vehicle down to the ship’s resting place to remove the recorder. The NTSB said in the release that it will begin processing the audio and other data when crews return from sea around Aug. 12. The recovery comes after two rounds of hearings by a U.S. Coast Guard marine board earlier this year. The hearings explored the safety record of the ship’s owner, Tote Services Inc., and the decisions made by Capt. Michael Davidson to sail the aging freighter near a strong storm. Author Doug SchofieldThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 The 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. 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 EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” The Cayman Islands traditionally has been a polit- ical polling-free zone, but the serpent may be about to enter the garden. Polling, especially of the political stripe, bears all of the hallmarks of pseudo-science. If polls came with warning labels, almost no one would commission them and, certainly, almost no one would believe them. Think for a moment of the Brexit vote. On the day before the election, nearly every poll indicated U.K. voters would opt to remain in the European Union. And nearly every poll was wrong. Voters in Britain, and vote-watchers nearly every- where, woke up “the morning after” to the inexpli- cable, if not the unthinkable: Voters had defied both the polls and the pundits, who, in turn, were heavily influenced by the polls (round and round we go). Or, consider this: On the eve of the Democratic primary in California (Hillary Clinton vs. Bernie Sanders), nearly every poll declared the race “too close to call.” That waffle was then amplified by nearly every mass media outlet, from newspapers to televi- sions networks. Then came voting day. Ms. Clinton won by nearly 13 percentage points, a political landslide (to mix meta- phors) of tsunami proportions. Pollsters famously “missed” the strength of Con- servatives in Britain’s 2014 elections, the popularity of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s recent elections, and even the Republican Party sweep of the House and Senate in 2014. How does this happen? Listen to New York Times columnist Cliff Zukin, a Rutgers University professor and past president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research: “Election polling is in near crisis … So what’s the solution? There isn’t one. Our old paradigm has broken down, and we haven’t figured out how to replace it.” Readers should not be surprised. Almost all polls are almost always wrong. By definition, they have to be. Consider the tale of the two watches: If an individual owns one watch, he always knows the time. If he owns two watches, he never knows the time. It is the same with polls. If Poll “A” has a candidate leading his opponent by, say, 5 percentage points, and Poll “B” is reporting a 10 percentage point lead, by definition, one of the polls MUST be wrong. If there are 10 polls, all asking the same question but reporting different results, all (but one) MUST be wrong. None of this would greatly concern us if the news media – the business we’re in – were not implicated. Polling has become the false god to which nearly all news media now genuflect. Every major news network now conducts its own poll (ABC/Washington Post, CBS/New York Times, NBC/Wall Street Journal, the BBC Poll Tracker, Fox/ News Dynamics), and their newscasters pass on the results as if they were accurate and legitimate news: “Hillary surging by 10”; “Trump in free fall”; “Swing states still undecided.” Frankly, this kind of coverage is more of a commen- tary on the state of the media than it is on the inex- actitudes of polling. Polling has become such a crutch for the media that it’s not certain it could “walk” – or talk – without it. Ironically, despite all of our concerns about the limitations and misapplications of political polling, it may actually have application in Cayman as we move toward the 2017 elections. To meet the provisions of single-member con- stituencies, our electoral map has been subdivided into multiple “mini-districts” with fewer than 1,000 voters in each. Such small numbers make sampling for polling purposes a much more precise process – which, if employed, would likely yield far more accurate forecasts. The news media’s unhealthy dependence on political polling Which presidential can- didate’s policies are likely to cause higher growth? Did you know that at an av- erage economic growth rate of 2 percent it takes 35 years for incomes to double, while at a 4 percent growth rate it only takes 17.7 years for incomes to double? At the moment, the U.S. is only growing at a rate of about 1 percent, and if no im- provement comes it will take another 69.7 years. At a growth rate of 4 percent, incomes will increase more than fourfold in the average lifetime. Without moderately high rates of growth, there is no chance of reducing the debt, maintaining even a modest safety net, including medical and retirement programs, and creating more jobs at higher real wages. The good news is, in the absence of destructive eco- nomic policies, capitalist econo- mies tend to grow rapidly. There is extensive empir- ical evidence (and theory) of what works and what does not. In the last 35 years, the U.S. has experienced two deep recessions (1981-82 and 2008-09), and two mild reces- sions (1990-91 and 2001). The policy responses and the per- formance of the economy in the first six years (24 quar- ters) after the bottom of the recessions were quite different and are