ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 High of 84 Low of 75 Seas: Moderate to rough with wave heights of 4 to 6 feet.Small craft should exercise caution over open water. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 WHEN ‘MINOR’ INFRACTIONS LEAD TO SERIOUS CRIMES LOCAL | PAGE 2 GETAWAY VEHICLE USED IN ARMORED TRUCK ROBBERY RECOVERED BRITCAY CHANGES COURSE ON HEALTH CITY COVERAGE SOCCER REFS ON STRIKE OVER ASSAULT CLAIMS JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman’s football referees are on strike amid allegations that a match official was as- saulted by a coach in the closing minutes of a weekend cup match in West Bay on Saturday. It is the fifth reported incident this season involving “physical attacks and discrimina- tion,” against match officials, according to a statement from the Cayman Islands Refer- ee’s Association. Now the referees are calling for a police presence at local games amid concerns for their safety. In recent seasons, a referee has been knocked unconscious and put in hospital for three days, another official was threatened with a knife, and refs in youth games have faced abuse and threats from competitive par- ents, according to senior match officials who spoke to the Cayman Compass Tuesday. The referees withdrew their services after the latest incident on Saturday night, forcing the postponement of a slate of games A bird in the hand The sight of frigate birds soaring over East End has long been a draw for tourists and locals alike. At Tukka restaurant in East End, the photogenic birds swoop for scraps. Mark Tilley captured this image of chef Peter Ooi feeding the birds on April 2. Candidate challenges of ‘constitutional importance’ BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The first of what is expected to be three eligibility challenges to candidates in Cayman’s May general election came before the Grand Court Tuesday, with George Town South candidate Alric Lindsay appearing to an- swer the case. Mr. Lindsay’s attorney, An- thony Akiwumi, said the court challenge raised matters of “constitutional importance” and also what powers the Elec- tions Office had in summonsing the three candidates, two of whom he represents. “It affects the entire demo- cratic process, [both] by an in- dividual who we say is qualified to participate [as a candidate] and with respect to the choice the electorate has in connection with the list of candidates avail- able when the general election comes,” Mr. Akiwumi said. Mr. Akiwumi told the court that his client is a Caymanian and indicated the issue before the court concerned “the effect of his adoption on whether or not he falls within the qualifi- cation criteria” as a candidate PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Medical insurance provider BritCay agreed Tuesday to reinstate to clients its cov- erage of all healthcare services at Health City Cayman Islands. The announcement comes less than two weeks after BritCay said it would only reim- burse cardiac care at the East End hospital due to contractual concerns. The insurer now intends to reinstate full coverage at the fa- cility, starting April 17. Health City publicly opposed BritCay’s ini- tial attempt to limit coverage, citing concerns for patient welfare. Hospital officials indicated the insurer’s original announcement, made March 29, came as a surprise to them. Amid the controversy, BritCay parent com- pany Colonial Group sent its chief operating officer for health Naz Farrow from its Ber- muda office to meet with Health City repre- sentatives in Grand Cayman. BritCay and Health City said in a joint PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »2 LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 - WEDNESDAY - SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE 3D (PG) 12:30 I 3:30 2D I 6:40 I 9:35 2D GHOST IN THE SHELL 3D (PG13) 12:55 I 4:15 VIP I 7:15 I 9:50 VIP BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 3D (PG) 12:50 2D I 3:40 I 7:20 2D I 9:55 GOING IN STYLE (PG13) 12:40 I 3:55 I 7:10 I 9:45 LIFE (R) 1:00 VIP I 3:55 I 7:05 VIP I 10:15 BOSS BABY 3D (PG) 12:45 2D I 3:50 I 6:50 2D I 9:45 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. *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. 640-FILM (640-3456) A mass choir sings Easter Sunday Night Wesleyan Holiness Churches West Bay, George Town, North Side, and Church of God Holiness Red Bay Rev, John Parker 2017 EASTER CONVENTION APRIL 12 - 16 Wesleyan Holiness Church located at 150 Northwest Point Road West Bay All Are Welcome! Wednesday 7:30 PM Thursday 7:30 PM Good Friday 11:00 AM 7:30 PM Saturday No Service Easter Sunday 11:00 AM 6:00 PM SERVICES Getaway vehicle used in armored truck robbery recovered BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Honda CR-V used as the getaway vehicle in a Saturday night robbery outside Foster’s Food Fair- IGA Airport grocery store was found Monday night in eastern George Town. The RCIPS confirmed Tuesday that the white CR-V was located in Admiral’s Landing, Red Bay near the junction of Lakeside Drive. “We have since deter- mined that this is the ve- hicle that was used during the armed robbery,” an RCIPS statement indicated. Police said tips from the public led to the recovery of the vehicle Monday evening. Meanwhile, other public tip-offs continued to come in to the RCIPS, which had not reported any arrests in connection with the ar- mored car robbery Saturday night. Those included a social media picture of a woman holding several wrapped stacks of bills in her hands inside a white vehicle that was posted between two to three hours after the armored car heist occurred. Police detectives said they were aware of the photo and were looking into the matter, but as of Tuesday no direct link had been made to the robbery case. Foster’s Managing Di- rector Woody Foster said he had also seen the photo- graph and had reported it to the store’s loss preven- tion department. Around a dozen shots were fired in the incident which occurred just after 7 p.m. Saturday at the Foster’s airport location, according to witnesses. Two of those bul- lets hit the arm and the leg of a security guard working for the armored van company. The guard was hospitalized after the shooting, and is re- portedly in stable condition. The Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Service released the description of the two suspects Monday afternoon as well as a photograph of the white Honda CR-V which was found Monday. “Police are appealing for witnesses and community assistance in their investi- gation into the armed rob- bery,” an RCIPS statement released Monday noted. “Multiple