ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017 Hundreds help prepare for general election Polls open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 19 locations BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com The sheer effort, mostly by volunteers, re- quired to host Cayman’s 2017 general elec- tion was on display Tuesday at George Town’s Family Life Centre. More than 200 workers, including pre- siding officers, their assisting clerks, returning officers and other volunteers made last- minute preparations for Wednesday’s vote. More than 21,000 Caymanians are eligible to participate in the election of the British Overseas Territory’s next Legislative Assembly. “Everybody that’s working [Wednesday] comes here, they check their ballot papers, they check their ballot books, they check their [voters’] lists … all the materials they need for Election Day,” Elections Supervisor Wesley Howell said during an interview at the Family Life Centre as elections workers made their last-minute preparations. “They then seal that [information] in their ballot box, the presiding officer padlocks it, takes the keys with them. We take the box, store them under police security [Tuesday night] and then [Wednesday], we deliver them to the polling stations.” Election Day for the workers starts early, around 5 a.m., as the elections staff shuttles the ballot boxes to the various polling stations – 19 of them, one for each single-member voting constituency – to prepare for Wednesday’s vote. Mr. Howell said the presiding officers, who will have inspected their designated voting lo- cations the day before, are in charge of the lo- cations while the voting is going on. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday. It is the responsibility of the presiding of- ficer to issue the ballot paper to the voter and provide instructions before the voter marks an “X” and drops the paper into the ballot box. Two elections clerks are on hand to assist the presiding officer, maintaining the voters’ TRIPADVISOR HALTS TURTLE CENTRE TICKET SALES TAD STONER tstoner@pinnaclemedialtd.com TripAdvisor, among the world’s top tourist websites, stopped selling tickets to the Cayman Turtle Centre over the weekend, saying it was “not compliant” with the Massa- chusetts-based organization’s animal welfare booking policy. While TripAdvisor’s Senior Director for Corporate Communications Brian Hoyt did not say how many Cayman Turtle Centre tickets the website had sold, he confirmed that it would no longer book tickets to “hundreds of attractions across the globe where tourists come into physical contact with captive wild animals or endangered species.” Both criteria apply to the West Bay facility. He minimized potential financial implica- tions to TripAdvisor, saying “this policy change was not material to TripAdvisor revenues.” The move comes on the heels of an April 25 petition launched by the London-based World Animal Protection organization, asking Car- nival Cruise Lines, among the world’s largest, to stop recommending the Turtle Centre as a tourist destination. Neil D’Cruze, senior wildlife adviser at World Animal Protection, said the Carnival pe- tition, calling the Cayman Turtle Centre “one of the top 10 cruellest wildlife tourist at- tractions” in the world, had already gained 90,000 signatures. He said the TripAdvisor move, while in- dependent of the petition, had been “given a sense of urgency” by the Carnival appeal. TripAdvisor, founded in 2000 and featuring more than 4 million reviews and 7 million Search widens for accomplices in Manchester bombing MANCHESTER, England (AP) – In- vestigators hunted Tuesday for possible accomplices of the sui- cide bomber who attacked an Ariana Grande concert in Man- chester, killing 22 people and sparking a stampede of young concert-goers, some still wearing the American pop star’s trade- mark kitten ears and holding pink balloons. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Monday night carnage, which also left 59 people wounded, though a top American intel- ligence official said the claim could not be verified. British police raided two sites in the northern English city and ar- rested a 23-year-old man at a third location. The bomber died at the scene, authorities said. The Cayman Islands London Office lists three Caymanians living in the greater Manchester area of northwest England, one of whom is 24-year-old law stu- dent Lloyd Barker Jr., who lives Police and members of the public move floral tributes from St. Ann’s Church to beside a statue in St. Ann’s Square, Manchester, after the terror attack at Manchester Arena. - PHOTO: MARTIN RICKETT/PA PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » Major task More than 200 elections officers, clerks, supervisors and volunteers prepare the ballot boxes to be used in Wednesday’s general