telling. As can be seen in the above table, the economy grew twice as fast after the 1982 reces- sion than it did after the 2009 recession. In 1981, the new Reagan administration was faced with a declining economy and double-digit in- flation. It needed to both re- duce inflation and reignite growth. At the time, most economists still believed in the now-discredited “Phil- lips Curve,” which postulated that there was a trade-off be- tween inflation and growth. The Reagan economists agreed that the economy needed a re- duction in the growth of the money supply to reduce in- flation, major tax rate reduc- tions, spending and regula- tory restraint, all to reduce the disincentives for work, saving and investment. The program worked spec- tacularly well – far better than even those of us who had been advocates of the program had expected. Marginal tax rates were reduced from 70 per- cent to 28 percent, yet tax rev- enues increased by more than a third because of a much larger economy and many more people at work. Inflation fell from 12.5 percent the year President Reagan was elected to 4.4 percent in his last year in office under Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker’s guid- ance. Government spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) was slightly re- duced from the time Reagan took office until he left, despite engaging in a defense buildup and having to contend with a Democratic Congress that re- sisted spending restraint for part of the time. In 1990, just as the economy was falling into a recession, President Bush (41) increased tax rates, despite have pledged not to. The newly elected Presi- dent Clinton compounded the error in 1993 by raising tax rates (again, after pledging not to). The result was a weaker re- covery than under Reagan. To his credit, President Clinton and Congress cut the capital gains tax rate at the begin- ning of his second term, and worked with House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Repub- licans to reduce spending as a percentage of GDP, causing the economy to grow at an average rate of more than 4 percent. The second President Bush (43) was confronted with a re- cession (2001) the year that he took office. He was late in pushing through a modest tax rate reduction, and failed to curtail the growth in spending (part of which was due to the wars) and to bring real disci- pline to the regulatory agen- cies. The result was a weak recovery and the beginning of the Great Recession at the end of his term. President Obama took office as the recession deepened and immediately applied the wrong medicine – the so-called mas- sive spending “stimulus pro- gram,” which failed to stimu- late and was a waste of money. Then Mr. Obama made two other mistakes: increasing tax rates and going on a regulatory binge without adequate cost- benefit analyses. The result was the worst recovery (which is a slander on the word “recovery”) in many decades. The lessons are clear: re- duce spending as a percentage of GDP because it is now much higher than the optimal level, reduce marginal tax rates to no higher than 28 per- cent and preferably lower, and remove all of those regulations that have not been justified by strict cost-benefit analysis and are unnecessary infringements on liberty. Hillary Clinton and Green Party candidate Jill Stein have both proposed higher taxes, more spending and regula- tion – a prescription for no growth or worse. Donald Trump and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson have proposed tax cuts, regulatory reform and spending reduc- tion (but Mr. Trump also talks about a number of non-trivial spending increases). It is dismaying that Mr. Trump and Mr. Johnson spend so much time talking about minor issues and so little time talking about their plans for the economy. And Mrs. Clin- ton’s economic proposals are totally contrary to what worked for her husband (“the era of big government is over”). Do they have serious policy discussions with each other? Richard W. Rahn, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth, is on the Editorial Board of Cayman Financial Review. © 2016, The Washington Times WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS GROWTH AFTER THE RECESSION Recession PeriodRecovery PeriodAverage Annual (first 24 quarters from the bottom of the recession) Economic Growth Rate (Constant USD) July 1981 – November 19821983 Q1 - 1988 Q44.84% July 1990 – March 19911991 Q2 - 1997 Q13.40% March 2001 – November 20012002 Q1 - 2007 Q42.81% December 2007 – June 20092009 Q3 - 2015 Q22.23% Growth lessons RICHARD W. RAHN RICHARD W. RAHN Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 New push for cannabis oil change JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Pressure is growing for government to swiftly follow through on its commitment to make regulatory changes to allow doctors to prescribe can- nabis oil for medical purposes. Premier Alden McLaughlin said in May that govern- ment’s lawyers had been in- structed to draft the neces- sary legislative changes to allow limited use of the mari- juana derived product in the Cayman Islands. Some cancer patients in Cayman believe cannabis oil treatment, though unproven in clinical trials, may repre- sent their last chance. Med- ical marijuana is also known to help patients with pain re- lated to chemotherapy and radiation, Dennie Warren, whose wife was diagnosed with incurable stage four lung cancer in May last year, said survivor testimonies about the impact of cannabis oil had given his family a glimmer of hope. “I understand