shots were fired by two men, both of whom were armed with faces covered during the robbery of the ar- mored vehicle.” The descriptions of the two robbers were given as follows: Suspect No. 1 – About 6 feet tall, wearing black or dark colored clothing; Sus- pect No. 2 – Between 5 feet, 6 inches and 5 feet, 8 inches tall, wearing jeans and a grey/white hoodie shirt. Teen volleyball star aims to grow Cayman game SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com Marissa Harrison, ace student and star volley- ball player, has taken on the role of her sport’s chief am- bassador to the Cayman Is- lands. Ms. Harrison, who has verbally committed to play beach volleyball at Florida State University, spent Tuesday trying to inspire her peers to pick up the game. The 15 year old visited John Gray High School and addressed an assembly of more than 200 students, advertising a free clinic that will be held at Public Beach on Seven Mile Beach at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Ms. Harrison, who moved from Grand Cayman to Cali- fornia at age 9, hopes to ul- timately grow the game in her homeland. “I don’t think it will be too hard,” she said of en- ticing her fellow countrymen to play beach volleyball. “The Cayman Islands have some of the most beautiful beaches in the entire world, so once people realize how much fun it is, I don’t think it will be that hard to [get] them into the sport.” The youngster told the stu- dents that her love affair with volleyball has burned brighter and brighter over time. When she left Cayman, she said, she loved football, like many of the kids in attendance. But then a friend invited her to play indoor volleyball, and the rest is recent history. Ms. Harrison has made a quantum leap in her game in a short time, and her coach, Jeff Smith of 692 Beach Vol- leyball Club, is convinced that many of her Caymanian peers can do the same. That is why he’s invested in growing the game, and he sees the Cayman Islands as a blank canvas for volleyball artistry. “You can tell when kids want to be there or don’t want to be there,” said Mr. Smith. “We have some groups that are just social. They want to get to the beach and learn how to play and hang out with their friends. “The majority of our girls are like that but it’s like any- thing: Kids just eat it. And that’s what we hope. We hope we have the kids who want to do it socially and have fun and be part of the sport. And if they’re not the next Olym- pian, we’ll find the kids that are the next Olympian.” At one point in the as- sembly, Mr. Smith asked the kids who had played volley- ball. Only a few hands shot up, and Mr. Smith invited two students to the front of the room to demonstrate passing the ball. They struggled to achieve the proper form, though, and the coach told them it’s a difficult task. “It’s a really hard thing to do,” he said. “Marissa makes it look really easy, but she’s been playing for four years.” Ms. Harrison, who now lives in San Diego, California, will represent the Cayman Is- lands at the NORCECA tour- nament later this month, and her passion for the sport is what drives her to greater heights. School and sport dominate her life, but she wakes up each day excited to attack the game again. She said her drive to pub- licize the sport in Cayman stems from how much vol- leyball has given to her in a short period of time. “I have all my family here and they’ve helped me along in the whole process, so re- ally it’s just fun for me to see it grow in the Cayman Is- lands,” she said. “I saw two of my best friends basically from kindergarten just yes- terday when I was visiting a school. It was crazy just how much they’ve grown up, and it honestly wasn’t that awkward at all. It was like we had just seen each other last week.” Mr. Smith told the stu- dents he hopes to see many of them at the free clinic at Public Beach. “There will be some free clinics all summer long, and we’re going to go into a youth beach program that will go year-round,” said Mr. Smith to the students. “You’ll be able to train just like Ma- rissa does in the States. You’ll be able to travel to the States to play in tournaments if you start getting to that level. And in the future, maybe for the national team. “We’re trying to grow the sport here, and we hope that in the next six or seven years, that maybe somebody in this room will be the next Olym- pian. It could be you.” This white Honda CR-V, with no license plates, was used as the getaway vehicle in the armored car robbery outside Foster’s Food Fair-IGA Airport grocery store Saturday night. Coach Jeff Smith and Marissa Harrison after addressing the assembly at John Gray High School. - PHOTO: SPENCER FORDINThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 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. WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS “Paper plates” are perfect on picnics – but not on motor vehicles in the Cayman Islands. In December, the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing began issuing temporary license plates (liter- ally, pieces of paper) in anticipation of a new $1.5 million program to replace 45,000 old-fashioned metal plates with electronic tags. That was supposed to start in February … but as evidenced by the growing ubiquity of the black-and-white paper plates on the roads, that launch appears to have been delayed. As of mid-January, the department had issued paper plates to some 700 vehicles. Assuming that figure has increased over the past three months, we imagine there are now considerably more temporary tags. (Not counting the unknown quantity of “fake” plates, which could easily be produced on a home laser printer.) A Cayman Compass journalist called and texted DVDL Director David Dixon to ask him the following: • How many temporary paper license plates has the DVDL now issued? • Have the new electronic tags arrived on island yet? • If not, why not? And when? To his credit, Mr. Dixon did call our reporter back. However, instead of answers, he gave us a promise that his department would send out a press release today (Wednesday). The issue of the plethora of vehicles bearing paper plates, the possibility of “fake” plates, or – most obvi- ously – no plates at all, has returned to the fore- ground of public debate via two recent high-profile news items: first, the “plateless” getaway car used in Saturday night’s violent armed robbery of a Foster’s grocery store, and second, the posse of motor- bikers (riding vehicles with no tags) who abandoned a “friend” who was lying, seriously injured, in the road in East End. While those incidents are separate and unrelated, they