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Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International Ltd. : insurance, health, pensions, life EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 TITLE OF EDITORIAL SECTION | PAGE ## TITLE FOR THE SPORT/ BUSINESS SKYBOX Education: Candidates seek new solutions to familiar problems JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com “Every effort must be made to make our educational facilities and teaching staffs second to none. All children deserve and must have a full and complete education.” Those words, from a November 1965 post-election editorial in the old Tradewinds publication about the need to prepare Cayman’s stu- dents for the demands of a growing offshore finance center, could just have easily been written in 2017. The archives of the Cayman Com- pass, the Nor’Wester, Tradewinds, the government reports to the For- eign Office and the official Han- sard record abound with sim- ilar examples. The education system in the Cayman Islands has seen great change over the past five decades, as the population has grown from around 9,000 in the late 1960s to more than 60,000 today. But the more things change, it seems, the more things stay the same. Former Cayman Prepara- tory School Principal Peter Stokes forecast in a 1976 issue of the Nor’Wester that social issues, in- cluding the breakdown of the family, were holding back and would con- tinue to hold back many students from achieving their potential. “I confess to being very pessi- mistic,” he said, “for so many of our problem students come from broken homes and in turn I fear they will themselves in the future become problem parents, creating even more broken homes.” Issues of behavior in schools, the need for greater involvement from parents and the consequences of generations of broken fami- lies remain key concerns in the school system. Educators still cite social is- sues as one of the greatest bar- riers to learning in the class- room, and business leaders still lament that the education system is not meeting the demands of the growing economy. While external examination re- sults show some improvement over the medium term, results have stag- nated over the past three years and still more than half of Cayman’s stu- dents leave high school without five GCSE passes at Grade C or above – a prerequisite for education beyond secondary school. Employers frequently cite a lack of eligible local candidates as the reason for a reliance on work per- mits, and the Chamber of Commerce has cited improvements to the edu- cation system as central to the fu- ture success of Cayman’s economy. Woody Foster, managing director of the Foster’s supermarket chain and president of Literacy is for Everyone, believes that after decades of discussing the same issues, the political class of 2017 needs to offer more radical solutions. “I would like to see a new gov- ernment that allowed the private sector to play a bigger part in Cay- man’s public education system,” he said. “I feel we need a governance model that allows a public-private partnership where both public and private [sectors] are working to- gether to keep the system account- able, transparent, current and not afraid to show their weaknesses, so that those weaknesses can be ad- dressed and strengthened. “We have to stop making polit- ical promises and start making good on those promises by finally putting a system in place that achieves the levels that we are proud of and that allow our children to make their own destiny.” During the pre-election debates, the perennial talking points of trade and vocational skills training, the need for more parental involvement and better student-teacher ratios have been raised again and again. To some extent, almost all can- didates of every political per- suasion have spoken of their support for public-private partner- ships in schools. Tara Rivers, education minister and an independent candidate in the May 24 election, defends her re- cord in this area and suggests her tenure has helped set education on the right path. The new Education Law, passed in 2016, creates the framework that would make public-private part- nership schools possible. She also points to relationships with various charities, including Literacy is for Everyone, as evidence that private partnerships are already having an impact in Cayman’s schools. Ms. Rivers highlights among her achievements the creation of a new schools inspection unit, reviving a moribund institution and the in- troduction of literacy interventions, supported by increased staff, for struggling young readers. Over the past four years, she said, government has “increased ac- countability in the system and put an emphasis on the special educa- tion needs of some of our students.” Out of a set of critical inspection reports, she says, the shoots of re- covery have come in the form of a new education action plan, which was called “outstanding” by an inde- pendent analyst. She said sticking with that plan and ensuring it is followed faith- fully would be a key target if she is re-elected and retains the re- sponsibility for education in a new administration. Ms. Rivers believes that many of the things called for by opposition politicians, such as an increase in technical and vocational offerings Education issues have been at the top of political campaigns in the Cayman Islands for decades. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »2 LOCAL NEWS THURSDAY MAY 18, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 THE LOST CITY OF Z (PG13) 2:40 I 5:50 I 9:00 SNATCHED (R) 12:10 I 2:35 I 4:55 I 7:30 I 10:00 THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS 3D (PG13) 12:20 2D I 3:20 2D I 6:25 I 9:50 2D VIP KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD 3D (PG13) 1:00 2D VIP I 1:05 I 7:00 2D VIP I 8:30 2D GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 3D (PG13) 1:20 2D I 4:00 2D VIP I 4:15 I 5:00 2D 7:20 I 9:30 2D - THURSDAY - 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) McCready family makes great find on Discovery Day SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com The irony was not lost on Mark McCready. The day he found his father’s grave, a quest 52 years in the making that brought him 4,500 miles from home, was a Cayman holiday called Discovery Day. McCready, who was just 17 months old when his fa- ther Walter McCready passed away in 1966, had waited a half-century to pay his re- spects. On Monday, he got his wish at Dixie Cemetery in George Town. “It was a real pilgrimage. Very emotional,” said Mr. McCready, who hails from Northern Ireland, the same place his father lived be- fore joining the Royal Navy. “It was a real relief for my family as well to be able to find the grave. But the thing that struck me was