it doesn’t work in every single person and if it doesn’t work for my wife, at least we know we tried everything. I would hate if she died and we never got the chance to do it,” he said. “I believe individuals have the right to be in control of their own life, including mat- ters of treatment.” Mr. Warren, along with MLA Cline Glidden made a presentation to government in November last year, asking for the law to be altered to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis oil to patients. He said his understanding was that changes to the regula- tions in the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Pharmacy Act, achievable through Cabinet order, would be required. The premier announced in May that the changes would be made. His office indicated this week that the process was more complex than ad- vocates had suggested and promised a detailed progress update later this week. Mr. Warren said he was dismayed at the de- lays. He said his wife’s tu- mors had grown in size by 80 percent since he made his initial presentation. He said further delays were “eroding the time she has left” to give the experi- mental treatment a chance. Though cannabis oil is not approved in the U.S. by the Federal Drug Adminis- tration as a treatment for cancer, it is legal for med- ical use in some states and is sometimes prescribed for treating epileptic seizures. According to the American Cancer Society, “There have been some early clinical trials of cannabinoids in treating cancer in humans and more studies are planned. While the studies so far have shown that cannabinoids can be safe in treating cancer, they do not show that they help control or cure the disease.” Some cancer sufferers in Cayman believe that even if the impact of cannabis oil is unproven, they have little to lose in giving it a try. Mark Luke, an RCIPS po- lice officer diagnosed with an incurable form of intes- tinal cancer and currently undergoing chemotherapy, said he had been advised by his doctor that cannabis oil could assist the process. “If there is a chance it could help me, then I have to give it a try,” he said. Premier McLaughlin ap- peared to accept that logic when he announced plans to allow cannabis oil, via pre- scription in May. He said, “Government is persuaded that it is better to favor hope and compassion over fear.” Cancer survivor and former West Bay MLA Cline Glidden, who has been involved in lob- bying government on cannabis oil, said he was happy that a public commitment had been made to make the necessary legal changes, even if it was taking longer than some de- sired and expected. Mr. Glidden, whose cancer is in remission thanks to more traditional methods, said he would like cannabis oil to be an option for pa- tients in future. “I hope it is not something I have to deal with in the fu- ture, but if I do, I would want that opportunity.” Dr. Krishna Mani, an oph- thalmologist who is part of a committee of medical experts looking into the necessary regulatory changes, said he believed the changes would be sanctioned. He said he was not familiar with the re- search on the benefits of can- nabis oil for cancer sufferers but had no objection to the principal of the drug being allowed under prescription for medical purposes. He said he would like the option to prescribe can- nabis-derived medication to treat patients with glau- coma – also banned under current legislation. “It is common in a lot of Caribbean countries and it is something we would pre- scribe if we could,” he said. Though the Internet abounds with testimonials from patients, there is little conclusive medical research on the efficacy of cannabis as a treatment for cancer. Even in jurisdictions which allow medical marijuana, it is more commonly used for pain relief. Dr. Kat Arney, Cancer Re- search UK’s science communi- cations manager, said in a re- cent media statement that the organization would like to see more research on the subject. “We know that cannabi- noids – the active chemicals found in cannabis – can have a range of different effects on cancer cells grown in the lab and animal tumors. “But at the moment there isn’t good evidence from clin- ical trials to prove that they can safely and effectively treat cancer in patients. “Despite this, we are aware that some cancer pa- tients do choose to treat themselves with cannabis ex- tracts. These stories can help researchers build a picture of whether these treatments are helping or not, although this is weak evidence compared to properly run clinical trials.” She said Cancer Research UK is supporting clinical trials for treating cancer with cannabis extract and a syn- thetic cannabinoid in order to gather solid data on how the drugs can be used to ben- efit people with cancer. Dennie Warren, whose wife was diagnosed with lung cancer, has become an advocate for legalization of cannabis oil for medical purposes. - PHOTO: MATT LAMERSDISTRICT DAYS 6 District Days Sister Islands WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS 50 YEARS AGO: Dixon homecoming and Kirksons boat brings visitors In the Aug. 3, 1966 edition of the Caymanian Weekly, a pre- cursor of the Cayman Compass, Cayman Brac correspondent Lilian Ritch wrote: “Mrs. Vedette Dixon, second youngest daughter of the Scott family, now lives in Brooklyn. First leaving here at 7 years of age, she spent most of her life in Jamaica and eventually mi- grated with her two children to the U.S. in 1962, where she studied the profession she has always wanted, beauty cul- ture. She attended the Wilfred Academy in Manhattan, studying