are not absolutely isolated. Every motorist in Grand Cayman, perhaps on a daily basis, sees (and hears) cars and motorbikes of suspect roadworthiness, typically tearing down the road at twice the posted speed limit and featuring any combination of hallmarks, such as no plates, obscured plates, tinted windows, customized exhaust pipes, no helmets, LED lights, etc. Toward the end of last year, new Police Commis- sioner Derek Byrne made overtures that the police were going to crack down on Cayman’s infestation of illegal motorbikes. Apart from a few opening salvos, as far as we can tell, little progress has been made. If the commissioner is out of ideas, here’s our sug- gested plan of action: First, set a daily departmentwide quota for the issuance of citations for vehicles (cars and bikes) with missing or unreadable license plates. With more than 300 police and auxiliary officers, a number of 100 cita- tions per day is not unreasonable (and may be too low). Meet that quota each day, and every day, until the problem goes away. Second, inspectors at service stations and the DVDL must not “pass” any vehicles with obscured license tags, dark-tinted windows or any other deficiency. The laws of the Cayman Islands – including ones regarding license plate covers and tinted windows – must be enforced. Or they must be altered in the Leg- islative Assembly. The key concern goes beyond the infractions them- selves to their implications and the consequences. We cannot allow the lack of consequences for “no plates” and “no-see plates” to enable the commission of serious violent crimes, or to foster an overall disre- spect for our police officers and the law itself. When ‘minor’ infractions lead to serious crimes The president of visuals GARRISON KEILLOR Special To The Washington Post So it now appears that the president has deep feel- ings about the sufferings of infants, or, as he would say, “very very deep feelings, be- lieve me.” This was apparent when he talked about the gas attack on Syrian civil- ians last week. Scores of persons were killed but it was the sight of dying ba- bies on TV (“it doesn’t get any worse than that”) that particularly moved the man to reconsider his hands- off policy toward Syria and send the USS Ross and USS Porter to the eastern Medi- terranean to launch 59 Tom- ahawk missiles against a Syrian air base. Pre- sumably, no infants were housed at the base. The White House denied, verbally, that his decision was an emotional response to the pictures of dead ba- bies, but the video of an emotional president talking about innocent little babies and cupping his hands to emphasize their tininess is more persuasive to me. It’s been widely reported that the White House has asked the president’s in- telligence briefers to make the briefings more visual, less wordy, simple graphics rather than blocks of print. This seems problematic: much intelligence comes in written form, digests of in- terviews and reports from multiple sources, which would not be accurately de- picted, say, by a cartoonist, but the news surprised ap- proximately nobody. The man is a TV viewer, not known to be interested in books. So be it. A man of 70, having lived with TV on nearby, maybe two or three going simultaneously, is not going to suddenly pick up Robert Caro or Doris Kearns Goodwin and start learning about LBJ and FDR. Nobody expects DJT to do that. But to single out ba- bies as a separate category of humanity is interesting. King Herod slaughtered ba- bies, hoping to do away with the Christ Child, an atrocity, but it is not fundamental to our Christian faith. Ba- bies died horribly at Hiro- shima and Nagasaki, but their deaths are not sepa- rate from the 200,000 who were exterminated in those cities. When the story of the My Lai massacre came out in 1969, a year after it oc- curred, the outrage was that several hundred unarmed Vietnamese civilians had been gunned down by Lt. William Calley’s company, not that a certain number of them were babes in arms. The My Lai visuals that came to light were pic- tures taken by U.S. Army photographers, bodies on a roadway, terrified women huddled together, one young woman in a black blouse who had, according to wit- nesses, been raped by our soldiers, and who was holding a little boy. The public outcry did not lead President Nixon to change course in Vietnam, nor even to make an emotional speech about the horror of war. Mr. Nixon was a reader, an ambitious reader, an in- tellectual. There are photo- graphs of him at his desk, stacks of paper around, and he is poring over them stu- diously. The photograph of the little boy lying in a ditch, waiting for an Amer- ican soldier to kill him, was not going to shake Richard Nixon. He set out to min- imize the impact of the scandal and he did a good job of it. More than two- dozen soldiers were rec- ommended for court mar- tial, only five were tried, one was convicted, and his sentence was set aside. So much for babies. Many of the president’s supporters felt betrayed by his U-turn on Syria. Almost a half-million have died in that horrible war, many of them under the age of 1, and the thought that we would court direct conflict with Russia because a Syrian fa- ther was seen on TV car- rying his two dead infants was dizzying to the America Firsters. On the other hand, many Democrats approved. Clearly, the way to influ- ence the man is not to write scholarly books about cli- mate change or health care. If he brings back coal, the smoke will harm babies and the challenge is to get video of newborns gasping under their oxygen masks. If he eventually succeeds in re- moving Obamacare, some people will perish as a re- sult, including infants. Our country may someday get a national health insurance program for everybody, but only after there is a video of a father carrying two dead babies out of an ER where they arrived too late to be saved, the father unable to pay his doctor bills. I have a friend who voted for Trump in the belief that, though he was sleazy and dishonest and inexperi- enced, he (unlike most Re- publicans) had no fixed prin- ciples whatsoever and so, under the pressure of pres- idency, might abandon his campaign malarkey and be- come a pragmatist and do the right thing. I’ve met more people who support Trump on the same grounds. If they’re right, it will have a very very big impact on me, believe me, and my attitude on Trump will change very much. Very much. Garrison Keillor is an author and radio personality. © Garrison Keillor, distributed by The Washington Post News Service with Bloomberg News 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” The man is a TV viewer, not