how ev- erybody has been so helpful.” The elder McCready was a petty officer aboard the HMS Tartar when he became ill with pancreatitis at age 28 in 1966, and he passed away after a brief bout with the ill- ness. The younger McCready, now 52, had made a lifelong mission to learn more about his father and to someday find his grave. A friend had come to the Cayman Islands on business last year and tried to find the gravestone, but to no avail, so Mr. McCready took an oppor- tunity to find it himself. He corresponded with Bishop Nicholas Sykes by email and found his father’s headstone on the website www.findag- rave.com before his arrival. But it still was not easy. Mr. McCready went to Dixie Cemetery shortly after ar- riving on island Sunday but could not find the grave. Then with the help of some local citizens, his goal was fi- nally reached. After consulting with Dudley Parsons, who lives next to Dixie Cemetery, Mr. McCready was put in touch with Jack Macmillan and his wife Janet. Mr. Macmillan, a former minister, was able to look at a photograph of a graveside ceremony and tell both the year and the time of day it was taken. And so Mr. McCready, who had previously done a grid search of the cemetery, went back with the Macmillans in tow. They stopped at the en- trance to the cemetery and used some trees in the back- ground of the photo to orient themselves before walking right to the grave site. “The guys looked for the grave last year and couldn’t find it,” said Mr. McCready. “Even when we arrived on the island, that quick stop- off, I hoped we’d just be able to immediately locate it. Then all this doubt started to creep into my head. But once we found Janet and John, it was about two minutes.” Two minutes, but 52 years in the making. Mr. McCready does not have a lot of family left who knew his dad, but his 83-year-old aunt – Mar- garet Carruthers of Liverpool – is still alive. Mr. McCready said she would be thrilled, as would his cousin, who has childhood memories of the elder McCready. Mr. McCready said that at least one other person, Roy Cromie, would be moved by the discovery. Mr. Cromie was friends with the elder Mc- Cready during their shared childhood in Ballywalter, a coastal village in County Down, Northern Ireland, and he went to great lengths to seek out the younger Mr. McCready. “At home, about four years ago, it was completely out of the blue and I was away working,” Mr. McCready re- called of how he met Mr. Cromie. “My wife got a knock on the door and this guy said, ‘Is Mark here?’ in a Cana- dian accent. He said, ‘I’m Roy Cromie and I was a friend of his dad’s.’ We’ve kept in touch and I told him I was coming here. He was overwhelmed by the fact I was going to be here, and he’s given me some things to put on the grave for him. There’s a lot of closure for a lot of people.” Now that he has paid his respects, Mr. McCready plans on affixing some mementos to the grave, including a pair of rocks from Ballywalter Beach with the names Walter and Roy inscribed on them. He also wants to bring his kids out to see his father’s final resting place at some point in the near future. Until then, Mr. McCready is filled with gratitude for the people of Cayman who took care of his father’s grave for the last half-century and for the people who went out of their way to help him. “The grave has been looked after meticulously,” said Mr. McCready. “It’s been painted and they’ve kept the inscription clean. I couldn’t ask for more that way. And it’s a beautiful spot, right in front of the beach. It’s a real relief to me to find it. I knew it existed. I just didn’t know where. “All the people I’ve met over the last few days, they’re very, very religious people. They have great faith and they’ve told me they’ll look after the grave for me. And I know that will happen.” Now, nearly 4,600 miles from Belfast, Mr. McCready is enjoying the rest of his time on Cayman. He has asked the hospital to check its re- cords back to 1966 so he can learn more about his father’s passing, and he will pay his respects again before he ul- timately embarks on the 17- hour journey home on Friday. “My dad made us look. He didn’t make it easy,” he said. “But he’s not alone anymore. He’s a long way from home, but he couldn’t be in a better place. It was meant to be. It would’ve been horrific for me to go home Friday without finding him. … But there’s no way I was going home without finding it.” ‘Serial’ burglars hit Bodden Town homes More than half of the burglary reports island- wide in May occurred in Bodden Town, and the crimes have mostly been at residential properties during daytime, according to the Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Service. Detective Superinten- dent Pete Lansdown, said in press release, “Burglaries have been climbing steadily this year, and the spike in Bodden Town is a concern. We have dedicated more officers to the eastern dis- tricts to combat this trend, and detectives are being re- assigned from George Town to the district this week. “We clearly have some serial burglars at work in the area and are following up on some concrete enqui- ries to make arrests.” Unlocked and forced doors and windows have been the most common modes of entry for bur- glars at residential prop- erties, while smashed win- dows, forced doors and holes through ceilings have been the most common access points for break- ins at commercial proper- ties, police said. The property stolen at residential properties has been mostly small, such as video games and equip- ment, purses, car keys and small quantities of cash, alcohol and food. Sev- eral thefts of motor vehi- cles linked to burglaries have also been reported in the past week. “We have had reports where car keys were stolen and used to steal a ve- hicle, which has turned up a day or two later, some- times with damage,” said Mr. Lansdown. “Many of the bur- glaries seem very oppor- tunistic, with culprits en- tering through unlocked doors and windows to steal food and alcohol. “This could be moti- vated by drug and alcohol abuse. Most of the bur- glaries, especially those in Bodden Town, don’t ap- pear to be planned with any of the sophistication that would be needed to re- move large appliances or break open safes.” Police are urging resi- dents to reinforce or re- place locks on windows and doors and to secure their valuables in their homes far away from any access point. There are currently three neighborhood watch programs in the district – in Northward, Corolla Drive and North Sound Estates. Residents who want to find out more about those pro- grams or start one of their own are encouraged to con- tact officers at the Bodden Town Police Station. Inspector Rudi Gordon, neighborhood inspector for the eastern districts, said, “Neighborhood watches are a great way for residents to empower themselves and funnel more informa- tion to us that we need to stop crime.” Anyone with information about the burglaries should contact the Bodden Town Police station at 947-2240 or the George Town Police Station at 949-4222. Mark McCready places a family remembrance on his father’s gravestone. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY This photo of the 1967 dedication ceremony helped Mr. McCready find his father’s grave site. Petty Officer Walter McCready, Mark’s father, during his career in the Royal Navy.The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 18, 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. WASHINGTON – Although William J. Baumol, who re- cently died at 95, was not widely known beyond the ranks of economists, all Americans are living with, and policymakers are strug- gling with, “Baumol’s dis- ease.” It is one reason brisk economic growth is becoming more elusive as it becomes more urgent. And it is a dis- ease particularly pertinent to the increasingly fraught health care debate. Born in the Bronx, Baumol spent his teaching career at Princeton and NYU but remained an aficio- nado of New York opera, and when in 1962 the Metropol- itan Opera’s orchestra went on strike, Baumol sought an explanation for the Met’s regularly recurring labor troubles. He postulated “cost disease” afflicting labor-in- tensive service industries: Productivity will often in- crease not at all, or much slower, in some sectors – e.g., nursing, teaching, the per- forming arts – than in the overall economy. Decades later, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who in 1962 was a young aide to Labor Sec- retary Arthur Goldberg as he arbitrated the orchestra dispute, explained Baumol’s disease this way: “The number of players, the number of instruments, the amount of time it took to ‘produce’ a Mozart quartet in the 18th century will not have changed one whit two centuries later. To play the ‘Minute Waltz’ in 50 sec- onds leaves something to be desired. True of first violin- ists, kindergarten teachers, beat cops, sculptors, and so through a great repertoire of occupations.” Goldberg’s 1962 encounter with Baumol’s disease in the Met’s orchestra initiated thinking that led in 1965 to the National Endowment for the Arts (and, on the Great Society principle of no con- ceivable claimant left behind, the National Endowment for the Humanities). This elicited Moynihan’s corollary to Bau- mol’s theory: “Activities with Baumol’s disease migrate to the public sector.” Moynihan, thinking that it will be “the undoing of modern government” if there is too much migration, wor- ried especially about health care. In 1993, at a health care hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Chairman Moynihan received blank looks when he asked three medical deans what they could do about Bau- mol’s disease. So Moynihan elaborated: “Montefiore Hospital was founded in New York City in the 1880s. At that time, how long did it take for a pro- fessor of medicine to make his morning rounds, and how many interns would he take along with him?” Dean: “Oh, about an hour; say 12 interns.” Moynihan: “And today?” Dean: “Got it!” Perhaps technological advances will somewhat increase the productivity of teachers (e.g., online learning) and doctors (e.g., diagnostic advances using the human genome) as they have of policing (e.g., more efficient deployments of personnel). But there are limits. And a Mozart quartet must raise prices and donations or become dependent on government. As a Democrat, Moynihan worried that the “stagnant services” would become iden- tified with government, as would his party, while the Republican Party would be increasingly identified with a private sector becoming ever more dynamic relative to the public sector. Actually, however, the current health care policy morass suggests this: Disregarding, as the public seems wisely inclined to do, Republicans’ rhe- torical flights, the two par- ties are about equally iden- tified with government, and equally expected to use it to nurture public contentment with labor-intensive ser- vice industries. Such industries might be- come increasingly important and problematic. In an ap- preciation of Baumol’s work, The Economist noted this possible implication of Bau- mol’s disease in a world of increasing automation: “As machines become better at doing things, the human role in generating faster productivity growth will converge towards zero. At that point, so long as so- ciety expects everyone to work, all spending in the economy will go towards services for which it is cru- cial that productivity not grow, in order to provide jobs for everyone. Society could seemingly be both characterized by technolog- ical abundance and para- lyzed by cost disease.” Happily, predicted hor- rors have a way of not hap- pening, because projected trends become disrupted by unforeseen developments. It is, however, not prudent to count on what cannot be anticipated. John Maynard Keynes la- mented that the “encroach- ment of ideas” in public policy usually is gradual be- cause politicians and govern- ment officials are rarely in- fluenced by new ideas after age 30, so they apply to cur- rent events ideas that “are not likely to be the newest.” Today, however, increased productivity is increasingly imperative as an aging work- force retires into the expen- sive embrace of the enti- tlement state. So, Baumol’s disease is a now-old idea that should be on policy- makers’ minds. George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2017, Washington Post Writers Group THURSDAY MAY 18, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Despite pledges and platitudes that emanate from the campaign trail every fourth year or so (the most tired cliché being “the children are our future”), there is no real evidence that Cayman Islands officials – and, by extension, Cayman voters – value education as much as they need to, or ought to. Poor or underperforming schools (and, by proxy, Cayman students) have been manifest for at least the last half-century. Plaintive voices urging reform may have been heard, but certainly were not listened to: • “Every effort must be made to make our edu- cational facilities and teaching staffs second to none… all children deserve and must have a full and complete education.” (Tradewinds, 1965). • “It would be folly to develop Cayman before Cay- manians were being developed to participate in the islands’ development.” (Benson Ebanks, 1976). • “We have to stop making political promises and start making good on those promises by finally putting a system in place that achieves the levels that we are proud of and that allow our children to make their own destiny.” (Woody Foster, 2017). Put another way, the problems of yesterday remain