hairdressing and cosmetology and graduated from this school in June, 1963. She then joined the staff of Freda and Bob, a beauty shop on Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn and is now on six weeks’ vacation. “Visiting home about once in every two years, Mrs. Dixon does not remark particularly on im- provements as she has watched the island grow. What does thrill her is the hope of secondary edu- cation for the majority as is prom- ised by the school building under construction. What she has been wanting to see for years is some improvement to the roads. “On Sunday, July 31, Maureen, daughter of Mrs. Vetha passed through en route from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay. She flew over to obtain a student’s visa to enter Kansas City Bible School in the fall of this year. “The Motor Vessel Kirksons did her share with the holiday young- sters. Fitting in the round trip for the month of July, she brought Captain Dillon Kirkconnell’s son Reggie and nephew Ralph to enjoy Little Cayman. Remaining at Cayman Brac were Garth and Kurt, children of Darwin Tib- betts, and Marilyn and Sandra, daughters of Bertie Tibbetts, who shared their time with their aunts Mrs. Mavis Brown, Mrs. Girl- deen Jackson and Mrs. LeVonne Ryan. All at school in Jamaica, Garth is at Excelsior Extension, Kurt at St. George’s College, Mar- ilyn is studying commercials and Sandra is at Rose Preparatory, Harbour View. “Also on the boat were An- dree Joy, Lorna and Christopher, children of Valma, Mrs. Lennie Hew, who spent their time with the ‘Dutchy’ Dilberts, and Capt. Theophilus and Mrs. Ritch of the Creek. Andree enjoyed being home after four years. She too, is studying commercials. With the exception of Reggie, Ralph and Lorna, the same party returned to Jamaica on the 31st with the addition of Julie Rutty who has gone to pass some of her vacation with Aunt Trixie, Capt. and Mrs. Aston Reid, Mrs. Esterly Walton and one of her boys who is ill, and Captain Sedley Ritch. Capt. Sedley and Mrs. ‘Dinks’ have our good wishes that her health will soon be completely restored.” Sea Camp on Little Cayman brings out the fun in science Fun, sun, sand and sci- ence all came together for a memorable experience for young people who attended the Edmund and Virginia Ball Foundation Caribbean Ma- rine Ecology Camp. The camp at the Cen- tral Caribbean Marine Insti- tute’s Little Cayman Research Centre hosted 23 students in two groups over two one- week sessions in July. During the sessions, campers were split into teams with a series of chal- lenges throughout the week. The challenges included building remotely operated underwater vehicles, known as ROVs, lionfish cook-offs, scavenger hunts and class discussions. “This summer we had students from Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and the USA, and the campers stayed at Sunset Cove lo- cated on the South Sound, Little Cayman, with views of Owen Island,” said Cen- tral Caribbean Marine In- stitute education program manager Tom Sparke. “Students from the Cayman Islands all received an Edmund and Virginia Ball Foundation scholar- ship, reducing the cost of the camp by 70 percent,” he said, adding that while the camp’s focus is educational, there are no credits for attending. “The aim is to get kids passionate about the ocean, to inspire some to seek ca- reers in marine biology or simply take steps in their daily lives to reduce their im- pact on the marine environ- ment,” said Mr. Sparke. “We did, though, have one student, James Priaulx, who attended as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.” Each week featured a full schedule of ma- rine and land-based ac- tivities. Students took part in coral and fish identifi- cation, and learned about such topics as herbivory on the reef, ecotourism, and bioluminescence. Diving The students went on eight dives, which included dives off the wall, as well as dives where the students spent time identifying coral and fish without camp in- structors, and observing the behavior of fish. “We also did a night dive where students used UV torches to see biofluorescence of corals, which was a real highlight,” said Mr. Sparke. “During the islandwide scavenger hunt, teams split into different vans and raced around the island looking for cryptic clues,” he said. “The final location was Owen Island with the teams swimming to victory.” The ROV activity also proved to be a big hit with campers, who built Sea Perch remotely operated vehicles using kits that included mo- tors, remotes and pipes. “They then tested them off the dock and took part in a search and recovery mission looking for painted conch shells,” said Mr. Sparke. “The best design was the ROV with the motors ori- ented inwards, which gave the ROV an incredibly tight turning circle.” The campers also took part in a Lionfish Criminal Fish Investigation workshop that ended with a unique culinary twist. The campers first each dissected a lionfish and looked inside their stom- achs for prey. They also iden- tified fish scales underneath a microscope. “The dissected lionfish were then filleted, and we had a big cook-off with each team cooking a different dish with lionfish,” said Mr. Sparke. The campers also got to express their artistic cre- ativity. After they learned about the Nassau grouper, they created a claymation movie about Nassau grouper spawning. “Students learned about mangrove biology and the eco- system services they provide, such as protection from storms, and how they act as a nursery for reef fish,” added Mr. Sparke. “This was conducted on kayaks in the sound.” The week began and ended with traditional summer camp fare with a campfire on the beach under the stars, team games and roasting marshmallows over the fire. “Nearly all of the stu- dents who attended want to come back next year,” said Mr. Sparke. “Next year, we plan to create an advanced sea camp for returning students, to build upon what they learned this year.” James Priaulx and Carlynn Diersing during the lionfish workshop. Campers Radley Walter, Antoine Minzett, Gavin Hoeckel, Margaret Glaser, Saxon Feldman, Hunter Roulstone, Carlynn Diersing, Noelle Gal, Michael Frey and James Priaulx head out on the water.