ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 High of 85 Low of 77 Rough with wave heights of 6 to 8 feet. Small craft warning is in effect. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 TIME FOR CAYMAN TO GET SERIOUS ON ANIMAL ISSUES SPORTS | PAGE 20 S. AFRICA’S DU PLESSIS DISPUTES BALL-TAMPERING ACCUSATIONS PremierHealth You said you needed the flexibility of overseas Rx. You got it first with BritCay. BritCay was first with overseas Rx and direct billing pharmacy benefits for Cayman residents. It means your health plan is as convenient to use overseas as it is at home. BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE AGENCIES LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky cgigrp 36 percent of gov’t eligible to retire BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Approximately 1,300 employees in the Cayman Islands civil service – more than one- third of the entire workforce – could retire as of today if they wished. About 200 of those employees are age 60 or older and have been allowed to continue working past what had been the normal re- tirement age (60) until the law was changed in September extending the government retire- ment age to 65. If that step had not been taken by Deputy Governor Franz Manderson’s office, those em- ployees would have been considered “statuto- rily retired” and forced not to come to work until the law was amended. The remainder, about 1,100 civil ser- vice workers ages 50 to 59, could still take early retirement now, according to Port- folio of the Civil Service Chief Officer Gloria McField-Nixon, who on Wednesday revealed the surprising figures during the opening of a three-day professional development confer- ence for civil servants at the Marriott Beach Resort on Grand Cayman. “It’s something that’s happening every- where. The baby boomers [generation born after World War II] are aging and leaving the workforce,” she told the Cayman Compass. Anecdotal evidence gathered over the years by civil service human resources managers suggests that age 57 was the “average age” that employees with at least 10 years of pen- sionable service chose to retire. However, Ms. McField-Nixon said that was before the change in the retirement age. She noted that many of those employees age 60 and over are now opting to stay on with government. If they do not choose to stay, the govern- ment service could find itself losing several hundred workers in a very short time, she said. MADOFF CASE RULING MEANS SOME OFFSHORE FUNDS PROTECTED CHARLES DUNCAN cduncan@pinnaclemedialtd.com A ruling in a bankruptcy case in a federal court in New York involving fraudster Bernard Madoff and the Koch brothers, U.S. billion- aires known for funding conservative causes, has put some offshore funds out of reach of trustees trying to recover funds. Judge Stuart Bernstein’s ruling, issued Monday, means Charles and David Koch’s company, banks and fund managers will get to keep an estimated US$2 billion in profits from Madoff’s Ponzi scheme kept in off- shore accounts. Foreign bankruptcy proceedings, the judge said, blocked the U.S. trustee from being able to use the money to pay back Madoff’s U.S. victims. The trustee can appeal the decision to the U.S. District Court. In an email, Appleby (Cayman) partner Jeremy Walton said, “This is a sensible and welcome decision, confirming the U.S. Bank- ruptcy Court’s deference to foreign legal pro- ceedings on grounds of international co- mity: the various offshore Madoff feeder funds are in liquidation under the supervi- sion of their respective courts [in Bermuda, in the BVI and in Cayman], they have their own laws and rules governing the recovery of pay- ments made to redeeming investors, and those rules have been the subject of litigation [some of which is still ongoing] in each of those jurisdictions. “This decision will allow those cases to run their course unimpeded for the benefit of the various offshore liquidation estates.” Feeder funds typically involve a “master fund” in the U.S. and an offshore “feeder fund.” Early scuba gear to go on display at National Museum CLAIRE SHEFCHIK cshefchik@pinnaclemedialtd.com A 1940s Aqua-Lung regulator belonging to Jacques Cousteau and a pair of 15-pound leather diving boots from 1865 will be among the items on display at the Cayman Islands National Museum’s newest exhibit. The International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame is teaming up with the National Museum for the year-long exhibit, which is showcasing artifacts from the deep. The official opening is from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday. Items in the collection include the first Aqua-Lung regulator imported to the United States by oceanographer Mr. Cous- teau in 1943 and the diving suit worn by actor and Hall of Famer Lloyd Bridges in the 1968 film “The Daring Game.” There will also be an early “under- water camera” jerry-rigged from a pres- sure cooker bought from department store Montgomery Ward. According to Museum Director Peggy Le- shikar-Denton, the museum will be the first physical home of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame. The display will also “celebrate the PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Conservator Mary Peever works on an underwater camera housing from the 1920s on Wednesday, days before the Cayman Islands National Museum puts it and several other scuba-diving artifacts on display in a new year-long exhibit. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY2 LOCAL NEWS THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 640-FILM (640-3456) *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. 