the problems of today, and, barring a nationwide com- mitment to restructuring public education in Cayman, those problems will continue, well, forever. The social and economic costs of not addressing this issue are foreseeable. They include growing gaps between economic classes (meaning class warfare), disparities in opportunities, increases in crime and other antisocial behavior, to name but a few. On a regular basis, this newspaper carries headlines of sensational or violent crime, of overcrowded prisons, and of the ever-rising costs of maintaining the govern- ment’s social welfare apparatus. These are all, at root, education issues, spawned in our classrooms but evidenced in our streets. Year after year, standardized exams demonstrate that Cayman’s public school students perform far poorer than their peers in other locales. At the same time, our educational bureaucracy takes refuge in interminable, but predictable, protestations of “incre- mental improvement.” We are particularly dismayed, as voters should be, that many of our leaders in Cayman’s public sector, including the education ministry, send their own children to private schools. Government schools, which they oversee, are good enough for your children – but not good enough for theirs. As yet another election looms in these islands, we remain unconvinced (especially if past is prologue) that elected political leaders are capable of leading our schools, students and, by proxy, our country to the future they aspire to. Just contemplate for a moment the judgment (and the optics) of the current government’s decision to build the new John Gray High School gymnasium before building new John Gray classrooms. Equally troubling was the $8.8 million cost of the facility (which was about double the government’s annual funding for the University College of the Cayman Islands). The way forward for Cayman’s public education system involves three possible paths: 1) The status quo – Government continues to finance and operate public schools. 2) Public-private partnerships – This is a difficult marriage, particularly if each side insists on having influence over practical and policy decisions, propor- tional to the amount of resources each is providing. 3) Complete privatization – The government retains the responsibility for ensuring that every child in Cayman receives an adequate level of educa- tion, but steps away completely from providing the education services, with that role being filled by any variety of operators, including private schools, charter schools, U.K.-style academies, etc. Accounting for the lack of accountability in Cayman’s schools 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” Baumol’s diagnosis for flagging productivity Productivity will often increase not at all, or much slower, in some sectors – e.g., nursing, teaching, the performing arts – than in the overall economy. GEORGE F. WILL GEORGE 5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 18, 2017 Support for leniency on marijuana JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The concept of decrim- inalizing marijuana re- ceived universal support from all four candidates at Tuesday evening’s national election debate. Finance Minister Marco Archer and independent can- didates Matthew Leslie, Ken- neth Bryan and Austin Harris all said they support a more lenient approach when it comes to cannabis. Mr. Archer said he had ad- vocated the legalization of cannabis oil for medicinal use and said the Progressives party was discussing the op- tion of decriminalizing the herb in small quantities. He said he does not sup- port full legalization of can- nabis for recreational use. “We are strongly consid- ering the decriminalization of marijuana,” he said, sug- gesting the current system criminalizes people too early for minor drug offenses. Independent candidate Austin Harris also expressed support for decriminalization but came out against legal- ization of the drug. He suggested half of the prison population was “incar- cerated for a joint or a spliff,” saying this was a waste of resources. He said minor possession offenses could be treated as misdemeanors and dealt with through a small fine or a caution. Kenneth Bryan, Mr. Ar- cher’s opponent in George Town Central, also ex- pressed support for the idea, saying former Police Commissioner David Ba- ines had spoken in sup- port of the idea. He said the U.K. has al- ready adopted that ap- proach and Cayman should follow. Both Mr. Bryan and Mr. Leslie also suggested a referendum would be the way to decide on full legal- ization of marijuana. Mr. Bryan also called for amendments to the Consti- tution to make it manda- tory that the heads of the police, customs and prison be Caymanian. “Caymanians under- stand Cayman best and they would probably under- stand some of the crime el- ements and the causes of it and how to address it in the best way,” he said. Mr. Bryan added that politicians should also have more say in the police budget. “We can control our streets because we know our streets best,” he said. The candidates at the penultimate debate at the Camana Bay Arts and Rec- reation Centre also gave their views on issues that included the landfill site and immigration. Miss Lassie, Aunt Julia to get special headstone markers Two “national treasures” of the Cayman Islands, Gladwyn “Miss Lassie” Bush and “Aunt” Julia Hydes, will be recognized with specially crafted head- stones to mark their graves. Miss Lassie, a visionary intuitive painter whose home on South Sound Road is pre- served as a heritage site, passed away in 2003 at the age of 89. Aunt Julia, a be- loved folk musician and drummer, died in November 2015 at the age of 106. Premier Alden McLaughlin, as Cayman’s culture min- ister, handed over a $24,000 check for the headstones to the Cayman National Cultural Foundation in the presence of the two icons’ family members at the Government Adminis- tration Building on May 3. According to a press re- lease, Premier McLaughlin reiterated the high regard and esteem that the Cayman Islands community continues to have for these two cul- tural stalwarts. He said the headstones would take about six months to create and place. Miss Lassie, who is interred at the South Sound Community Cem- etery, was a Member of the Order of the British Empire and also received a number of awards for her contributions to art, music and culture. Aunt Julia is interred at the West Bay Cemetery. She received the Certificate and Badge of Honour as well as several awards, including the Cayman National Cul- tural Foundation award for pioneering work in cul- tural heritage. Family members of Gladwyn ‘Miss Lassie’ Bush and ‘Aunt’ Julia Hydes look on as Premier Alden McLaughlin, fifth from left, hands a check to Cayman National Cultural Foundation Managing