election. The effort took place at the Family Life Centre in George Town on Tuesday afternoon, after which the boxes were stored in a safe location overnight until being taken to polling stations early Wednesday. For a full list of candidates and polling locations, see pages 6 and 7. – PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY2 LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING (PG13) 12:30 I 2:50 I 5:10 I 7:40 I 10:15 THE LOST CITY OF Z (PG13) 12:45 I 3:50 I 7:10 THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS 3D (PG13) 2:00 2D I 5:00 I 8:00 2D ALIEN: COVENANT (R) 1:30 VIP I 4:30 I 7:05 VIP I 10:00 KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD 3D (PG13) 1:20 I 4:15 VIP I 7:30 2D I 9:50 VIP GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 3D (PG13) 12:30 2D I 3:30 I 6:30 2D I 9:30 - WEDNESDAY - 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) KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Hazard Management Cayman Islands Director McCleary Frederick was named the first international recipient of the Governor’s Hurricane Conference Life- time Achievement Award for his contributions to disaster preparedness and recovery. The annual award, an- nounced May 18 in West Palm Beach, Florida, is presented to a notable individual for “major contributions and out- standing accomplishments in the field of hurricane pre- paredness, response, recovery and mitigation at both the local and national level.” Around 1,600 people from across the U.S. and Caribbean attended this year’s confer- ence, put on by a private, nonprofit group. The Lifetime Achievement Award has historically gone to professionals based in Florida, but was opened for the first time this year to re- gional applicants. A conference represen- tative said Mr. Frederick’s nomination and accom- plishments stood out to the awards committee. “His determination and commitment has made the (Cayman) Islands safer and more resilient, and has earned him the respect and admiration of his peers in the field and in the wider region,” the award nomina- tion form stated. “He has been instrumental in establishing a full-time disaster management of- fice, and implementing an all-hazard approach to di- saster management in the Cayman Islands.” Mr. Frederick, who took over Hazard Management Cayman Islands in 2009, also helped secure funding for a National Operations Centre facility and directed instal- lation of four seismograph stations, a sensor for the Ca- ribbean Tsunami Warning Program and several weather stations. In 2016, he helped establish the Disaster Pre- paredness and Hazard Man- agement Law, which enables government to send emer- gency messages by cellphone, television and radio. Mr. Frederick said the award took him by sur- prise. He attributed Cay- man’s progress in disaster management to pioneers who came before him. While Mr. Frederick has dedicated his career to di- saster management, Hurri- cane Ivan sealed his dedica- tion to the field. “After living through Ivan and the devastation that Ivan caused, I feel it’s very im- portant for us to have the country and citizens as pre- pared as we can. The more prepared you are, the easier it is to recover,” he said. When Ivan hit in 2004, he oversaw recovery efforts in his district of East End and was appointed overall Damage Assessment Coordi- nator for the Cayman Islands. In 2008, he coordinated relief for Cayman Brac after Hur- ricane Paloma. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson recognized Mr. Frederick for his work to promote safety in the Cayman Islands. “Under his leadership, Mr. Frederick has helped build and maintain a culture of safety for the Cayman Is- lands, and continues to im- plement mitigation mea- sures to minimize the consequences of natural di- sasters,” Mr. Manderson said. “Mr. Frederick is a strong advocate for disaster pre- paredness and has greatly improved overall readiness for the country.” Hazard Management chief receives award McCleary Frederick is the first international recipient of the Governor’s Hurricane Conference Lifetime Achievement Award. WOMAN CHARGED WITH HARBORING DEPORTEE SHOT BY POLICE CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Marsha Marilyn Kelly, 34, appeared in Summary Court on Tuesday charged with har- boring a deportee and ob- structing police. The man she allegedly harbored was Norval Maconia Barrett, 34, who was shot dead by po- lice in January. Barrett had been deported back to Jamaica following his release from prison in Cayman after serving a sentence for robbery. Kelly is charged with knowingly harboring or con- cealing him between Dec. 1, 2016, and Jan. 6, 2017. The obstructing police charge is based on incidents that occurred on Jan. 6. Crown counsel Eleanor Fargin advised that papers in the case were not yet ready. She asked for another two weeks and