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 procedure had been as- tounding. She said before the procedure, her daugh- ter’s lips would sometimes turn blue, her face was ashen and she went through pe- riods where she could not, or would not, eat. “I didn’t know before from day-to-day if [Elizabeth] would die, she could not run, she could not walk too far, not too much. I thank God and everyone for everything,” she said. Elizabeth, still a bit thin but now looking like she would not be out of place in a Cayman Islands high school, said she plans to go back to school in Haiti after a short rest with her family. Regarding her future plans, Elizabeth said, “I would like to be a doctor for children.” Four children – Eliza- beth and three toddlers be- tween 19 months and 3 years old – were brought back to Haiti on Saturday after suc- cessful procedures in Grand Cayman. The children and their families traveled on a plane owned by the Dart group of companies. A number of previous jour- neys, shuttling young heart patients back and forth be- tween Haiti and Health City Cayman Islands, have been made on an aircraft owned by Digicel. That plane was out of commission for repairs last weekend, so “interim” air service was provided, com- plete with Dart’s head of se- curity Derek Haines, who stepped in as impromptu flight attendant for the trip, serving the Haitian families food and beverages. While there, the flight picked up three other Haitian children, two 1-year-olds and a 15-year-old, who will be the next group to receive treat- ment in Grand Cayman. The bureaucratic and lo- gistical problems in the im- poverished Caribbean na- tion make getting children who will die if they do not receive proper medical treat- ment to overseas facilities in time to receive treatment a monumentally difficult task. Mr. Acceme said almost all of these families have never left Haiti, some have never even left their ances- tral villages, and the simple act of acquiring a passport through the current pro- cesses may take more time than the young patients have left. Nonetheless, the Haiti Cardiac Alliance has man- aged to get about 200 chil- dren successful medical pro- cedures around the world, with about one-third of those at Health City since late 2014. Mr. Acceme said there are about 400 others he knows of who need assistance and likely many more who are unknown to officials. The group of 400 are the patients who have been identified from previous visits to Haiti hospitals. Those hospitals work with Mr. Acceme and the foundation to see if there are any international facili- ties available to take them. “Once [the hospitals] find kids with a heart problem, they call us,” he said. To send young patients to Grand Cayman, Mr. Acceme contacts Health City doctors and Jennifer McCarthy, the director of nonprofit Have a Heart Cayman Islands. Ms. McCarthy, former operations manager of HospiceCare Cayman, now works from an office in Health City on fun- draising and logistical efforts for the heart surgeries. The medical professionals make an annual trip to Haiti to pre- screen potential patients. On the most recent trip to Haiti, Ms. McCarthy said she went along with Health City’s chief pediatric cardiologist to screen about 150 poten- tial patients for the surgery in Cayman. This might generously be described as a heart-breaking process. Ms. McCarthy said there are some children with such severe conditions, mostly requiring heart replacement surgery, that Health City is unable to assist. Other chil- dren aren’t chosen because they are too young and doc- tors hope they will “grow out of” their heart ailment. Among the 150 poten- tial patients, about 60 were chosen. They are the ones who will hope to travel to Grand Cayman for medical procedures within the next several months, if they can make it in time. “Once they’re prioritized, then it’s down to who can get a passport and [which cases] are most urgent,” Ms. Mc- Carthy said. She said seeing the heart screenings for 150 sick chil- dren in Port-au-Prince brought a feeling of “utter hopelessness.” However, she said she did make contact while there with a young woman who had recently undergone heart surgery at Health City. “I hear someone yelling my name and then she comes over and gives me a big hug,” she said, seeing the girl was now healthy and happy. “That’s when you say ‘OK, that’s why we’re doing this.’” Ms. McCarthy said Have a Heart Cayman provides some funding through charitable donations and grants for medical supplies, equipment and the like, for the surgeries. To this point, Health City is not making any money on the patients from Haiti and other locales around the globe. If the families are able to con- tribute anything for the sur- geries, they do so, she said. “Every dollar we save means more lives saved,” she said. Operational support Another key worker in the Haiti Cardiac Alliance is Steeve Andre, a 