Director Marcia Muttoo, sixth from left. From left are Aunt Julia’s great granddaughter Kayra Hydes, grandson Rolando Hydes, son Edroy Hydes and grandson Junior Hydes, Miss Lassie’s grandniece Edith Yates and Aunt Julia’s grandniece Reina Jefferson.DISTRICT DAYS 6 District Days Bodden Town THURSDAY MAY 18, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Bodden Towners celebrate Mother’s Day JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Mother’s Day was cele- brated with lots of enthu- siasm and fun in Bodden Town over the long Discovery Day holiday weekend. Ladies in the district en- joyed hat parades, crab and crawfish boils, beach out- ings and church services, while others spent quality time bonding with their children at home. Under the trees at the Bodden Town Harry McCoy Sr. Park, families had lots to keep them entertained. A party hosted by two candidates in the upcoming elections, Stafford Berry and Robert Bodden, offered prizes for the oldest and youngest mothers and the mother with the most children, as well as for best recitals and best dancers. Finger food, music and cool drinks were also available. Olivine Solomon, 99, was a popular mother at the event. She won prizes for being the oldest mother and for having nine children. Martha Robinson received a prize for her brim hat made out of silver thatch. The mothers present were also presented with flowers and other tokens of appre- ciation. Children impressed their families by telling their mothers why they were spe- cial and loved during an “open mic” part of the day. During the hat parade, some children wore hats decorated with sparkles and butterfly trinkets, which were hand- made with the help of family and friends. Mothers sported stylish bonnets and brimmed hats decorated with flowers and trinkets. As judges tried to pick a winner from all the col- orful head wear, the ladies and children performed dances to reggae and calypso music to further impress judges. Also on Mother’s Day, at Coe Wood Public Beach, mothers played dominoes as the men prepared the food. DJ Dac Moore kept the la- dies dancing and entertained with music as Craig Saun- ders cooked up lots of spicy jerk chicken on the grill for everyone to enjoy. A bubbling pot of fish tea kept hot on the coals was also enjoyed. While this was taking palace, some fathers kept the children entertained by helping them fly kites, search the water for small fish and play ball. The following day, the Monday Discovery Day hol- iday, mothers were also en- joying themselves at a crab and crawfish boil hosted by Trilby Lingard at her home. At the crab boil, the first order of things was to get all ingredients together – the crawfish, the crabs, lots of Cajun and Old Bay sea- soning, corn, potatoes, sau- sages, peppers, onions and lemon wedges. The ladies did most of the cooking and preparations and the men pitched in to arrange the tables and chairs and make sure the drinks were on ice. “It was pretty cool to see everyone dive into the feast and start hammering and sucking away at the crab shells. It reminded me just like my young days when it was done by my mother and father,” said Ms. Lingard. “We had a blast,” said Ce- cile Collins, searching the garden for fresh blueberries to share with others. Mar- ilyn Nasirun wondered where all the crabs came from as she smashed a huge crab claw on the table to suck out the juicy meat. Sky and Trilby Lingard enjoy a Mother’s Day dance. Ladies model hats during the hat parade. The crab and crawfish boil provides a tasty treat.Friends get together to enjoy a crab and crawfish boil. Robert Bodden hands out flowers to mothers. Rose Williams gets a helping hand with her hat from Jennifer Lamie. – PHOTOS: JEWEL LEVY7 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 18, 2017 Import issues for Cayman magazines KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Magazine lovers in the Cayman Islands missed their regular editions this month as the islands’ leading magazine importer, Hob- bies and Books, ceased ship- ments in April. Hobbies and Books con- firmed it had stopped im- ports but declined to com- ment further. The company has imported magazines to Cayman since 1971 and sup- plied local retailers including Books & Books, Foster’s Food Fair and Kirk Market. These stores will now need to estab- lish an alternative supplier. Books & Books manager Terry Cleaver said the Ca- mana Bay store cleared out the last of its magazine in- ventory at the end of April. With no May editions avail- able, bargain books now fill the store’s magazine racks. “I’m trying to look to see what we can do to start get- ting supply back on the is- land, but nothing is con- crete,” he said. Mr. Cleaver is confident he will find an alternative magazine source. He said is- land readers are still inter- ested in magazines and an opportunity to put down their screens. Foster’s Food Fair Man- aging Director Woody Foster said his company hopes to restore its magazine ser- vice soon, possibly through Books & Books. “There will be a little tran- sition,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have no plans to stop carrying magazines.” Kirk Market confirmed its magazine supply had been disrupted as well. The com- pany is also working to es- tablish an alternate supplier. ABANDONED BOAT FOUND ON BODDEN TOWN BEACH Police are investigating the circumstances sur- rounding an empty boat that washed ashore on a beach by Manse Road in Bodden Town early Wednesday. Officers responded to a report about the boat made around 6 a.m. The boat had no engines and appears to be from Costa Rica. It has possibly been adrift for weeks, police said in a press statement. “The boat was re- moved from the beach by marine officers and taken to the Marine Base where enquiries continue,” the RCIPS said. Anyone with information about this vessel is asked to contact the Joint Marine Unit at 649-7710. The Cayman Islands government is warning the public about a phishing scam that involves an email purportedly sent by the De- partment of Immigration. Several immigration cli- ents reported receiving messages from a fake email address, info@immigration. gov.ky, which appeared to contain visa and election updates. The link led unsus- pecting users to malware. In its warning to the public, the government urged users not to open the link, stating that it could lead to computer and network damage. Official immigration updates are available on the Department of Immi- gration website. EMAIL PHISHING SCAM TARGETS IMMIGRATION CLIENTS Bargain books now occupy the space once used for magazines at Books & Books in Camana Bay. – PHOTO: KAYLA YOUNG Police found the boat, which is believed to have come from Costa Rica.