defense at- torney John Furniss agreed. Kelly appeared on police bail and Magistrate Valdis Fol- dats extended her bail until Tuesday, June 6. Barrett was fatally shot by police in the early hours of Friday, Jan. 6, after leaving a residence on Theresa Drive in Windsor Park. Earlier this month, prose- cutors ruled that no charges would be filed against any of the officers involved. This de- cision was reached after an independent review of the incident by police officers from Bermuda. Harboring a deportee is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and to imprison- ment for up to one year upon conviction for a first offense. Where the offense is a con- tinuing offense the convicted person is liable to a fine of $500 for each day the of- fense continues. Cayman Brac gets new ambulance KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman Brac received a new, replacement ambulance Monday morning, in a move to standardize the Cayman Islands’ fleet. The 2017 Chevy G4500 TraumaHawk has the same design as the ambulances on Grand Cayman, a Health Services Authority represen- tative said. The vehicle is larger than the current pri- mary care ambulance in the Brac and will enable emer- gency responders to trans- port more than one pa- tient at a time. The unit comes with a power stretcher that will allow staff to hydrauli- cally lift patients and avoid back injuries. The exte- rior has more lights than the current model and in- cludes an LED system for im- proved visibility. Equipment, including a cardiac monitor, can be charged while in the unit. Cayman Brac’s new Chevy G4500 TraumaHawk allows emergency services to transport more than one patient at a time. - PHOTO: JAMES TIBBETTS Puerto Rico university chief quits ahead of arrest SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – The head of Puerto Rico’s largest public university announced on Tuesday that she has resigned just hours before she faced arrest for failing to reopen an insti- tution that has been shut down by a student strike for nearly two months. Interim president Nivia Fernandez stepped down along with three mem- bers of the board of gov- ernors of the University of Puerto Rico, including the board’s president and vice president. The university’s gates have remained locked and blocked by piles of desks and tires since late March as students protest $450 million in budget cuts sought by a federal con- trol board overseeing the island’s finances. The is- land’s governor has pro- posed the cuts be reduced to $241 million, but no deal has been reached. “Unfortunately, the uni- versity is being targeted by a disproportionate … and unfair funding cut that not only places the university’s physical integrity at great risk, but also the capacity it still has to attract top- quality teachers,” the board members who resigned said in a letter to Gov. Ri- cardo Rossello. The University of Puerto Rico serves more than 50,000 students across 11 campuses. The system al- ready has been hit with nearly $350 million in cuts in recent years, and professors have been de- nied sabbaticals and salary increases. The proposed cuts are among several measures the federal control board is pursuing to reduce gov- ernment spending as the U.S. territory prepares to restructure a portion of its $73 billion public debt load. A judge had threatened to arrest Fernandez if she did not present a plan to end the strike by Tuesday afternoon. Fernandez had asked police and justice of- ficials for help in reopening the school, but they refused to intervene. Fernandez said she met with board members until late Monday night but said they chose not to proceed with possible strategies to reopen the university. She provided no further details. “I have full confidence in a prompt and fair conclu- sion to the current and un- usual situation that we find ourselves in,” she said in her resignation letter. Fernandez served for 13 weeks after the previous president resigned along with several top-ranking university officials in late February, also in protest of the looming cuts. The university has been fined $1,000 daily ever since a judge ordered it be opened by May 11. Students voted earlier this month to indefi- nitely extend the strike.