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. MOANA 3D (PG) 12:45 | 3:30 2D | 6:45 | 9:20 2D ALMOST CHRISTMAS (PG13) 1:00 | 4:00 | 7:00 | 9:50 ARRIVAL (PG13) 1:20 | 4:10 | 7:10 | 9:50 DOCTOR STRANGE 3D (PG13) 7:15 | 10:05 2D FANTASTIC BEASTS (PG13) AND WHERE TO FIND THEM 3D 12:15 | 3:20 2D | 6:30 | 9:40 2D ALLIED (R) 1:10 | 4:05 | 7:00 | 10:00 TROLLS (PG) 12:30 | 2:45 | 5:00 - THURSDAY - Couple escapes from burning home JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com A George Town couple managed to escape from their three-bedroom home on Clayton Drive off South Church Street after a fire started early Wed - -nesday morning. A 1997 Blazer and a 1998 Silverado in the carport were destroyed by the fire. The two-car garage was gutted and the interior of the home received extensive fire, smoke and water damage. Firefighters received the 911 call at 6:40 a.m. At first, it was reported as a brush fire which had turned into a structure fire. The cause of the blaze was under investigation, Fire Ser- vices Acting Deputy Fire Chief Sherman Yates said. Fire crews from West Bay and George Town responded, arriving at the scene at 6:47 a.m., according to the Fire Ser- vices Department. “All I remember is my wife waking me up around 6 a.m., saying she heard knocking and I must go check it out,” said 64-year-old homeowner James Merren. Mr. Merren and his wife Shirley have lived at the home for 32 years. “I built and designed that home with my own two hands,” said Mr. Merren as he stood on the front lawn sharing his ordeal with family and friends after the fire trucks left. He said he had stayed up late working around the home and had retired to bed around 3 a.m. When his wife woke him and sent him downstairs, he said, he smelled the smoke. “When I opened the front door and went outside, I could not see the garage doors for smoke,” he said. He ran back inside to cut the power on the breaker box and to tell his wife the house was on fire. “I also remember telling her the cars were on fire,” Mr. Merren said. All this time, he said, they were still inside the burning home when he told his wife to call 911. “They told us to get out of the house immediately, so we went outside to wait on the fire trucks, which was a good thing,” Mr. Merren said. According to neighbor Ei- leen Brown, she was awak- ened by her helper banging on her room door telling her to get out of the house because the house next door was on fire. “I was in the bedroom with my mother, who is bed- ridden, when I heard the helper banging on the door for us to get out of the house,” said Ms. Brown. Fire officers left the scene after 10 a.m. Robbers arrived by boat, court hears CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Two men who pleaded guilty to the Aug. 12 robbery of a Savannah store came to Cayman on a boat that was not supposed to land, Dame Linda Dobbs, acting judge of the Grand Court, heard on Wednesday. Paul Martin, 28, and Ro- mario Codner, who turned 22 last week, previously pleaded guilty to robbing D and D Ac- cessories & Things, using force against the store attendant to steal $2,136 that was the property of Jamaica National Money Transfer Services. Crown counsel Kenneth Ferguson noted that nei- ther wore masks or gloves during the robbery. After their arrest, he said, Codner gave a no comment in- terview, but Martin answered some questions and later gave an account of their arrival. Martin said he entered the Cayman Islands in a boat with four other men: Codner, known to him as “Townman,” a man named Kevin, and two Nica- raguans who piloted the boat. He said he had been asked to help deliver some “stuff” for Kevin’s friend. The plan was that their boat would stop about 30 miles off the coast of Grand Cayman. Another boat would meet them, refuel their boat and take the “stuff.” But no boat came. The four men therefore waited until nightfall and came to shore by boat. Kevin left and got a car and then took the others to an aban- doned house. A few days later, food ran low and the elec- tricity was cut off. Martin said some man picked him and Codner up and took them to a business place. After the customers left, Codner “robbed the lady” and then they ran outside, got in the car and left. Martin said he was not a robber and did not want to go, but he had no choice. He maintained he did not know Codner had a gun. Mr. Ferguson provided de- tails of the robbery. He ex- plained that as well as being a money transfer service, the business sells items such as household goods, tools and watches. He said there were six or seven customers in the store when Martin and Codner arrived. Codner joined the line for money transactions and Martin went over to a curtain display. After a few minutes, they sat down on chairs next to each other and then Martin left the store. The cashier asked if she could help Codner and he in- dicated his friend was outside; he asked what time the store closed and then left. She later let him back in after he used the door buzzer. He pulled out a “shiny” gun from his waist- band and told her, “Give me all the money or I will kill you.” He jumped over the counter barrier and demanded to know where the money was. The ca- shier was so frightened, she started to cry, Mr. Ferguson said, and she was shaking so much, she could barely open the drawer where the money was. She handed the robber the cash pan. He pushed the money into his pocket with the gun. He told her to buzz him out, but a second man at the door opened it. It was established from the CCTV that the robbery had taken about 20 seconds, with the men leaving the store at 8:40 p.m. Scenes of Crime Officers processed the premises and Codner’s fingerprints were found on the cash pan and the metal frame on top of the counter. Police obtained a search warrant for a residence where they found the two de- fendants, both of whom are Ja- maicans, and one Caymanian. As reported previously, Codner and Martin were arrested on Friday, Aug. 19, at a residence in the Bodden Town district after an exten- sive search that included the police helicopter. Attorneys Laura Larner and John Furniss spoke in mitigation for the defendants. They advised the court that the men had been charged with illegal landing and would be dealt with for that offense in Summary Court after their robbery hearing. Both men had pleaded guilty at the ear- liest opportunity and neither had any previous convictions, they told the court. Ms. Larner pointed to Cod- ner’s remorse, as seen in let- ters he had written to the store cashier and to the gov- ernment and people of the Cayman Islands. Mr. Furniss urged the court to give credit for Martin’s early cooperation and his