known to be interested in books. So be it.5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 EE candidates kick off election debates CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The three political can- didates for East End, Arden McLean, John McLean Jr. and Isaac Douglas Rankine, were the first to participate in the series of pre-elec- tion forums starting Monday night and organized by the Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Chief Execu- tive Officer Wil Pineau noted that the East End event was the only one not being held in the candidates’ constituency. He said the William Allen McLaughlin Civic Centre in East End had been rented for the evening, but technicians found that television signals from there were not being re- ceived by the station, located on the other end of the island. The forum therefore took place in an assembly hall on the campus of Clifton Hunter High School in Frank Sound. It was broadcast over radio and TV and attended by just over two dozen people. Chamber president Kyle Broadhurst put questions to the candidates and ro- tated the order in which he asked them to respond. Mr. Pineau advised that each man had two minutes, unin- terrupted, in which to speak. He said he would ring a bell when the responder had 30 seconds left. Questions were submitted by Chamber members in ad- vance and by audience mem- bers on the night. They in- cluded wide-ranging district and national issues. Top issues Asked to identify the top issue in their district, all three men spoke on different aspects of jobs and unem- ployment. As his top national issue, Mr. McLean identi- fied education, Mr. Rankine spoke on economic diversity, and Mr. McLean Jr. named employment protection for all Caymanians. Asked if they would accept a ministerial post if elected, Mr. Rankine said he would like to be able to use his professional expertise in telecommunications, but he would talk the matter over with his committee. Mr. McLean Jr. opted for “agriculture, sports and roads.” Mr. McLean declared, “I am extremely capable of han- dling the premiership of this country.” Health City expansion Asked if they would sup- port expansion of Health City (which is located in East End), Mr. Rankine said the fa- cility had some critics, but its operators were in the process of building residences for medical tourism; that meant jobs for East Enders, which he really supported. Mr. McLean Jr. revealed, “I would not be here if it were not for Health City. Back in November they put a stent in my heart.” He said he would back the hospital 100 percent; the only problem he saw was that people had to go to George Town for emergen- cies; he wanted people to be able to go to Health City in an emergency. Mr. McLean reminded his audience that the area where Health City now stands was originally proposed for development as a port. He had told the owner that he would not support that project, but if the land were sold to hospital founder Dr. Devi Shetty, he would support the hospital project. He said he had supported the hospital even before he knew where it would be built. The candidates were asked their positions on other topics that included gam- bling and casinos; a cruise ship dock in George Town; permanent residence; fishing restrictions; and what mea- sures they would recommend to reduce the cost of living. The Tuesday night forum was scheduled to feature North Side candidates, also at the Clifton Hunter High School. Wednesday night is dedicated to the candi- dates of Bodden Town East and will take place in the James Manoah Bodden Civic Centre. The candidates are vying for a seat in the Legislative Assembly, with General Elec- tions set for Wednesday, May 24. This will be the first elec- tion in Cayman under the “one man, one vote” system, but East End electors have histor- ically had only one vote, based on the district’s population. Participants in the first Chamber of Commerce forum were, from left, chamber president Kyle Broadhurst, candidates Isaac Douglas Rankine, John McLean Jr. and Arden McLean, with chamber CEO Wil Pineau. - PHOTO: CAROL WINKER BOGUS IMMIGRATION EMAIL IS ‘PHISHING’ SCAM The Cayman Islands Im- migration Department is warning its customers about a bogus email many received Tuesday announcing that the department had “imple- mented new laws.” The department confirmed the email was an attempt at “phishing” – which means an effort to obtain the email users’ personal information. The email originated from the address WPPP@immigra- tion.gov.ky, a fake address. It reads: “Good Morning. The Immigration Cayman Island Implemented New Laws, Check attachment for more details, Click Review Infor- mation below.” The email then asks re- ceivers to click an un- derlined message stating “Policy Review Here.” “Please do not open the link as it is a form of malware and will do harm to your computer and possibly the network,” the notice from the real Immigration Department read. “If immigration has im- plemented any new law, reg- ulations or policies, they will be posted to the immigra- tion website.”DISTRICT DAYS 6 District Days Sister Islands WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Cruise ship pays a visit to the Brac The MS Amadea cruise ship, sailing from Pun- tarenas, Costa Rica to Nassau, Bahamas through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico called in to Cayman Brac on March 30. The Phoenix Reisen ship carries 571 passengers and 313 crew. The MS Ama- dea’s 21-day cruise stop- ping in to the Brac makes up one leg of a 135-night journey for the ship which began in Villefranche-sur- Mer, France, in the Mediter- ranean in December 2016 and ends in Hamburg, Ger- many, in May 2017. District Administra- tion marketing and promo- tions manager Chevala Burke said the visitors from the ship were greeted by music from DJ Slim and took part in various tours of the is- land, as well as visiting the public beaches, Le Soleil d’Or Beach Club and Cayman Brac Beach Resort. Ms. Burke said some guests rented cars and went scuba diving. “It was a great econom- ical injection into the island that day, and feedback from the ship is that the guests enjoyed themselves and were very pleased with their visit to Cayman Brac and what it had to offer,” said Ms. Burke. Cruise ships visit the Brac on an ad-hoc basis, with 5 scheduled to call in 2017. Historic meeting for marine institutes A meeting between ma- rine research institutes from the Cayman Islands and Ber- muda last month signals an alliance that has the poten- tial to benefit the entire Ca- ribbean region, according to the organizations. Heads of Little Cayman’s Central Caribbean Marine