22-year-old who grew up in an orphanage and who learned to speak fluent English in school. Mr. Andre has been going back and forth with the Haitian families to Grand Cayman for the past year, serving as the volun- teer translator during the families’ stays – typically anywhere from three to five weeks. Most Haitians speak a dialect derived from French known as Creole and even French speakers struggle un- derstand it, Ms. McCarthy said. A few of the Hai- tian family members speak broken English, but that is rare, she said. Without Mr. Andre and other interpreters who volunteer, Cayman Is- lands medical personnel and volunteers would not always be able to under- stand the visitors. Mr. Andre said he has been kept busy over the past year, always receiving calls from the families at Health City Cayman Islands. “Most of the time I have to stay at the hospital be- cause they will always need me for the kids,” he said. “Sometimes, when I have a break, I go watch football with the nurses. “I feel very, very good, very prideful to help the Haitian kids because that’s where I’m from. I feel very happy for the care they receive.” Many of the families are so poor they need basic items like clothes and toi- letries during their stay in Cayman. The group Impact 345, mostly made up of local teenagers, have stepped in with fundraising and dona- tion drives seeking clothes, toys or other items the chil- dren might need or request. Fifteen-year-old Holly Thompson, an Impact group member, made her first trip to Haiti on Saturday to see what things were like there. She said her parents were a bit nervous about her going, but she felt it would be a “good experience” to see the children. “The poorest places and poorest people in the Cayman Islands would be like kings and queens in Haiti,” Ms. Thompson said. “Every person I know who’s my age wants to help once they’ve seen what these kids have to deal with.” The Haitian heart operation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Barnabas Rinvil and his nephew Makendy pose with Holly Thompson of Impact 345 in Grand Cayman just before takeoff Saturday. – PHOTOS: BRENT FULLER Berline Valcin carries her 1-year-old cousin Mchaendel Gilot toward the plane at Port-au-Prince on Saturday. Little Mchaendel is one of the new Haitian heart patients now at Health City. His cousin brought him to Cayman because his mother was refused leave from her job for the trip.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS We regret to announce the passing of Deborah Wilkinson Who departed this life on Friday, 5 August 2016. Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page. A funeral service will be held 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, 13 August, 2016, at North Sound New Testament Church. Viewing will be held from 10:00-10:45 a.m. Prior to the service Interment will follow in Prospect Cemetery decided the woman’s travel history indicated that she contracted Zika in Cayman. “This was anticipated,” Bill Petrie, head of Cayman’s Mosquito Research and Con- trol Unit, said Tuesday. “This was no great surprise,” that Cayman now has locally transmitted Zika, he said. Mr. Petrie said his unit plans to ramp up opera- tions against the Aedes ae- gypti mosquitoes respon- sible for transmitting the Zika virus, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. He said the MRCU will be increasing aerial spraying and fogging from trucks. He said the MRCU will start spraying earlier in the evening to target adult mos- quitoes and will focus fogger trucks on areas that could have the Zika virus in local mosquito populations. Premier Alden McLaughlin, in a statement released Tuesday, said, “I want to re- assure the public that MRCU, with the unflinching support of this Government, will con- tinue its eradication efforts.” Zika can also be trans- mitted sexually from an in- fected man to a woman. Dr. Samuel Williams-Ro- driguez, Cayman’s head of public health, said in a state- ment on Monday, “With the rapid and ongoing trans- mission of the Zika virus around the world, it is not an alarming fact that local transmission has reached our shores. However, now that it has, this is even more reason for each and every one to play their part in ensuring that the spread is highly contained.” Public health officials, citing confidentiality, declined to be more specific on where the infected people live other than George Town North and George Town West. Responding to questions by email Tuesday, Dr. Wil- liams-Rodriguez said people should “avoid mosquito bites at home and abroad, adopt safe sexual practices at home and abroad, pregnant women to avoid unnecessary travel to regions with large out- break of [Zika].” He added, “Due to the spreading pattern of the dis- ease and the presence of the Aedes mosquito in the Cayman Islands, more cases of local transmission are ex- pected. We encourage the public to intensify vector con- trol measures around and in- side their residence.” Dr. Williams-Rodriguez said he is confident that with the MRCU, government and the public working to- gether, “a large outbreak of the [Zika virus] disease will be prevented.” The biggest danger of the Zika virus is to pregnant women. The virus can cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect, in babies born to in- fected mothers. The virus can also lead to Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological dis- order that can cause paralysis and death. Most people infected with Zika never show symptoms, according to the World Health Organization, but those who do can have