assertion that he was not involved in planning the robbery. However, he accepted that the crime was a joint venture, describing Martin as the lookout man. Mr. Ferguson pointed out that the gun had not been re- covered, so it was still out in the community. The judge said she would view CCTV from the store that showed the robbery, consider submissions, and pass sen- tence on Dec. 14. FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO POLE FIRE AT KIRK’S HOME CENTRE JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Fire crews responded to an electrical pole fire at a section of Kirk’s Home Centre on Bodden Road, George Town, around lunchtime Wednesday. A small crowd gath- ered to watch as police blocked off Bodden Road and fire crews waited for a Caribbean Utili- ties Company work crew to arrive to cut the wires leading to the back of the building where the store stocks and sells its doors and windows. Fire personnel stood by and ensured the flames did not spread to nearby structures until the CUC workers arrived. No inju- ries were reported. According to firefighters, they could not actively fight the flames due to the elec- tricity running through the power lines. A CUC work crew cut the burning wire leading to the building and doused the flames with a fire extinguisher. Cayman fire crews were on scene for less than an hour. Kirk’s doors and win- dows building and lumber yard building remained without power by mid- afternoon Wednesday. Kirk’s main store was not affected. Homeowner James Merren, wearing a white hat, stands among family and friends in front of his fire-damaged home on Clayton Drive, George Town, on Wednesday morning. – PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY A Caribbean Utilities Company workman extinguishes the flames. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 NOVEMBER 25th Awesome Savings Throughout The Store! Doors Open at 5am and Close 10pm Do not miss out on The Biggest Black Friday SALE The Island has ever seen!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. “Oh, don’t the days seem lank and long When all goes right and nothing goes wrong, And isn’t your life extremely flat With nothing whatever to grumble at!” – Gilbert and Sullivan WASHINGTON – At this shank end of a shabby year, Americans still can be thankful: They do not have the problem of nothing to grumble about. As we steel ourselves for Thanksgiv- ing’s obligatory routs and revels – does anyone really like turkey? or Uncle Ralph, who keeps turning up, like a bad penny? – Americans are cudgeling their brains for reasons to feel gratitude. So, herewith a call for ev- eryone to temper gloom with lucidity. Things could be worse. And they often have been while Americans never- theless were giving thanks. In her new book “Thanks- giving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Ex- perience,” Melanie Kirkpat- rick traces the evolution of this celebration from the Pil- grims’ 1621 feast with mem- bers of the Wampanoag tribe. Congress urged George Washington to “recommend” to the people a day of thanks- giving, which he did. Thomas Jefferson, however, did not feel “authorized” to pro- mote this “intermeddling” of government with reli- gious observance. On Oct. 3, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed that henceforth the last Thursday in November would be an official national holiday. He did so to thank God – and His instrument, the Union army – for the nation’s im- proving fortunes of war. And specifically for the vic- tory at Gettysburg, where 47 days later Lincoln gave a short speech dedicating a cemetery. Thankfulness did not seem, and was not, in- appropriate even in a con- text of American deaths in hitherto unimaginable num- bers. Exactly 100 years later – 53 years ago – Thanks- giving fell six days after the murder of a president. In 1939, the New Deal having failed to banish the Depression – unemployment was 17.2 percent – Franklin Roosevelt unlimbered the heavy artillery, the plucky American shopper. Happy days would be here again because FDR was moving Thanksgiving from the last Thursday in November to the third. In 1933, his first year in office, November had five Thursdays and Thanksgiving was on the 30th, and in 1939 it was again set to land on that day, to the horror of the na- tion’s biggest retailers, who coveted more post-Thanks- giving shopping days. But a Brooklyn haber- dasher wanted the later date: “If the large depart- ment stores are overcrowded during the shorter shopping period before Christmas, the overflow will come, naturally, to the neigh- borhood store.” Generally, the nation- wide reaction was, Kirkpat- rick writes, “swift and vo- ciferous.” The pastor at the Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, Massachusetts, lamented that “the sacred has given way to the secular forces of life.” Alf Landon, the losing Republican can- didate against FDR in 1936, said the president has an- nounced this change “to an unprepared country with the omnipotence of a Hitler.” Twenty-two of the 48 states adopted what Republicans cheekily called Franksgiving on Nov. 23, another 23 stayed with Nov. 30, and three states celebrated both days. Like much of the rest of the New Deal, moving Thanksgiving earlier failed to be an economic blessing. Nineteen days after Pearl Harbor, FDR signed a joint congressional resolution making the fourth Thursday in November Thanksgiving. Today’s president-elect, who is not always a human sunbeam, seems to regard the nation (“a hellhole”) as akin to tundra in that any- thing done to it will improve it. Perhaps his deft presi- dential touch on the tiller of the ship of state will soon have America sailing toward greatness. But his coming ascension to the ship’s bridge might cause a polar frost, followed by scorching heat, at many Thanksgiving dinner tables. Uncle Ralph, squinting at Aunt Emma’s defiantly worn “I’m With Her” button, is going to say, with measured malice, “I wish you were.” At least there will not be anesthe- tizing boredom caused by the turkey’s tryptophan. Modern presidential campaigns, like the presi- dency itself, are too much with us, which makes it dif- ficult to