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017 2013 GLOBAL RETAIL KNAB RAEY EHT FO 2014 GLOBAL RETAIL KNAB RAEY EHT FO 2013 GLOBAL RETAIL KNAB RAEY EHT FO RAEY EHT FO 2014 GLOBAL RETAIL KNAB RAEY EHT FO RAEY EHT FO 2016 GLOBAL RETAIL KNAB RAEY EHT FO RBC® Royal Bank was awarded 2013, 2014, 2016 Global Retail Bank of the Year by Retail Banker International. ® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. A big thank you to our 16,000,000 clients & 80,000 employees for making us #1 again. RBC Royal Bank named Global Retail Bank of the Year We are incredibly honoured to be named Global Retail Bank of the Year again and the only bank IN THE WORLD to capture this top honour three times. This award is about our employees. Their dedication. Their passion. Their commitment to help our clients thrive and our communities prosper. lt's also about our clients who put their trust in us. It's All About You. OFFICERS ATTACKED IN MAJOR DRUG BUST Separate drugs raids in Savannah and Prospect Monday netted what is believed to be hundreds of pounds of ganja and four criminal suspects, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service reported. At the drug seizure on Marina Drive Monday, a suspect “violently re- sisted arrest,” according to police – assaulting a police officer and a police detective on scene – prior to his escape. Another suspect in the Marina Drive inci- dent was arrested on sus- picion of drug posses- sion as well as suspicion of illegal landing. The 45-year-old man is a Ja- maican national. During the earlier drug raid on Watershed Circle in Savannah, two women and man were arrested by police after “quanti- ties of ganja were found throughout the property and seized.” The three suspects, in their 30s, are from Bodden Town. All three remained in RCIPS custody Tuesday. Mega-yacht settlement to pay for new mooring JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Money from the settle- ment between government and the owner of a mega- yacht that damaged coral reef in Cayman’s waters will be used to pay for a perma- nent mooring for large ves- sels at the north end of Seven Mile Beach. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen agreed last year to pay compensation and fund emergency reef restora- tion work following the in- cident involving his yacht, the M/Y Tatoosh. The boat’s position shifted in strong winds, dragging its anchor across an area of coral reef inside the West Bay Replenish- ment Zone of the Seven Mile Beach Marine Park. A condition of the com- pensation agreement was that some of the money be used to fund a sturdy mooring for large vessels in that area. Environment Minister Wayne Panton said govern- ment is now buying mate- rials and agreeing contracts for the installation of a per- manent mooring at the north end of the Seven Mile Beach Marine Park. Once the work is completed, additional moorings will be installed using the remainder of the settlement funds. “Final approvals for pay- ment of the invoices were re- cently obtained, which means we can move forward with the moorings,” he said. “This permanent mooring will ac- commodate vessels up to 300 feet long, meaning it can be used by the vast majority of yachts which visit Cayman. This is an important step for- ward for us because it will help prevent damage to our corals and more broadly, to our marine environment, which provides so much en- joyment to us and which boosts our economy.” Department of Environ- ment Director Gina Ebanks- Petrie said the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands has donated the anchor for the mooring, leaving more funding to be applied to ad- ditional moorings. “The Port Authority, as well as private sector service agents for visiting vessels, will help to identify preferred locations for future moorings, which the DoE will consider in light of environmental fac- tors,” she said. Government and TDE Maritime, the owner com- pany of the M/Y Tatoosh, an- nounced an agreement last October in relation to coral that was damaged in January 2016. The amount of compen- sation was not revealed and the agreement involved no admission of fault. Paul Allen’s yacht Tatoosh, moored off George Town in January 2016. Mr. Allen has paid compensation to the Cayman Islands government after his yacht’s anchor damaged a secion of coral in the West Bay replenishment zone last year. - PHOTO: JAMES WHITTAKERThe islands’ most-trusted news source 4 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 MAY 24, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” – Winston Churchill Today is a celebration of self-governance and equality in the Cayman Islands. It is Election Day – a most fitting occasion for odes to democracy, “the will of the people” and political stability. You will find few more ardent supporters of those concepts than the Compass Editorial Board. Lest we get carried away, however, let us take heed of the observation, quoted above, from former U.K. Prime Minister Churchill. As the iconic leader, orator and statesman reminds us, democracy even in its most “perfect” form is far from perfect. That awareness goes as far back as Plato, who amid the very cradle of democracy in ancient Athens leveled staunch criticisms of it – with his most basic reservation being that the average citizen cannot be expected to possess (or be bothered to obtain) all the strains of knowledge required to govern a society. In “The Republic,” Plato describes the democratic