a mild fever, rash, muscle and joint pain and conjunctivitis. Symptoms can last from two days to a week, and tend to be mild. The Aedes aegypti mos- quitoes breed in standing fresh water near homes, such as in old tires, bird baths or clogged rain gutters. The best way to get rid of Aedes ae- gypti is to dump out anything with fresh standing water and turn over things like dog bowls so mosquitoes cannot use them to breed. GM mosquito release program While the MRCU is boosting its spraying opera- tions, the unit’s work with Ox- itec to use genetically modi- fied mosquitoes in West Bay is in its first week of full op- eration. Oxitec and the MRCU are testing the GM mosqui- toes in a small section of West Bay to see how effective the method is at eliminating Aedes aegypti from the area. Oxitec’s Tali Cohen and Heidi Groves were out in a modified van Tuesday morning to release 150,000 genetically modified male mosquitoes in hopes that the insects will mate with female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. When a female mates with a GM male mosquito, the next generation is unable to sur- vive to adulthood, and the hope is that this will kill off the population of mosquitoes responsible for spreading Zika and other viruses. Cayman now joins almost 70 other countries and juris- dictions with local transmis- sion of Zika, including al- most every country in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Public health officials in the U.S. recently announced they found local Zika trans- mission in one part of Miami, Florida. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Two local Zika cases confirmed MRCU and Oxitec workers release genetically modified mosquitoes in West Bay Tuesday morning. - PHOTO: CHARLES DUNCAN PREMIER: OPPOSITION TO GM MOSQUITO RELEASE POLITICAL GRANDSTANDING CHARLES DUNCAN cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com Premier Alden McLaughlin, in a press state- ment Tuesday, criticized oppo- nents of the genetically mod- ified mosquito program, as the Public Health Department confirmed Cayman’s first local cases of Zika. Opponents of Oxitec’s GM mosquito research in West Bay sued government and the National Conserva- tion Council a day before the scheduled mosquito releases were to start last month, halting the program until a judge rejected their arguments and allowed the releases to go ahead. “It is regrettable that de- spite the very clear public health risks caused from Zika, some in the commu- nity chose to try and stop the release of the geneti- cally modified mosquitoes,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “Their attempt to pre- vent the release of the modified mosquitoes for- tunately did not succeed but if it had, would have put Caymanians, residents and our visitors at further risk of contracting the dis- eases carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito – chi- kungunya, dengue and now Zika.” The premier said the lo- cally contracted Zika cases were transmitted before the GM mosquito releases began July 28. Mr. McLaughlin said, “Many of those who op- posed the release of the mosquitoes here are al- ready politicians or are po- litical aspirants; people who should be taking public health seriously, not using it as a political platform to grandstand. “Anyone who has am- bitions to be a commu- nity leader or a Member of the Legislative Assembly must be more objective and thoughtful regarding the stances they take.” The premier called on the opposition to the mos- quito release to be more transparent. He said, “The public deserves to know the full truth to under- stand the motives behind the ill-advised and dan- gerous campaign.” He took a swipe directly at Opposition Leader McK- eeva Bush, saying, “Instead of continuing to support MRCU in its work to pre- vent several harmful vector- borne illnesses, the Opposi- tion Leader chose to pull his party colleagues onto the alarmist train in an attempt to stop what may be the best hope for controlling the Aedes aegypti mosquito and the dangerous diseases that the breed carries.” Reached by phone late Tuesday, Mr. Bush said, “[Mr. McLaughlin] can’t say we were being obstructionist by simply asking for more information. Alden is just playing politics with this.” Mr. Bush said mem- bers of the opposition Cayman Islands Democratic Party sent a letter to Mr. McLaughlin on June 8 re- questing the Oxitec project be put “on hold” until more public discussions and in- formation were available. The letter read: “We have given preliminary sup- port from out first meeting with Dr. [Bill] Petrie and others from the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, in the absence of any con- cerns at that time because constituents would not have known the intentions of the project then. New ques- tions have now arisen and more public discontent has come to bear.” Premier Alden McLaughlin “With the rapid and ongoing transmission of the Zika virus around the world, it is not an alarming fact that local transmission has reached our shores.” DR. SAMUEL WILLIAMS-RODRIGUEZ, Public Health Department BRAZILIAN JUDGE ORDERS OLYMPICS TO ALLOW STADIUM PROTESTS RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – A judge has ordered Olympics organizers to allow peaceful protests inside venues after several fans were escorted out of stadiums for holding up anti-government signs. As Brazil’s political crisis has deepened, with the Senate on Tuesday taking up impeachment proceedings against suspended President Dilma Rousseff, many are increasingly taking their po- litical