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. THURSDAY MAY 18, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS POLITICAL MEETINGS AND FORUMS THURSDAY, MAY 18 NATIONAL DEBATE: Candidates from various districts at the Arts and Recreation Centre, Camana Bay. 7-9 p.m. MONDAY, MAY 22 KENT MCTAGGART: Savannah. Across from Countryside Shopping Plaza. 7 p.m. TUESDAY, MAY 23 JOHANY ‘JAY’ EBANKS: North Side. Motorcade. 7:30 p.m. EZZARD MILLER: North Side. Old Man Bay Playing Field. 8 p.m. ARDEN MCLEAN: East End. Pac a Sac Store. 8 p.m. THURSDAY, MAY 18 ARDYTH SMITH IN BLACK AND WHITE: The National Museum on Harbour Drive launches the Ardyth Smith exhibition. The event is free and open to the public. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ms. Smith was an animal rights activist, photographer, community leader, historian and advocate for people’s rights. CHILD MONTH: Snuggle and Read. Cayman Academy School. 6–8 p.m. For more information, call 949-0290. FRIDAY, MAY 19 ART LECTURE: Christopher Crozier discusses Caribbean art, 6-8 p.m. at the National Gallery. Admission free. All are invited. VOTER ID CARDS: Today is the last day to collect the new voter registration cards. Cards may be collected from the Elections Office at the Smith Road Centre, 150 Smith Road, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. They replace all previously issued voter identification. To receive a card, voters must show a valid form of official identification, such as a driver’s license, passport or work ID. Contact 949- 8047, office@elections.ky or www.elections.ky. BRAC CHILD MONTH: Family Dinner, Aston Rutty Centre, 7-9 p.m. CHILDREN’S LOGO: Artists ages 4 to 18 are invited to enter the Department of Children and Family Services’ logo competition. Today is the deadline. Submissions should describe any of the following themes: building a protective environment for all children; preventing and responding to violence, mistreatment, neglect and abuse of children; promoting children’s rights. Entries must be at least 8 1/2 x 11 inches but no larger than 11 x 17 inches. Logos can be hand-drawn or photos and illustrations combined. Entries must be dropped off at the DCFS office, 7 Genesis Close, by 5 p.m. Contact dcfs@gov.ky or visit the DCFS Facebook page. SATURDAY, MAY 20 DEALS ON WHEELS: The Red Cross mobile thrift shop will be in East End close to Pirates Cove Bar from 6-10 a.m. Items available include ladies’ bags and accessories, clothing and shoes for adults and children, linens and more. DARKNESS TO LIGHT: A free Red Cross training program for parents, teachers and others who work with or provide services to young people. From 9-11:30 a.m. Gain knowledge and skills to prevent child sexual abuse; recognize signs of abuse and learn how to react responsibly. Pre-registration is required. Contact vrm@redcross.org.ky. CHILD MONTH: Foster care recruitment drive, Grand Old House, 6-8 p.m. For more information, call 949-0290. TEEN MAZE: A Child Month activity at UCCI, at 10 a.m. Rewards and consequences of everyday choices. Not suitable for under-12s. Contact the Family Resource Centre for registration forms. Contact 949-0006 or frc@gov.ky. BRAC CHILD MONTH: Teen Disco, Youth Centre. 7-10:30 p.m. SUNDAY, MAY 21 PET PAWTRAITS: Fundraiser for One Dog at a Time. 2-6 p.m. at Montessori, South Sound. Submit a photo of a pet, and Three Girls and a Kiln will sketch the image onto canvas, ready to paint and take home. Tickets are $70 and include a buffet. Email info@odaat.ky or message on Facebook page Onedogatatime13 or website www.odaat.ky. THE BUSINESS OF ART: Presentations and workshops that explore how artists and creatives can build a business around their talent, from developing a presence in the art world to learning to sell work directly to the public or finding suitable representation. 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Regular attendance, $35. Practicing artist, $25. Students over 15 years, free. Lunch and refreshments will be provided throughout. Booking is essential. Email events@nationalgallery. org.ky or call 945-8111. CIMA CHARITY 5K & 10K WALK/RUN: As part of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority’s 20th anniversary, the public is invited to the 5K & 10K Walk/Run, 6 a.m., starting at Elizabethan Square. Cost is $20 for adults, $10 for children under 12. Proceeds benefit the literacy and numeracy programs of various government primary schools. To register, or for more information, visit www.cima.ky. FRIDAY, MAY 26 CHILD MONTH: IAM2K17 Youth Empowerment Conference, Marriott resort, 9 a.m. For more information, call 949-0290. SATURDAY, MAY 27 EVENING OF MUSICAL EXCELLENCE: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Cayman National Choir, 7-10 p.m. at the Arts and Recreation Centre. Performance includes the Cayman National Orchestra in a special collaboration with Steve Higgins and friends. All are welcome. CHILD MONTH: Circle of Love Children’s breakfast at Marriott resort. 8:30-11 a.m. For more information, call 949-0290. DEALS ON WHEELS: The Red Cross mobile thrift shop will be in North Side, junction of Hutland and North Side Roads, from 6-10 a.m. Items available include ladies’ bags and accessories, clothing and shoes for adults and children, linens and more. SUNDAY, MAY 28 PUBLIC ASTRONOMY VIEWING: Pedro Castle, 7:30 p.m. weather permitting. Please park outside and walk in. Call Richard on 925-4917 for more details or to check cancellation if more than 50 percent cloud cover. CHILD MONTH: Family Fun Day at Agricultural Pavilion, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 949-0290. DOGS AHOY: Allura Boat Trip, 1-6 p.m. Fundraiser for One Dog at a Time. Tickets, $35. The Allura sails to Stingray City and Starfish Point, stopping at two different snorkeling sites. Food is provided. Email info@odaat.ky or message on Facebook page Onedogatatime13 or website www.odaat.ky. MONDAY, MAY 29 QUIT SMOKING: Smokers who wish to quit the habit have until today to register for Smoking Cessation Classes. The Public Health Department advises that classes will take place every Wednesday for seven weeks in the Public Health Waiting Room, starting Wednesday, May 31, 5:15-6:45 p.m. For more information, or to sign up, contact the Public Health Department on 244-2889/244-2621, or email sarah.hetley@hsa.ky or nola.sanderson@hsa.ky. GENERAL INTEREST HIGH SCHOOL PTA: The John Gray High School PTA seeks sponsors, vendors and volunteers for its June 24 Summer Fair and Raffle. The PTA is raising funds to assist students traveling overseas to represent the school and country in track and field, swimming, fine arts, academics and more. The PTA invites applications from visual and performing artists, food vendors and volunteers. Email ptajghs@gmail.com for registration forms. If you have a product you would like to sell to the student body and public at the fair, sign up. Booths are $50 and $75. CONTRACTORS REGISTRATION: The deadline for general and civil contractors to register with the Builders Board has been extended by a month. The deadline is now May 31. Registration deadlines for the other categories of contractors remain the same: Residential and Building Contractors, June 30; Trade Contractors, Aug. 31, 2017. BETHESDA COUNSELLING CENTRE: Caters to all who seek help. Open Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 68 Mary St. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946-6575. LOST DOGS: The Department of Agriculture and veterinary students of St. Matthew’s University provide an online list of dogs housed at the Department of Agriculture Animal Rescue Shelter in Lower Valley. Anyone missing a dog can check www.smustudents.webs.com. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday 5:30-7:30 p.m. Volunteers needed for front desk a few hours per week. Email humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or call 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, DVDs, cards etc., in good condition always needed. RED CROSS THRIFT SHOP: The Thrift Shop opening hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Friday hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and closed evenings. Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. SPECIAL OLYMPICS: Volunteers are needed. Tuesdays at the Truman Bodden Complex at 5:30 p.m. for track/field, football and bocce. No experience necessary, just a smile and patience. Wednesdays at Lions Pool 10:15–11 a.m. You do not have to swim, just be able to walk in water chest- deep. Thursdays at First Baptist Church for basketball, 5:30–7 p.m. Saturdays, volunteers needed for Adult Special Olympic swim conditioning at CIS pool 9:30–10:30 a.m. Deck support and in-water swimming assistance needed. For more information, contact Penny McDowall at 516-2578 or pjmcdowall@gmail.com. OPEN STUDIO: Every Thursday 10 a.m. till noon and every Monday 1-4 p.m. at Watler House Studio on grounds of Pedro Castle. Offered by Visual Arts Society to adults/youth who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere. Contact info@visualartcayman.com. COMMUNITY CHESS: Tuesdays 5-8 p.m., West Indies Wine Company. Join the Cayman Chess Club for a complimentary chess class and open challenges weekly. Anyone can learn to play and enjoy chess, even beginners. ARTISANS MARKET: Camana Bay every Wednesday, noon till 8 p.m. Visual Arts Society artists display arts, crafts, paintings, prints, hand-crafted jewelry and ceramics for sale. Email info@visualartcayman.com. OPEN CANVAS: Wednesdays. Visual Arts Society supports this event at KARoo Restaurant in Camana Bay. 7-11 p.m. No fee, easels provided. Contact info@ongart.com or jar.was@gmail.com. MUSEUM TOURS: The National Museum provides guided tours for students and school groups free of cost. Students will gain an understanding of Cayman’s geological formation, flora and fauna, seafaring and rope-making heritage, political history and more. Contact the museum to book a tour in advance at 949-8368 or email info@museum.ky. CLUBS, ORGANIZATIONS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: Meets daily to help with drinking problems. For more information, call 926-9044 or visit www.caymanaa.org. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: Is available for substance abuse help. Call the info line at 929–NANA (6262). AL-ANON GROUP MEETING: Are you troubled by someone’s drinking? Al-Anon Family Groups can help. Call 928-8843 or email caymanalanon@gmail.com for meeting times. OVERCOMERS OUTREACH: A Christ-centered 12-step recovery group addresses addictions and those affected by them. Meetings at Cayman Islands Baptist Church, Pedro Castle Road, Mondays, 7 p.m. For details, contact Virginia Castillo at 946-2422, or visit www.overcomersoutreach.org. DEMENTIA/ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP: This group meets on the last Wednesday of each month at the Catboat Club clubhouse, North Church Street. All are invited to attend. For more information, call 924-4170 or email info@adacayman.com. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY MAY 18, 2017 in the high schools and at the Cayman Islands Further Ed- ucation Centre, are already happening on her watch. Though she sees a role for the private sector in helping to create new “school ca- pacity,” potentially through “partnership schools” sim- ilar to U.S. charter schools, she has not endorsed the wholesale transfer of respon- sibility for education to a private entity. Many of the candidates have spoken only in vague terms about their plans for private sector involvement in education. The Progressives mani- festo highlights “Revisiting opportunities for a public- private sector partnership in education to determine how best to move forward with initiatives that ben- efit students and produce quality outcomes.” It also promises to build a new primary school in West Bay, complete John Gray High School and look at de- segregating expats and Cay- manians in the schools. Within four years, the document promises, 75 per- cent of high school gradu- ates will move on to some form of higher education, ei- ther in academic degree pro- grams or vocational trades locally or overseas. The Cayman Democratic Party manifesto calls for a change in “education gover- nance” that will take the pol- itics out of education policy and its implementation. CDP leader McKeeva Bush, speaking at a pre-election de- bate, said his party would seek to give more power over school budgets and hiring and firing to principals. He also expressed sup- port for greater private sector involvement in run- ning of schools. “I believe we can have a partnership with the pri- vate sector,” he said. “There are scores of good exam- ples of this and we have people locally that can make it happen.” He said any such plan should not be an “elitist group” but an institution that main- tains equal access to educa- tion for all. For independent candidate Al Suckoo, a former member of the Progressives, nothing short of an “education revolution” is required. He cites “public-private partnerships” as a way to generate funding. He is calling for improved salaries for teachers, deseg- regation of the schools and a focus on hiring educators who are equipped to handle children with learning and behavioral difficulties. “We have been successful with our students who are academics and who do not have any impediments to learning, but that is a testa- ment to the student, not the system. For those kids who have special education needs and who have behavioral is- sues there is a different re- ality,” he said. He would like to see much greater invest- ment in technical and vo- cational programs both in the high schools and at the