system thusly: “Imagine then a ship or a fleet in which there is a captain [in this analogy, the “body politic”] who is taller and stronger than any of the crew, but who is a little deaf and has a similar infirmity in sight, and whose knowledge of navigation is not much better. The sailors [i.e. politicians] are quarreling with one another about the steering – everyone is of the opinion that he has a right to steer, though he has never learned the art of navigation.” In a society of any size, a system of “direct democ- racy” (where every citizen votes on every govern- mental action) would not only be undesirable, but utterly unworkable. Accordingly, various kinds of “rep- resentative democracy” developed, including the par- liamentary system employed in Cayman. Today, Caymanians (from a pool of more than 21,000 registered voters) will vote, in democratic fashion, to choose who will represent the country’s 19 electoral districts. Depending on the results, sometime during the next several days or perhaps weeks, the 19 new MLAs will hold a most-undemocratic vote them- selves, to elevate “the most equal among equals” to the position of premier and to select ministers, back- benchers and so forth. It must be noted that, under the new one-man, one-vote system, Cayman’s next premier – arithmeti- cally speaking – could attain his position, leading a country of more than 60,000 people, on the strength of a mere 180 votes today … plus nine votes from his colleagues in the Legislative Assembly in the near future. (The district of North Side has 716 registered voters and four candidates.) Adapting a phrase from former U.S. Defense Sec- retary Donald Rumsfeld, you go to the polls with the electoral system you have, not the one you might want or wish to have at a later time. To the voters of Cayman, today is your opportunity – which occurs only once every four years – to hold elected officials accountable and to proclaim unam- biguously the political will of the country to its leaders, past and future. After today, that’s it. What you do tomorrow, after the ballots have been counted, doesn’t count. We’ll conclude where we began, with another thought from Prime Minister Churchill: “At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democ- racy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper – no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discus- sion can possibly diminish the overwhelming impor- tance of that point.” – EDITORIAL – Election Day: It is time for the people to speak One more modest proposal Forgive me if I don’t think the removal of Confederate statuary is an issue. I call it decluttering, which is an on- going project at my house and I hope at yours too. When those crews are done down South, put them to work in Washington, D.C. The Frenchman L’Enfant (the name means “immature”) who laid out the streets in this swamp had grandiose ideas, as anyone knows who has attempted to navigate in the capital, diagonal bou- levards laid against a grid, which created numerous odd squares and irrelevant circles which, of course, re- quired large equestrian statues to ennoble them, and so you have Thomas Circle at 14th Street and Massa- chusetts Avenue NW named for Gen. George Thomas who fought at the Battle of Chick- amauga in 1863. But does this give him a permanent right to loom over us in 2017 and obstruct traffic and cause honking and obscene gesturing? A whole circle devoted to this small historical footnote and how many thousands of chil- dren have pointed to him and asked, “Who is he?” and their parents were clueless and thus authority is under- mined, trust is eroded, the family is weakened, our chil- dren grow up rootless and liable to fall for crackpots and demagogues. Same for Gen. James McPherson, who died in the Battle of Atlanta (but so did a lot of other people). You’ve got a whole square near the White House named for him. Ridiculous. What this says about Washington is that it is so encrusted with regula- tions and overlapping com- missions and committees and agencies that it is in- capable of rational prog- ress. Send in a crane to ex- tract Gen. McPherson and move Duke Ellington in from where he’s exiled over on T Street and you may restore our faith in the relevance of government. “Take the A Train” did more for America than McPherson did. And what about Gen. George Mc- Clellan, who was reluctant to engage with the Confeder- ates and who ran for presi- dent as a defeatist in 1864? Why is this loser sitting on a horse 32 feet in the air? Who invited him? Why not Jubila- tion T. Cornpone? Our nation’s capital has become our nation’s attic, full of stuffed owls and white el- ephants and antique souve- nirs. Drain the swamp, throw out the junk! History moves on as the past recedes and indifference sets in. In New York, Daniel Web- ster takes up a big swath of