grievances to Olympic events. Their almost universal slogan, emblazoned on hand- written signs and T-shirts and spreading like wildfire on so- cial media, is “Fora Temer,” a call for the removal of interim President Michel Temer. But a federal judge in Rio ruled Monday night that nothing in special legislation passed ahead of the games restricts Brazilians’ consti- tutional right to free expres- sion. In a temporary injunc- tion, which can be appealed, he threatened to levy fines of up to $3,200 on anyone who removes peaceful protesters from venues. The International Olympic Committee bans political statements during the games and has pleaded with fans not to disrupt competition. Rio’s organizing committee said it plans to ask the judge to recon- sider his ruling and will make a final appeal, if necessary. “This is a global event, and we think and we hope that the stadiums would not become a platform for polit- ical debate,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Tuesday, adding that it nonetheless plans to “absolutely” respect Brazilian law.9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10, 2016 Something special starts with a Plan. With discounted rates, now’s the time to get a Scotia Plan Loan. Use it for anything you need like a new car, university tuition, or a family vacation. » Unsecured loans with terms up to 5 years† » Auto loans with up to 100% financing and terms up to 84 months† » Customised amounts to suit your needs† APPLY TODAY! RATES AVAILABLE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 15, 2016.† Call 345-949-7666 or visit your nearest branch. Find out more at: cayman.scotiabank.com/yourplan #YourPlan †Conditions apply. Subject to credit approval. ®Registered trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under licence. /ScotiabankKY SB_Cayman_2016_SPL 2016_Compass_HP-V_5.0667x15.8975.indd 18/6/16 8:15 PM Putin, Erdogan agree on steps to mend relations ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday after talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that the two nations can rebuild their damaged ties and make them even closer, promising to back major energy projects with Russia. Repeatedly calling Putin his “dear friend,” Erdogan said Turkey is ready to implement a natural gas pipeline project proposed by Moscow and a deal for Russia to build Tur- key’s first nuclear power plant. Putin, in turn, said the flow of Russian tourists to Turkey, halted after the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey in No- vember, will resume soon. He also promised to gradually lift an embargo on imports of Turkish agricultural products and other restrictions. Putin added that he and Erdogan would have a sepa- rate discussion on Syria later Tuesday involving top mili- tary and intelligence officials to search for common ground in the crisis, where Moscow and Ankara have backed the opposing sides. While Moscow has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad throughout the nation’s civil war and further bolstered that support by launching an air campaign last September, Turkey has pushed for Assad’s removal. Previously close ties be- tween Moscow and Ankara broke down after a Turkish jet shot down a Russian war- plane at the Syrian border, an incident that Putin had de- scribed as a “treacherous stab in the back.” Relations re- mained at a freezing point for seven months until Erdogan met the Russian demand for an apology over the incident. Putin then ordered his government to start re- building ties with Turkey, and when Erdogan faced a botched coup attempt on July 15 the Russian leader quickly offered his support. Erdogan particularly mentioned Putin’s gesture, saying it “gladdened me, my colleagues and our people.” Analysts say that Er- dogan may now be hoping to play the Russian card to strengthen his hand in dis- putes with the United States and European Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Konstantin palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday. - PHOTO: AP IMPHAL, India (AP) – One of India’s most prominent polit- ical activists ended a 16-year hunger strike Tuesday, licking honey from her hand and de- claring “I will never forget this moment.” Irom Sharmila had been force-fed through a tube in her nose and held by police since November 2000, when she began her fast to pro- test a draconian security law that gives immense power to security forces in the north- eastern state of Manipur. Earlier Tuesday, a judge had granted her bail after she assured him that she planned to end her fast. Hours later, she appeared at a news conference, the nose tube already removed, and tasted the honey. She said she plans to run in the next Manipur state elections, in early 2017, to fight to have the security act struck down. “I need power to remove this act,” said Sharmila, 44. “I am the real embodiment of revolution.” Asked how she felt to fi- nally eat, she said “I will never forget this moment.” She began her fast days after 10 civilians were killed by paramilitary soldiers in Manipur, which has long been plagued by uprisings by ethnic separatist mili- tants and violent govern- ment crackdowns. She was charged with at- tempting suicide, a crime in India, allowing officials to force feed her. Sharmila announced last week that she planned to end the fast and run for po- litical office. Indian activist ends hunger strike after 16 years Irom Sharmila picks up a bottle of honey to break her fast in Imphal, in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur on Tuesday. - PHOTO: APNext >