Institute, known as CCMI, and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, known as BIOS, met in Bermuda on March 3 for the first time to discuss how they may col- laborate in their work to im- prove ocean health and sus- tain the marine environment. According to a press re- lease, BIOS is a world-re- nowned facility established in 1903 dedicated to exploring the ocean. The release states the meetings offered new in- sights for the future growth of the Cayman Islands-based marine institute, as BIOS is able to offer CCMI operational guidance, and CMMI may be able to act as a potential Ca- ribbean partner to BIOS. The meeting was encouraged by Prince Ed- ward, the Earl of Wessex and patron of CCMI, as part of his March 3-5 visit to Ber- muda to celebrate the coun- try’s 50th Anniversary Royal Celebrations of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. “Now that the institutes are fully briefed on each oth- er’s current projects, the op- portunity for joint research exploration and combined focus could lead to new im- portant comparisons between the Atlantic and Caribbean as climate change continues to impact ocean circulation, coral reefs, and even poten- tially, pelagic fish migra- tions,” the release states. “Meeting CCMI founder and president Carrie Man- frino and learning more firsthand from her about CCMI was truly a pleasure,” said BIOS president and di- rector Bill Curry. “It’s remarkable what CCMI has accomplished thus far, and it is well positioned to make even more contri- butions to ocean science research, conservation, and education in the years ahead. I look forward to continuing our discussions in the hopes that together we can strengthen our respective or- ganizations and the positive impact we’re both working to achieve,” he added. Dr. Manfrino said visiting BIOS and meeting the team was an invaluable experience. “BIOS is a fantastic orga- nization, a mecca for marine research and world leader on many topics,” she said. “CCMI has grown relatively quickly and we have built an amazing field research facility and are making exciting new discoveries, but to be able to spend time with the research, education, development, and leadership team from BIOS has been of enormous value, providing guidance on how we can progress our organization to the next level. “I am very thankful to His Royal Highness, Prince Ed- ward for introducing CCMI to BIOS and encouraging this meeting.” 50 YEARS AGO: Inaugural phone call connects Creek to Brac In the April 12, 1967 edition of the Cayma- nian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, Cayman Brac correspon- dent Lilian Ritch wrote: “‘Hullo … Yes, Mr. Foster, Constable McLaughlin here, sir, at the police sta- tion … Yes, congratula- tions! … It is a pleasure to speak by telephone … giving you the first call … a very vital service!’ “At four minutes to 12 noon on Thursday, March 31, this conversa- tion recorded the connec- tion of subscribers in the Creek area into the local telephone system. “Over the past month, on the road, the line gang of Cable & Wireless (W.I.) Ltd., under linesman Hinton Connolly, has been working daily up through the eastern district erecting the cable, and are now in Spot Bay. Following behind are workmen Steve Bodden and Joel Scott jointing the cable, and this expedition has enabled complete installation as far as the Creek area. “Similarly, Mr. Peter Forestal and Marconi De- velopment engineers Dudley Currah, Michael Haygreen and Edward Satchell have been working on the Tropospheric Scatter System … “Constitution modifica- tions: On Tuesday evening, March 28, Captain K.P. Tib- betts held a meeting at the Spot Bay School House. In the chair was Capt. Mabry Kirkconnell who ably car- ried out his duty of in- viting the opinions of the audience. Captain Tibbetts explained the proposals and related them to ex- isting procedure … “The chairman’s call for a show of hands for the decision brought a unan- imous response to ‘All in favour that we should remain in the present constitution.’ “Funeral services were held for Mrs. Adona Dil- bert at the Ebenezer Bap- tist Church, Creek, on Tuesday afternoon, March 21. A full church of rela- tives and friends paid their last respects … “Mrs. Dilbert was born Aug. 23, 1884, Adona Hazel in Lucea, Hanover, Jamaica. She came here as a young nursemaid to Captain Ely and Mrs. Anna Ritch. May 3, 1904, she married Theophilius van Buren Dil- bert and bore seven chil- dren. She is survived by her husband, daughters, Ele- thea Solomon of Brooklyn, New York, Mrs. Cynthia Roche of Kingston, Mrs. Mildred Scott of Grand Cayman and three sons, Er- lington at sea, Gladstone and Gleniston of Watering Place, 33 grand and 11 great-grandchildren … “Olive, Mrs. Kitchener Conolly, died at her home at the Creek surrounded by her children and faithful friends on April 3. She had been ailing for a long while and it was on Easter Sunday that she be- came suddenly worse and the family were advised medically that her condi- tion was grave. She was a member of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and the fu- neral service was led by Rev. Lee King assisted by Mr. W. Taylor Foster and Rev. Randall Douglas.” Passengers disembark at Scotts dock. In foreground, from left, are BIOS trustee Richard Ferret, Bermuda governor John Rankin, Prince Edward, and CCMI president Carrie Manfrino.7 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 Election round-up: An alliance … of sorts BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Compass re- ported last month that a new political group, the “Cayman People’s Alliance” had been formed ahead of the May general election. However, it seems that one member associated with that group is now seeking to put some distance between himself and the alliance. Bodden Town West can- didate Gilbert McLean wrote to the Compass earlier this month seeking to clarify his position as a candidate. “On Feb. 25, 2017, I an- nounced that I would con- test the general elections in May as an independent can- didate,” Mr. McLean said. “This continues to be the situation with my candi- dacy. Going forward, unless or until I state otherwise, my status as a candidate remains unchanged and I have not agreed a new and formalized position in, or with, any group.” Mr. McLean said it was “no secret” that he has been associated with indepen- dent MLAs Arden McLean, Ezzard Miller, Alva Suckoo, Anthony Eden and Win- ston Connolly over the past year. In fact, in the state- ment announcing his can- didacy, Gilbert McLean confirmed that he and New- lands district candidate Mr. Suckoo were running mates in Bodden Town. Mr. Suckoo