ground in Central Park. Take him down and set him on the sidewalk in Union Square where people can walk right up and take selfies with him. He’d like that. In my hometown, St. Paul, here’s a statue of a Union soldier standing on a ridic- ulous smokestack of a ped- estal so high you can’t be sure if that’s his overcoat or a pinafore. Someday it’s li- able to fall on somebody. Take it down, saw off nine- tenths of the pedestal, and put up a statue of Emmanuel Masqueray, the French archi- tect who designed the mag- nificent cathedral across the street. Then you’ve got some- thing worth talking about. Every ethnicity and po- litical faction and interest group has got its monument in Washington – the Ital- ians got Dante, Russians got Pushkin, conservatives got Edmund Burke, physicists got Einstein, pacifists got Gandhi, feminists got Joan of Arc, Boy Scouts got Teddy Roosevelt, intelligence offi- cers got Nathan Hale, and so on and so forth. Everybody but us columnists. Haul McClellan down off his high horse and put up H.L. Mencken on the ped- estal. It’s a handsome horse so keep that and let Mencken hold the reins, and inscribe his words: “The man of vig- orous mind and stout con- victions is gradually shoul- dered out of public life. This leaves the field to the intel- lectual jellyfish, to the blank cartridge who has no convic- tions at all and the mounte- bank who is willing to con- ceal and disguise what he actually believes, according as the wind blows hot or cold.” Inscribe it across the horse’s rear end. Put a re- cycling bin behind it where people can leave their dog droppings. People will stop and look, it’ll speak to them. I was in Washington last weekend, trying to get from Virginia Avenue over to K Street and attend church and it took so long to find my way, I was hardly in a devo- tional mood, but that’s par for the course in D.C. nowa- days. A whole lot of anger in this town. Edit the statuary collection, including some who have been parked in Congress refighting old wars, and see if it doesn’t improve the situation. Garrison Keillor is an author and radio personality. © Garrison Keillor, distributed by The Washington Post News Service with Bloomberg News. GARRISON KEILLOR GARRISON KEILLOR 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 islands’ most-trusted news source 5 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017 JUNE 30 - JULY 3, 2017 TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT CAYFILM.COM TICKETS STARTING AT CI$25 200 FILMS FROM 50 COUNTRIES PANELS WORKSHOPS CELEBRITY PARTIES VIP All Access CI$400 General Admission CI$50 Student Pass CI$25 One-Day Sampler CI$256 WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS ELECTIONS 2017 Bodden Town East POLLING STATION Bodden Town Primary School, 64 Condor Road, Bodden Town Arnold Thomas Berry Independent Businessman 1 Osbourne Vendryes Bodden Progressives Member of the Legislative Assembly 2 Robert Anthony Bodden Cayman Democratic Party Businessman 3 Dwayne Stanley ‘John John’ Seymour Independent Businessman 4 Bodden Town West POLLING STATION Agricultural Grounds Pavilion, 199 Lottery Road, Bodden Town 1 Stafford Berry Cayman Democratic Party Air traffic controller 3 Gilbert Allan McLean Independent Businessman 2 Maxine Jolevet Bodden Robinson Progressives Lawyer 4 Christopher Selvin Saunders Independent Accountant Cayman Brac East POLLING STATION Creek Primary School, 28 Student Drive, Cayman Brac 1 Juliana O’Connor Connolly Progressives Member of the Legislative Assembly 2 Rudolph Lenbergh Dixon Independent Retired police officer Cayman Brac West & Little Cayman POLLING STATION West End Primary School 10 Cotton Tree Bay Rd, Cayman Brac 1 Moses Kirkconnell, III Progressives Member of the Legislative Assembly 2 Maxine Avon Moore Independent Office manager George Town Central East End POLLING STATION George Town Town Hall, 43 Fort Street, George Town POLLING STATION William Allen McLaughlin Civic Centre, 80 John McLean Drive 1 1 Marco Shearer Archer Progressives Member of the Legislative Assembly John Bonwell McLean, Jr. Independent Businessman 3 Isaac Douglas Rankine Independent Businessman 2 2 Kenneth Vernon Bryan Independent Journalist V. Arden McLean Independent Member of the Legislative Assembly George Town East POLLING STATION First Baptist Church Hall, 920A Crewe Road, George Town 1 Theresa Elizabeth Bodden Cayman Democratic Party Businesswoman 3 Sharon Elaine Roulstone Independent Lawyer 2 Roy Michael McTaggart Progressives Member of the Legislative Assembly 4 Dr. Kenrick Herbert Webster Independent Businessman George Town North POLLING STATION George Town Primary School, 179 School Road, George Town 1 Joseph Xavier Hew Progressives Member of the Legislative Assembly 3 Karin M. Thompson Independent Attorney 2 Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden Cayman Democratic