relegate politics to the hinterland of our minds. Shortly before Thanksgiving 2013, the student govern- ment of Barnard College in New York City sent to all students this email: “Happy Turkey Week. Thanksgiving is complicated. We urge you not to forget that this hol- iday commemorates geno- cide and American imperi- alism. But, enjoy the week off and make it into some- thing meaningful.” The email’s authors de- serve the fate of William Veazie, a Massachusetts church warden who in 1696 was spotted plowing a field on the day designated for Thanksgiving. Kirkpatrick says he was fined 10 pounds and sentenced to an hour in the pillory in Boston. George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2016, Washington Post Writers Group Time for Cayman to get serious on animal issues The recent discovery of the charred body of a dog, dumped at a construction site, is grim business indeed. As is the series of violent assaults on docile riding ponies at the Equestrian Center in George Town – one resulting in the death of 25-year-old pony Charm … As is, too, the untold number of cases of animal abuse, cruelty and neglect that occur in the Cayman Islands on a regular basis, the perpetrators of which are rarely, if ever, arrested, prosecuted and convicted. Considered in the context of our country’s out-of- control fauna (for example, the 500,000-strong horde of green iguanas, the roaming populations of stray dogs and feral cats, and the invasion of non-native scorpions, millipedes and other creepy-crawlies), it seems that it is long overdue that the government develop a comprehensive policy on animal issues – and puts into place the operational wherewithal to implement it. We have spoken to those issues many times on this editorial page, often making the point that govern- ment’s inaction has created a void that has been left to local nonprofits to fill. The weakness of those charitable efforts are that they are “charitable.” When it comes to getting at the root of deep societal issues such as the lack of basic respect for a life form, or the lack of accountability for destructive actions against animals, Cayman’s chari- ties “have no teeth.” The government, on the other hand, particularly police and prosecutors, have plenty of teeth — sharp ones, but for some inexplicable reason, they are not using them. In addition to the apparent lack of will among authorities to pursue convictions against people for harming animals, or to hold people accountable for their pets’ behavior, the government seems to be hindered by its own sprawling bureaucracy, with poorly defined boundaries of responsibility and inefficient allocation of public resources. Consider the subject of today’s story in the Compass, the burned body of a dog that has sparked renewed calls for government to enforce its animal cruelty law (and has led to the creation of yet another charitable group, called “Cayman Animal’s Watchdog” to encourage people to report animal abuse). A primary object of people’s anger and frustration is the Department of Agriculture, which has an animal welfare officer, but is charged with collecting aban- doned animals and euthanizing hundreds of dogs and cats every year. The minimal resources brought to bear on this runaway problem are testimony to the low priority our officials place on this growing issue. Might it be a can- didate for privatization in concert with other recom- mendations of the Ernst & Young Report? In regard to the eradication of green iguanas, shouldn’t the Department of Agriculture be more involved? Or is that more suitably within the purview of the Department of Environment? Presently, of course, after the iguanas are culled, the Department of Environmental Health then steps in to oversee the disposal of their carcasses. All of this is far too bureau- cratic and, frankly, far too ineffective. If there is any hope of tackling Cayman’s ubiquitous problems with animals, someone with power, probably in the Legislative Assembly, must take definitive command of the situation. It may not be a glamorous assignment, but it is an essential one for a problem that is getting increasingly worse. THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS Be thankful you have something to grumble at GEORGE F. WILL GEORGE 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 find their own way” Modern presidential campaigns, like the presidency itself, are too much with us, which makes it difficult to relegate politics to the hinterland of our minds.The islands’ most-trusted news source 5 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 DISTRICT DAYS 6 District Days Bodden Town THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS 50 YEARS AGO Visiting Parliamentarian dignitaries bypass Bodden Town In the Nov. 23, 1966 edi- tion of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, Bodden Town correspondent Haig Bodden wrote: “On the 19th of this month a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Frederick at the hospital in George Town. “Visiting at the Bodden Town Manse for two weeks was Dr. A. Allen, who has just completed his med- ical training at the Univer- sity of the West Indies Hos- pital and is expecting to work at the Kingston Public Hospital. With him was Miss Rose Francis, also of Kingston. We are happy that both had an enjoyable time. “Again Bodden Town has been slighted with re- gard to the visit of the Par- liamentarian dignitaries. It is quite obvious that the programme was arranged so that Bodden Town would be bypassed. “Of course the reason for ignoring this district is quite blatant. It has been so ne- glected in the past that it has nothing to show, although we have always been faithful tax-paying underlings. “But the underlying reason for this … is that the natives do not have enough to say in running the in- ternal affairs of this island. “Quite often most of the social gatherings are planned by the same little clique, and naturally all matters political and oth- erwise, if not finalized, are certainly hatched at these revelries. “How many remember a few years ago when the seat of government was nearly removed to a certain hotel? One should never forget that the greatest mistake any country can make is to give all power to one man, or to one little group of men. The words of the great Lord Acton are just as true now as when they were first used: ‘All power corrupts and absolute power cor- rupts absolutely.’ “Can anyone who voted for the increased duty on gasoline tell the public why he or she considers gasoline a luxury, and why the im- port duty should be raised at every wink of the eyelash? “Please do not use your former excuse that gasoline is cheaper in the Cayman Is- lands than it is in England or Jamaica. Remember that Cayman is devoid of public transportation, no buses, no trains, no subways. “It is true that people who live in George Town do not need automobiles. They can ride a bicycle or walk to work. It is not so with people who live in the Eastern Districts and com- mute daily to George Town to earn a living. These people have only one means of transportation – privately owned automobiles. “The world market price of commercial automotive gasoline is roughly 10 cents or 9 pence per gallon. Added to this, the consumer has to pay for all shipping charges, import duties and of course the dealers’ profits. The new tariff on gasoline is 6 pence/gallon, plus 30 shil- lings per 100 gallons for tonnage tax, a total of 10 pence per gallon. It is there- fore an indisputable fact that the custom dues are higher than the first cost of the commodity. “No other essential com- modity is taxed that high. “When the tax on gas- oline was increased in Britain some time ago the British taxpayer raised such a storm of pro- test that the leaders were fearing a new election would be called. “When an Englishman talks against tax increase, one can bet his or her bottom dollar that the rate levelled has been inequi- table. But in Cayman the same segment of society pays and continues to pay blindly at the hands of mer- ciless exploiters, while a se- lect few just go along for the free ride. “Finally, to add insult to injury, the legislators in the same bill increased the tax on motor vehicles, proving again, that they are only capable of thinking in one direction.” Gimistory coming to Bodden Town JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Gimistory, the Cayman Islands’ international story- telling festival, is coming to Bodden Town on Nov. 29. Gimistory is as simple as its name. Combine imagina- tion with glowing, ghostly shapes moving eerily among the almond trees, a sudden wind, footsteps, Grandpa Touslin’s mean spirit, two local boys who try to steal a cow tail with a butcher knife, plus an air conditioner stolen from a church wall during service. Now, take that and add in a few in- ternational and local story tellers like Trinidadian ca- lypsonian Black Sage and local comedian Quincy Brown, some fry fish and fritters, some strangers and some locals, and you have Gimistory. Long ago when Gun Square and Cumber Av- enue were lit only by moon- light and oil lamps, duppies roamed. Neighbors played pranks and men could not resist telling tall tales. Telling stories is in our Caymanian blood, espe- cially in the veins of Bodden Towners. The older folks were born storytellers, made even more so by the lack of television and radios in some homes. These tradi- tions were passed in verbal story form from generation to generation, and we all have stories to tell. At Gimistory, a free event, some people bring a blanket and chair and move about when each storyteller comes on stage. Stories last about 20 minutes, with roughly 10 people speaking throughout the evening. It’s a way to connect with strangers, and to have a good time through laughter, wonder- ment and drama. Gimistory night is the brainchild of Henry Muttoo, and presented through the efforts of the Cayman Na- tional Cultural Foundation. Since its inception in 1998, Gimistory has been considered one of the best festivals of its kind, uniting generations and nationalities, both as performers and audi- ence members, and at- tracting returning visitors year after year. Each of the districts on Grand, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman enjoy a free night of storytelling at pic- turesque venues on beaches under the seagrape trees, or at a park or open field under the moonlight. Local and overseas storytellers take to the stage and tell a tall tale or two while the crackle of burning wood hints at the hot, delicious fried fish and fritters avail- able after the stories. The festival brings more than 2,500 people together from virtually every sector of Cayman’s multigenera- tional, multiational com- munity, in addition to visi- tors from abroad. During the day, story- tellers visit schools, making special presentations to students in each of our three islands. CNCF’s Gimistory is an event for all ages, taking us back to a time when people provided their own enter- tainment; a time when the imagination created images more colorful than any tele- vision screen; and when family and friends came together at dusk to share tall tales, suggest the festi- val’s organizers. Gimistory schedule ■■ Saturday, Nov. 26 – Tiki Beach – Dave Mar- tins and Tradewinds Cayman Reunion Concert Tickets $35. Purchase at any BlackBeard’s, Fos- ter’s Food Fair loca- tions or Funky Tang’s. ■■ Monday, Nov. 28 – North Side – Ned Miller’s Yard ■■ Tuesday, Nov. 29 – Bodden Town – Nurse Josie’s Senior Home ■■ Wednesday, Nov. 30 – East End – Heritage Field ■■ Thursday, Dec. 1 – Cayman Brac – Ag- riculture Ground ■■ Friday, Dec. 2 – West Bay – Public Beach ■■ Saturday, Dec. 3 – George Town – Smith Barcadere – “Duppy Story Night.” Black Sage entertains the crowd. Gimistory is heading to Bodden Town next week. Sheila Pain and Jeri Burns get a shock at a past Gimistory.DISTRICT DAYS 7 District Days Bodden Town CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 Savannah Primary holds math boot camp Savannah Primary School is taking a pre-emptive strike at helping parents sup- port their kids with their math homework. On Nov. 10, parents of stu- dents of Savannah Primary from all year levels, recep- tion to Year 6, were invited to attend a hands-on numeracy strategy night. According to a press