has been touted as the deputy leader of the new people’s alliance group, with Arden McLean as its leader. During a political event launching Arden McLean’s campaign in East End earlier this month, Gilbert McLean took the stage with several candidates backing Arden McLean’s leadership. The next night, political literature distributed at Mr. Miller’s campaign launch in North Side made reference to the “alliance” group. Gilbert McLean did not respond to Compass ques- tions seeking further clari- fication on his status with the new group. Voters list Public hearings of voters objections and claims wrapped up Friday in George Town and the Elections Of- fice was expected to release the final voters list ahead of the May 24 election on Tuesday, April 11. Those numbers had not been released as of press time Tuesday. The release of the final voters list was delayed by about 10 days from its initial April 1 date, largely because of some technical legal issues. During the hearings last week, a number of promi- nent Cayman Islands voters were struck off the list, mostly due to their depar- tures from the jurisdic- tion some years ago. How- ever, a number of new voters or returning voters were also added on. Before the voter chal- lenges hearings, the Elec- tions Office had 21,465 Cay- manians registered to vote on May 24 – the highest number of voters the British Overseas Territory has ever seen. Election day polling stations and mobile voting sites GENERAL ELECTION POLLING LOCATIONS West Bay North: First Assembly of God Church Hall, 100 Finch Drive West Bay West: Sir John A. Cumber Primary School, 36 Fountain Road West Bay Central: Ed Bush Sport Field and Conference Room, 90 Stadium Drive West Bay South: John Gray Memorial United Church Hall, 26 West Church Street George Town North: George Town Primary School, 179 School Road George Town Central: George Town Town Hall, 43 Fort Street George Town West: Cayman Prep School, 242 Smith Road George Town South: John Gray High School, 73 Academy Way George Town East: First Baptist Church Hall, 920A Crewe Road Red Bay: Red Bay Primary School, 271 Shamrock Road Prospect: Prospect Primary School, 169 Poindexter Road Savannah: Savannah Primary School, 1659 Shamrock Road Newlands: International College of the Cayman Islands, 595 Hirst Road Bodden Town West: Agricultural Grounds Pavilion, 199 Lottery Road Bodden Town East: Bodden Town Primary School, 6 Condor Road North Side: Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre, 923 North Side Road East End: William Allen McLaughlin Civic Centre, 80 John McLean Drive Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman: West End Primary School, 10 Cotton Tree Bay Road, Cayman Brac Cayman Brac East: Creek Primary School, 28 Student Drive MOBILE VOTING DAYS AND LOCATIONS West Bay North: May 17 First Assembly of God Church Hall, 100 Finch Drive West Bay West: May 17 West Bay Public Library, 204 Rev. Blackman Road West Bay Central: May 17 Ed Bush Sport Field, Conference Room, 90 Stadium Drive West Bay South: May 17 John Gray Memorial United Church Hall, 26 West Church Street George Town North: May 17 Street George’s Anglican Church Hall, 66 Courts Road George Town Central: May 18Town Hall, 43 Fort Street George Town West: May 18Smith Road Centre, 150 Smith Road George Town South: May 18 South Sound Community Centre, 1012 South Church Street George Town East: May 18 Agape Family Worship Centre Hall, 50B Fairbanks Road Red Bay: May 18 Seafarers Hall, 11 Victory Ave, George Town Prospect: May 16Moravian Church Hall, 497 Poindexter Road Savannah: May 16Savannah United Church Hall, 17 Astral Way Newlands: May 16 International College of the Cayman Islands, 595 Hirst Road Bodden Town West: May 16 Agricultural Grounds Pavilion, 199 Lottery Road Bodden Town East: May 16 Webster Memorial United Church Hall, 266 Bodden Town Road North Side: May 19Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre, 923 North Side Road East End: May 19 William Allen McLaughlin Civic Centre, 80 John McLean Drive Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman: May 19 Aston Rutty Centre, 264 Ashton Reid Drive, Cayman Brac Little Cayman: May 18PWD Workers Building, 204 Spot Bay Road Cayman Brac East: May 19 Veteran’s and Seaman’s Center, 205 Ashton Reid Drive Polling stations for the May 24 election will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mobile voting will be held during May 16-19. “I have not agreed a new and formalized position in, or with, any group.” GILBERT MCLEAN APRIL 24 DEADLINE FOR PUBLICATION OF CANDIDATES’ INTERESTS Candidates for next month’s general election have an April 24 deadline for pub- lishing their declaration of interests in the Cayman Islands Gazette. In a statement released Tuesday, elec- tions officials noted that failure by candi- dates to publish their interests in the Ga- zette by the deadline is a disqualifying criteria under the Cayman Islands Consti- tution Order (2009). Three Gazette issues remain open for publication prior to the April 24 date: Thursday, April 13; Wednesday, April 19; and Friday, April 21. The deadline for publi- cation is noon on the day before publication. Elections officials pointed out that there is a minimum cost of $600 plus $150 for every page over four pages. Content may be submitted by visiting the Gazette office, in Government Informa- tion Services, on the 2nd floor of the Gov- ernment Administration Building on Elgin Avenue, Grand Cayman. Anyone with questions should call 244-1752, or email caymangazettes.gov.ky. During public meetings held last fall, a political group including North Side MLA Ezzard Miller, Bodden Town MLA Anthony Eden, then-George Town MLA Winston Connolly, Bodden Town MLA Alva Suckoo, East End MLA Arden McLean and Gilbert McLean (standing) discussed the plans of the Progressvies government with attending residents. – PHOTO: BRENT FULLERThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS under section 61 of the Cayman Islands Constitu- tion Order 2009. “This matter needs to be dealt with as speedily as possible,” Mr. Akiwumi said. Chief Justice Anthony Smellie said the challenges would likely not be dealt with this week. Mr. Lind- say’s case and the chal- lenge against Cayman Brac West/Little Cayman candi- date Nickolas DaCosta were put off until a Tuesday, April 18 hearing. Meanwhile, the third eligibility challenge to be heard, against Newlands candidate Mario Rankin, was expected to pro- ceed Thursday. Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell said every day of delay in these cases would have an effect, most notably on the issuance of postal ballots to Cayma- nians overseas who had requested them. Those ballots have al- ready been printed for 16 out of the 19 Cayman Is- lands voting districts and were due to be emailed to voters Wednesday. Mr. Howell said the office cannot email the postal ballots for the other three voting districts, George Town South, Newlands and Cayman Bract West/Little Cayman, because it does not know what candidates’ names to place there yet. “May 12 is the last day [a voter] can request a postal ballot,” he said. “We have received requests for postal ballots from every district.” The claims According to the orig- inating court summons for Mr. Lindsay, the elec- tions office seeks a dec- laration as to his qualifi- cation for election under sections 61(1)(d) and 61(2)(b) of the constitution “on the basis that [Mr. Lindsay] is not a qualified citizen.” Also, the summons seeks a declaration as to Mr. Lindsay’s qualification for election under section 61(1)(f) of the constitution. This involves the candi- date’s “absence from the Cayman Islands in excess of 400 days in the seven years immediately pre- ceding the date of his nom- ination for election.” The summons against Mr. DaCosta also seeks a declaration of his eligi- bility under section 61(1) (c) of the constitution “on the basis that [Mr. DaCosta] was domiciled and/or resi- dent of the United States of America at the date of his nomination for election.” A second declaration regarding Mr. DaCosta’s qualification for election is sought under sections 61(1) (d) and 61(2)(a) of the con- stitution “on the basis that [he], at the date of his nom- ination for election, pos- sessed U.S. citizenship.” The third declaration sought for Mr. DaCosta under constitution section 62(1)(a) states that he is “by virtue of his own act, under an acknowledgement of al- legiance, obedience or ad- herence to a foreign power or state, naming the U.S.” The third claim relates to two issues: Mr. DaCos- ta’s appointment as a No- tary Public in Florida and his registration as a U.S. voter in Florida since 2010, court records state. The elections office is seeking a declaration of dis- qualification for election to the Legislative Assembly for Mr. Rankin under sec- tion 62(1)(e) of the constitu- tion “on the basis of his con- victions by the courts of the Cayman Islands for offenses involving dishonesty.” The summons against Mr. Rankin does not specify the nature of those convictions. Candidate challenges of ‘constitutional importance’ OfReg looks for public input on public input The newly formed Utility Regulation and Competition Office, known as OfReg, is holding its first public con- sultation exercise – on how it should conduct public con- sultation exercises. According to a press re- lease from the regulatory body, “The purpose of the consultation is to get public input on how OfReg should conduct public consulta- tion exercises in the future, and will help to establish the Consultation Procedure Guidelines for seeking com- ments prior to issuing ad- ministrative decisions of public significance.” Under the Utility Regula- tion and Competition Law, OfReg is required to allow “a reasonable opportunity for persons with sufficient in- terest, or who are likely to be affected by decisions of the Office, to comment on a draft administrative determi- nation,” said J. Paul Morgan, the CEO of OfReg. “The Office is mandated to publish the procedures for the giving of feedback and information to OfReg. Therefore, as required by the Law, we are doing a public consultation so we can determine exactly how those guidelines should be framed, and we are enlisting the help of stakeholders who have an interest in the regulatory de- cisions made by OfReg.” The consultation paper outlines the objectives of the guidelines, the method of consultations, notice of consultations, the layout of consultation documents, format of responses, duration of consultations, and how de- cisions will be made by OfReg following a consultation. The consultation period is open until 5 p.m. Monday, May 8. The Consultation Procedure Guidelines document is available at www.ofreg.ky. Responses must be made in writing to OfReg via email on consultations@ofreg.ky or by mail at P.O. Box 2502, Grand Cayman KY1-1104. OfReg will post any comments received on its website on May 19. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Martial arts students volunteer at NCVO A group of Purple Dragon students joined forces with National Council of Voluntary Organisations staff and other volunteers to hold a bag sale on Saturday March 25. The $5 and $10 bag sale was held to move out previ- ously donated items, making room for new donations. The 14 martial arts students – all of them at the brown and black belt levels – gave their time to help set up tents and tables for the early morning parking lot sale, and stayed around to assist customers. “We think it is vital to teach our youth, by example, the importance, value and benefits of service in their community,” said Shihan Floyd Baptiste of Purple Dragon Cayman Islands. Proceeds from the New to You Bargain Shop ben- efit the NCVO’s six children’s services programs including the John Gray Scholarship Grant, which assists college aged students with supple- mentary funding for univer- sity costs, and the Caring Cousins Lunch Programme, which assists students who need daily meals. “We want to thank all our volunteers and donors, and of course, our customers for coming out and supporting us. We also want to say a big thank you to CEL and Pirates Week for loaning us their tents so that we could have cover from the sun for our customers,” said Mona Meade, NCVO Coordinator. While there will be a few more large scale parking lot sales held throughout the year, Bargain Shop cus- tomers can benefit from the $5 bag discount for the next few weeks as the sale is continuing on select items throughout the store. “If you are not sure what to do with leftover items from your garage sale then please consider donating them to the New to You Bar- gain Shop,” said Ms. Meade. Items can be dropped off at the Richard Arch Children’s Centre or at the NCVO offices or the drop box, or by calling 949-2124 or 945-1078. The NCVO office is located in the same building as Miss Nadine’s Preschool, behind the Cayman Islands Hospital, 90A Anthony Drive off Smith Road. New to You Bargain Shop Bag Sale in full swing. Dianne Gordon and Benjamin Harding assisting customers. UN expert probes human trafficking in Cuba in milestone trip HAVANA (AP) – An indepen- dent expert from the United Nations was in Cuba on Monday for a four-day visit to evaluate the human traf- ficking situation on the island for the first