University College of the Cayman Islands. Independent candidate Kenneth Bryan is another pol- itician who has spoken of the need to look at moving edu- cation under the authority of a private entity – preventing it, in his words, from being a “political football.” Mark Scotland, a former politician and current chairman of the Parent Teacher Association at Sa- vannah Primary School, agrees that wholesale changes are needed as to how education is structured in Cayman. He would like to see a new administration commit fully to the concept of charter schools – with government taking a regulatory role. “I would like to see a change in the governance model for education which separates the roles of poli- cymaking, regulation and provision of education – one entity cannot continue to perform all those roles and ensure transparency and accountability. “The management of public schools should be out- sourced through a public- private partnership or es- tablishment of a separate authority. Ministry can re- tain the roles [of] policymaker and regulator.” Empty seats and chairs await students who will sit their exams in the John Gray school gymnasium, which was completed this month. South Sound gun case to go to Grand Court Defendant remains in custody, no bail application made CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com John Brandon Smith appeared in Summary Court on Tuesday, when he elected to have firearm charges against him tried in Grand Court. The unlicensed handgun and 12 rounds of ammu- nition were found by po- lice in the South Sound home of a local busi- nessman on May 2. The court heard that the businessman had agreed about a month earlier to let Smith and his wife stay in the home. Police found a Raven Arms MP-25 .25 semi- automatic pistol and 12 rounds of .25 ammuni- tion in a knapsack in the living room. No bail Smith, 24, has been in custody since his arrest. Defense attorney Prathna Bodden said she would not be making a bail applica- tion that day. Magistrate Valdis Fol- dats advised that Smith could apply for bail in the Grand Court. The magistrate held a short-form preliminary in- quiry, in which Ms. Bodden agreed that the papers in the case as produced by the prosection could be ad- mitted. Crown counsel Greg Walcolm provided copies of the documents to the de- fense and to the magistrate. The case will be men- tioned in Grand Court on Friday, June 2. Issues of behavior in schools, the need for greater involvement from parents and the consequences of generations of broken families, remain key concerns in the school system. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Education: Candidates seek new solutions to familiar problems Drug Rehab Court was ‘no easy ride’ Eight new graduates achieve program goals of sobriety, stable housing, employment CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Eight people graduated last week from Cayman’s Drug Rehabilitation Court after a process described as “a lot of work … not a quick fix … no easy ride.” Those were the words of Magistrate Valdis Foldats, who has presided over the majority of weekly drug court sessions in recent years. But he preferred to quote the words of the graduates themselves as they worked their way through the phases of the program. One man had admitted he joined the drug court because, “I don’t want to go to prison.” Later, when he was asked why he should be allowed to move up a phase, he replied, “I have my pride back.” Another man asked not to be dismissed from the court for not complying with di- rections from the court team of counselors and probation workers. “If I get kicked out, I’ll go back to my old ways,” he said, promising to try again to abide by court rules. Later, this same man com- mented on the value he had found in relapse prevention group meetings because, “they made me realize I wasn’t the only one with problems.” A third participant reported on personal progress after one year of successful drug screen- ings. “I have made amends to family and friends for the wrongs I have done to them when I was addicted,” he said. By graduation day, he had been drug-free almost two years. Family involvement can be an important part of drug court. One man redoubled his ef- forts after his wife gave birth. “A child needs a father who is drug-free,” he said. When a woman in the program started to discon- nect, it was her husband who saw the change in her and contacted her counselor. The court “did the right thing,” Mr. Foldats said. “We put her in custody. She got clean again …. She realized she needed to slow down and not try to make giant leaps.” The court’s requirements for graduation include six months sobriety from illicit drugs, full-time employment, voluntary service or studies, stable housing, successful completion of all court-ordered treatment, and completion of all specialized probation terms. One young man spent time at Caribbean Haven, the residential treatment center. He then settled into the com- munity and registered for school. After a cocaine raid at his house that involved other people, he denied using the drug but tested positive. He sobered up, admitted using and apologized. “I didn’t let the team know about things that were going on that led to my relapse. My foolish pride made me think I could do it on my own,” he said. Getting back on track and recommitting to the pro- gram, he stayed drug-free and maintained a grade point average of 3.8. The four phases of drug court start with evaluation and intense treatment. A typ- ical two-week period in Phase Two involves at least one court appearance, a meeting with a probation officer, individual counseling and four “inten- sive outpatient sessions,” Mr. Foldats noted. In addition, the participant is required to phone the drug court coordi- nator three times per week to find out if he has to come to the courthouse to provide a urine specimen for testing. One graduate who com- pleted the program relatively quickly still had to come to court 24 times, attend 24 pro- bation meetings, make 130 phone calls over a period of 11 months, and provide 51 samples for testing. “I hope I don’t scare you off,” Mr. Foldats told drug court participants who are still in earlier phases. He de- scribed the program as not just a journey but an expe- dition: Those who make it change their lives. For seven of the latest graduates, no convictions were recorded against them and they re- ceived an absolute discharge. One was placed on probation for another 12 months. Since the first graduation in October 2009 – about 18 months after the court’s offi- cial start – approximately 114 people have graduated. Those who drop out or are dis- missed from the program re- turn to regular criminal court for disposal of their matters. Smith, 24, has been in custody since his arrest. Next >