release, approximately 100 parents along with their children turned up to be tu- tored in various mathematical practices that their children will be learning this school year. The event follows on the heels of a similar initia- tive held for parents and care- givers to help their children with literacy, which saw close to 200 adults in attendance. “How many times have parents expressed frustra- tions regarding the math homework that is brought home?” said Savannah Pri- mary Principal Carol Nyack. “By participating in this initiative, we hope, they won’t have to utter such frustra- tions quite as much.” Each year group had its own session that dealt with specific goals and topics from the children’s curriculum. Reception parents got involved in counting, sorting and pattern exer- cises, while Year 1 teachers showed parents the impor- tance of establishing number sense within 10. “Number sense includes concepts like understanding the number’s meaning, what the number represents, ‘how many’ it is, what symbol rep- resents it, and combinations of objects to represent the number, as well as quanti- ties that may be put together to arrive at the number,” explained Year 5 teacher and numeracy coordinator Carol Gopaul. “Number sense also covers number relationships, un- derstanding combinations of other numbers to get the given number.” Year 2 teachers invited their parents to use different manipulatives to under- stand numbers. Ms. Gopaul explained that manipulatives are phys- ical objects that are used as teaching tools to engage stu- dents in the hands-on learning of mathematics, like counters, number lines, and blocks. Years 3 and 4 parents got a sampling of the strategies of addition and subtraction. “These strategies include adding and subtracting using the number line as a vi- sual representation, par- titioning by separating a number into the place value of the digits, and grouping like values for adding or sub- tracting [expanded notation],” said Ms. Gopaul. Year 5 teachers were on hand to illustrate solving both multiplication and division problems using tech- niques like the grid method and chunking, and Year 6 par- ents were given a taste of the Key Stage 2 Mental Math test. “The general consensus of the parents was that the nu- meracy strategy night was a huge success,” said Ms. Nyack, noting it seemed that most of attendees left the ses- sions with a pretty good idea of what their child would be learning for rest of the year. “After an hour of prac- ticing the various math strat- egies, and learning the new vocabulary, a feeling of con- fidence was evident in the room,” added Ms. Gopaul, noting that given the positive response the school is con- sidering holding a follow-up math evening. Approximately 100 parents along with their children turned up to be tutored in various mathematical practices that their children will be learning this school year. Parents and students go over some exercises. Year 5 teacher and numeracy coordinator Carol Gopaul leads a session. Year 3 students at work. Willy Jackson house a true Cayman cottage This little home in Bodden Town, known as the Willy Jackson house, could well be one of the oldest residences in the district. According to the National Trust’s historic homes reg- istry, the single story house is estimated to have been built in 1904 by Mr. Jackson, and unlike many early homes of that time, is constructed not out of wattle and daub but of shiplap timber, with a zinc gable roof and a wood porch. The house, located close to the Bodden Town public li- brary, is distinctive for its elaborate wooden fretwork giving it a charming “gingerbread” look. The Willy Jackson house, built in 1904. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 ‘Sushi-ologist’ at Guy Harvey’s was found in the water off West Bay BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man described as “one of the most talented sushi chefs” in the Cayman Islands died in what appears to have been an accident this week along the northwestern coast of Grand Cayman. Tian Lun Ma, 39, who lived in West Bay but origi- nally came from Shanghai, China, was found shortly after dawn Tuesday in the water near the Cayman Turtle Centre parking lot. Patrons of Guy Harvey’s restaurant in downtown George Town might recog- nize Mr. Ma by his Cayman Islands nickname “Aoki” – which he used when serving his fish dishes to customers. Restaurant general man- ager Bruno Deluche said Aoki had been with him for more than three years after joining from another res- taurant on Grand Cayman. He said the Shanghai native was a whiz with both the serving knives and at cus- tomer service. “He was a real ‘sushi-ol- ogist,’ he was always trying new recipes,” Mr. Deluche said. “He was known for his lionfish sashimi, wahoo sashimi. He would walk the [prepared dishes] over to people and talk with them about the sushi. He was just a great character.” The staff at Guy Harvey’s and the downstairs restau- rant/bar Crudo were shaken by the announcement of Mr. Ma’s death Tuesday af- ternoon, made by business co-owner Dennis Hunter, Mr. Deluche said. The Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Service was un- certain exactly how the chef ended up in the water, but it appears he went shore fishing Monday night in West Bay and somehow got knocked from the rocky coast and into the sea in rough weather. His fishing tackle was found on shore at the location, which is a walled off parking lot di- rectly across the street from the Cayman Turtle Centre on North West Point Road. Police detectives said Tuesday that there did not appear to be anything suspi- cious about Mr. Ma’s death. Guy Harvey’s restaurant owner and namesake Guy Harvey said Wednesday that the incident was “very sad and unfortunate.” THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • CAYMAN COMPASS We thought of you with love today But that is nothing new We thought about you yesterday and days before too, We think of you in silence We often speak your name All we have are memories And your picture in a frame Your memory is our keepsake With which we will never part God has you in his keeping We have you in our hearts Love from your