time in a decade. Special Rapporteur Maria Grazia Giammarinaro is ex- pected to visit a school and meet parliament leader Es- teban Lazo and also has sched- uled trips to the provinces of Matanzas and Artemisa near the capital, Havana. Such U.N. visits are rou- tine in other countries, but Cuba has generally re- jected inspections by inter- national organizations. The government has relaxed that stance somewhat in recent years, and officials welcomed Giammarinaro upon her ar- rival and stressed that Cuba has a zero-tolerance policy on trafficking. They presented her with a government action plan on trafficking and exploitation. According to government statistics, in 2015 a little over 2,000 cases of underage sexual abuse were reported among a population of 2.6 million children. Giammarinaro expects to analyze what progress Cuba has made and challenges it still faces regarding traf- ficking, including sexual and labor exploitation. The find- ings will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council in June 2018.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 statement that the talks were productive. Britcay in- dicated it would change course on its March 29 announcement. “As of Monday, April 17, BritCay will allow policy holders to access all healthcare services, cov- ered under their plan, with Health City,” the companies’ statement said. “The two parties met, along with the Health In- surance Commissioner, to work together to ensure that people continue to receive the best quality healthcare available. It is anticipated that more discussions will be held between BritCay and Health City to ensure there is a continuing collaborative relationship in the future.” Colonial and BritCay executives were expected to meet with BritCay cli- ents Wednesday morning to discuss service at Health City and address any out- standing questions. CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY APRIL 12, 2017 on Sunday. Representa- tives were meeting with the Cayman Islands Foot- ball Association executive committee Tuesday evening in an attempt to resolve the situation. Derrick Williams, presi- dent of the association, said verbal abuse and violence toward referees had been escalating over the past few years and the officials had decided enough was enough. “Instead of going out there to be assaulted and verbally abused, we took the decision as a group that we would not put ourselves at risk until some necessary measures are put in place for our security.” Mr. Williams, who was assaulted during a masters game, for older players, in 2014 and spent three days in hospital following the at- tack, said referees gave up their time to give back to the community and to the sport for a small stipend that covered gas money. He said they were com- mitted to the game but wanted assurances about their safety and that of- fenders would be dealt with severely before they would resume their services. “We need to see strong action, not just a slap on the wrist.” Alfredo Whittaker, an ex- perienced referee, said the disrespect and poor treat- ment of referees had in- creased in recent seasons. He said one official was threatened with a knife after a game. Even in youth matches, he said, the verbal abuse of referees from par- ents is extreme. “It has got to the point where we have to consider separating the parents from the game,” he added. “There have been mul- tiple incidents and not enough has been done by CIFA to deal with it.” The latest allegation stems from a cup semi- final match between Future Sports Club and Alliance FC at the Ed Bush Stadium on Saturday night. According to Mr. Wil- liams, who was not present at the game but received reports from match offi- cials, the linesman flagged for an infringement against an Alliance player, late in the game, with Future SC leading 3-0. He said the official had been struck from behind by a coach from Alliance and was briefly knocked uncon- scious. He was taken to hos- pital and released the same evening, he said. William Conolly, the president of Alliance Foot- ball Club, was off island for the game, but made his own inquiries into the incident. He said there was no ev- idence that the linesman had been knocked uncon- scious and suggested it was the linesman who had ini- tiated the confrontation. He said the reports he received indicated the official had pushed the coach, who had responded with a slap that barely touched the side of linesman’s face. “Despite our position that the linesman was wrong to initiate physical con- tact by pushing the coach, we regret the incident as it is not indicative of the Al- liance FC objects and per- spective of leading from the front. It is never good for football on any level when- ever an incident like this oc- curs regardless of who is right or wrong. Alliance FC does not condone such un- professional behavior and [we] apologize to our fans and all kids that witnessed the incident.” He said the club had not yet been contacted by CIFA for its side of the story. A Royal Cayman Islands Police Service spokeswoman confirmed it had received a report of a referee being punched during a match at the Ed Bush stadium and sustaining a “minor injury to his face.” A 50-year-old man was arrested on suspi- cion of assault causing ac- tual bodily harm and later released on police bail, ac- cording to the statement. Mr. Williams said the ref- erees wanted to see strong and consistent disciplinary action against anyone who assaulted an official. The player who “rabbit punched” him, putting him in hospital, was suspended for 10 games, he said. Another two players, who assaulted a referee last season, were suspended for three years. CIFA president Lee Ramoon could not be reached for comment. Vice President Bruce Blake and General Secretary Wendy Fisher did not re- spond to emailed questions from the Compass. Sports Minister Os- bourne Bodden said that although government had pulled its funding from CIFA because of a lack of transparency and account- ability, he remained con- cerned about the game and hoped the issue would be resolved quickly. “This is unacceptable behavior, and should be scorned upon by all players and clubs, and the respon- sible parties should be dis- ciplined and sternly dealt with,” he said. “Refs should be respected, and even when they make mistakes, they should be appreciated for the job they do. CIFA has a duty to protect them.” BritCay changes course on Health City coverage Soccer refs on strike over assault claims CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Insurance company BritCay plans to reinstate full coverage of Health City procedures from April 17.Next >