Wife Doralee Children and Grand-children Special friend Casdale Missing You 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 9th June 1952 – 24 November 2015 Morris McLaughlin birth and development of the Cayman diving industry,” she said in a press release. This exhibit is the first of its kind in the Cayman Is- lands, she added. “Early divers really wanted to be innovative,” said museum conservator Mary Peever. She has the re- sponsibility of preparing the artifacts for display by pre- venting what she calls “ac- tive deterioration,” including oxidation on a Graflex camera housing dating from the 1920s. Also to go on display is a protective chain-mail diving suit designed by Australian filmmaker Ron Taylor for his wife, diver Valerie Taylor, whose adventures swim- ming with great white sharks inspired Peter Benchley’s novel “Jaws” and the 1974 film adaptation. “This display has been carefully curated by the Board and we are excited to have the expertise of the [mu- seum] team to help us tell the story of [the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame] and its role in honouring the industry,” said Leslie Leaney, executive director of the Hall of Fame, and an inductee, in the release. In addition to the dis- play of artifacts on the main galley floor, the ex- hibit will also include a Leg- ends Gallery Floor focusing on pioneers of the Cayman Islands diving industry. The Hall of Fame was founded in 2000 by Cayman’s Ministry of Tourism in an ef- fort to honor those who have pioneered the sport of scuba diving, making it safer and more enjoyable. Investors put their money in the feeder fund which, in turn, invests in the U.S. master fund. The master fund invests in the market. Credit Suisse, UBS AG and HSBC are also listed in court papers as having pro- ceeds from Madoff’s scheme kept overseas. Irving Picard, the trustee working to recover money for Madoff’s victims, ar- gued that the feeder funds operated in the United States despite being regis- tered overseas. According to the New York Times, Koch Industries invested in Madoff’s funds but pulled out US$21.5 million before the Ponzi scheme collapsed. Madoff created what is widely recognized as the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, using a string of new investors to pay off older investors. Madoff’s invest- ment funds involved bil- lions of dollars in fraudu- lent investments. Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 to 11 felonies and is serving a 150-year prison sentence. The trustee for the vic- tims has recovered about US$11.5 billion but still has roughly US$6 billion in claims outstanding. The Times reports the trustee has recovered sev- eral large sums from the profits, including US$5 bil- lion from the estate of a Florida investor and US$1 billion from Tremont Group. The Kochs’s money in this case went to a British Virgin Islands fund and then to a Koch company based in London. “We’re encouraging them to stay [until 65], and we’ve found that more and more, that the baby boomers are staying with us,” she said. If the older government employees do stay longer, it would help reduce the un- funded financial liability in the government’s Public Service Pension fund, which has been estimated recently at more than $200 million over a rolling 20-year period. Ms. McField-Nixon said the change in the retire- ment age to 65 was ex- pected to shave about $30 million off that fu- ture liability. Going the other way, a large number of early re- tirements could place ad- ditional strain on an al- ready underfunded pension scheme for government workers, forcing the plan to pay out more cash, earlier, to participants. Younger workers One area where the “graying” government ser- vice has been noted re- cently, Mrs. McField-Nixon said, is in the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. A recent survey of the police staff found that 23 percent of all current police officers are between ages 50 and 59, while 65 per- cent of the department’s of- ficers are over 40. Fewer than 5 percent of RCIPS officers are between ages 18 and 28, the survey in August found. The relative proportion of older RCIPS officers is not of great concern to the force’s senior commanders, but the fewer younger offi- cers is a worry, according to officials, especially as the department considers who will be leading it in years to come. Ms. McField-Nixon said this is a similar concern for the overall civil ser- vice, with a slightly dif- ferent emphasis. If older workers do stay on longer, the younger ones may find that entry-level employ- ment opportunities are not available. In the future, the human resources director said, she sees a shift toward job per- formance, rather than lon- gevity, in determining who gets and keeps jobs in the government service. Madoff case ruling means some offshore funds protected CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Conservator Mary Peever checks some corroded snap fasteners on a decades-old chainmail suit used while diving with sharks. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Early scuba gear to go on display at National Museum 36 percent of gov’t eligible to retire Sushi chef Tian Lun Ma CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Sushi chef dies in fishing accident More than a third of civil servants and government workers have reached the age of retirement. - PHOTO: CHRIS COURT9 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 Burned dog prompts call for action JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The charred carcass of a dog found dumped on a con- struction site in Prospect has prompted new concern about the level of animal abuse in the Cayman Islands and calls for the Department of Agri- culture to do more to enforce the law on animal cruelty. A grisly image of the blackened body of the pit bull mix, lying in the marl, was sent to the Humane Society by concerned workers who made the discovery last week. Jason Jairam, shelter manager, said it was not clear whether the dog was dead or alive when it was burned. He said the find was possibly linked to dog fighting, but it was difficult to tell without further investigation. The incident is the latest in a number of high-profile an- imal abuse cases this year, in- cluding sexual assaults on po- nies at the equestrian center and a dog that was chained to a tree and starved to death. Animal welfare charities say Cayman’s animal protec- tion laws are very good. They just need to be enforced. Now frustrated mem- bers of the public are calling on government to do more to investigate and prose- cute offenders. Concerned dog lover Taura Ebanks has started a new group, Cayman Ani- mal’s Watchdog, to encourage people to report animal abuse. The group has also started a petition to present to Minister of Agriculture Kurt Tibbetts asking for proper enforcement of the animal laws. Ms. Ebanks said several charities are doing good work to rescue and re-home ne- glected animals, pay for spay and neuter operations, and educate pet owners and chil- dren on how to properly look after an animal. She said the community is clearly doing everything in its power to help, but is not seeing enough enforcement action from government. “There have been really ex- treme cases of abuse and ne- glect leading to the death of animals and nothing is being done. People have stopped re- porting to the Department of Agriculture because they feel that nothing will be done.” She said there is not even a clear and obvious way to re- port animal abuse. The petition states, “There continues to be animals used in dog fights, some animals are overbred, starved, impris- oned within small confines, restricting any basic level of adequate movement, burned on property lots, sexually as- saulted, tied to death trees for their miserable lives to be carried out without access to basic food, clean water or basic shelter … “There is no more time, nor should there be, [for] the continued tolerance of people turning a ‘blind eye’ or the Cayman Islands Department of Agriculture not taking the basic steps to do everything possible to enforce the an- imal welfare laws. “Simply put, not enough is being done by our Cayman Islands Government to pro- tect and enforce the existing laws to protect animals,” the petition states. The petition calls for gov- ernment to ensure the public has an obvious way to report cases of abuse or neglect and ensure the Department of Ag- riculture or other authorities take steps to locate abusers, investigate allegations and follow up on incidents once they are reported. Director of Agriculture Adrian Estwick said he be- lieved his department was doing enough to investigate animal cruelty cases. He said department vets had exam- ined the ponies and handed their findings to the police. The case of the dog chained to a tree and starved was re- ported to the police rather than to his department. He said the department had been informed of the burned dog but had referred the caller to the police and had not subsequently re- ceived a request from po- lice to assist. His department had re- ferred a total of two cases of animal abuse for prosecu- tion this year and seven in the last five years. He added, “The DOA’s policy is to first educate and work with the owner to en- sure acceptable animal wel- fare practices are followed and only then if education and cooperation fail to achieve the desired results to move to en- forcement and prosecution. “In cases of severe animal cruelty, neglect [or] abandon- ment, a stern approach would be taken. In cases where en- forcement and/or prosecution are necessary, the DOA works closely with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.” Lesley Agostinelli of Cayman Animal Rescue En- thusiasts said she under- stands the staffing and resource limitations the De- partment of Agriculture is facing. She said both the DOA and the various animal char- ities were overwhelmed at times. She agrees that more needs to be done to enforce the animal laws – either through partnerships with community groups or a new agency like the Society for the Protection of Animals. She said there have been several reports of dead dogs, potentially linked to dog fighting, dumped on the dyke roads in Prospect over the past few years. Through its work with schoolchildren, CARE sees youngsters who have been exposed to dog fighting and cock fighting and other types of animal abuse. She said the legislation around animal welfare and regulation is already very good, but the resources and procedures are not there: “The Animals Law is a re- ally good piece of legislation and if it was enforced, the Cayman Islands would be a pet paradise.” She said coordina- tion with organizations like CARE on micro-chipping pets and registering owners would be other methods of holding people accountable for their animals. She said investigating and dealing with animal abuse and related is- sues would likely help solve wider social issues as well. “The correlation between human social issues and an- imal abuse is not something that is recognized enough,” she said. “When we see is- sues of neglect and abuse of animals, there are usually other criminal or social is- sues involved.” Mr. Jairam, of the Humane Society, said the incident in- volving the burned dog was reported to him last week. “What this person did was pretty gruesome,” he said. “They didn’t have to burn the dog like that. We don’t know if the dog was dead or alive when it was set on fire.” Mr. Jairam said the Hu- mane Society continues to receive frequent reports of animal abuse. Last month, a dog was confiscated from a home in West Bay with a tumor the size of a golf ball on its eye. He said the dog was being kept in a tiny wire chicken cage and had not had access to veterinary care. That dog had to be euthanized. The animal enforcement officer at the Department of Agriculture was informed of both incidents. Legislator Winston Con- nolly was contacted for as- sistance for more government action. He said he was already working on a related motion to bring to the Legislative As- sembly. “I’d be happy to lend whatever little weight I may have to this issue,” he said. “I have been totally aghast about the sexual abuse of the horses also, and we definitely need to speak up as politi- cians on these heinous acts.”Next >