Party Business owner 5 Catherine Rosita Tyson Independent Social worker George Town South POLLING STATION John Gray High School, 73 Academy Way, George Town 1 Mike Adam Cayman Democratic Party Business development 3 Paul Wendell Hurlston Independent Retired 2 Barbara Elizabeth Conolly Progressives Assistant manager 4 Alric Jeremy Lindsay Independent Lawyer George Town West POLLING STATION Cayman Prep School, 242 Smith Road, George Town 1 Jonathan Bardowell Piercy Cayman Democratic Party Businessman 3 Dennie Erling Warren, Jr. Independent Photographer 2 Ellio Anthony Solomon Independent Entrepreneur 4 David Charles Wight Progressives Business manager CANDIDATES7 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017 ELECTIONS 2017 Newlands POLLING STATION International College of the Cayman Islands, 595 Hirst Road, Bodden Town 1 Raul Gonzalez, Jr. Independent Manager 3 Alva Horatio Suckoo Independent Member of the Legislative Assembly 2 Gurney Wayne Panton Progressives Member of the Legislative Assembly North Side POLLING STATION Craddock Ebanks Civic Centre, 923 North Side Road 1 Edward Owen Chisholm Progressives Asst. director of human resources 3 Justin Craig Ebanks Independent Account executive 2 Johany “Jay” Ebanks Independent Construction 4 Ezzard Denison Miller Independent Member of the Legislative Assembly Prospect POLLING STATION Prospect Primary School, 169 Poindexter Road, George Town 1 Austin Osmond Harris, Jr. Independent Radio host 3 Lucille Dell Seymour Progressives Former public servant 2 Matthew Tyrone Leslie Independent Manager Red Bay West Bay North POLLING STATION Red Bay Primary School, 271 Shamrock Road, George Town POLLING STATION First Assembly of God Church Hall, 100 Finch Drive, West Bay 1 1 Dr. Frank Swarres McField Independent Writer/Sociologist Bernie Alfredo Bush Cayman Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly 3 3 Denniston Leitch Tibbetts Cayman Democratic Party Building contractor/Realtor Mervin Jonathon Smith Independent Plumber 2 2 Alden McLaughlin Progressives Member of the Legislative Assembly Sarah Louise Orrett-Ebanks Independent Self-employed office manager Savannah West Bay South POLLING STATION Savannah Primary School, 1659 Shamrock Rd, Bodden Town POLLING STATION John Gray Memorial United Church Hall, 26 West Church Street, West Bay 1 1 Heather Dianne Bodden Progressives Real estate agent John Dwight Jefferson Cayman Democratic Party Semi-retired 3 3 Kent Ashton McTaggart Independent Technician Tara Antoinette Rivers Independent Member of the Legislative Assembly 2 2 Anthony Samuel Eden Independent Member of the Legislative Assembly Burns Rankin Independent Businessman West Bay Central West Bay West POLLING STATION Ed Bush Sport Field & Conf. Room, 90 Stadium Drive, West Bay POLLING STATION Sir John A Cumber Primary School, 36 Fountain Road, West Bay 1 1 Capt. Eugene Ebanks Cayman Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly William McKeeva Bush Cayman Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly 3 Paul Desmond Rivers Independent Business owner 2 2 Katherine Ebanks-Wilks Independent Paralegal Daphne Louise Orrett Progressives Realtor CANDIDATES 4 Laura Revon Young Independent Senior compliance managerThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 lists for each constituency and checking off the names of people who have already voted. The clerks also check voter IDs of those attending the polling stations. If there are any questions about where to go to enter a polling station, field officers are on hand out- side the polling station to help. The presiding officer can an- swer any questions voters have while inside the polling station. Voters are reminded under the new “one man, one vote” process that each elector can mark only one “X” and any ballots marked with multiple votes will be discarded. If a mistake is made on a ballot, the voter can request a fresh ballot paper. Up to three mis- takes are allowed before the presiding officer is required to assist the person. Mr. Howell offered a few last-minute reminders for elec- tors: “Leave your cellphone at home, don’t wear your party T-shirts for X, Y, Z candidate. If you have no election ID, you can use another form of ID [passport or driver’s license] …. Just come out and vote.” Those wearing political shirts, carrying signs or other pro-candidate paraphernalia will be prevented from en- tering a polling location. Alcohol is not sold in the Cayman Islands on Wednesday, from the time the polls open at 7 a.m., until 7 p.m. – an hour after the polls close. The vote count will be begin at 7 p.m. at each of the polling locations. At that stage, the returning officers take over the methodical process of counting each ballot. For the 2017 general elec- tion, the vote counts will be done in the same build- ings – though not necessarily in the same room – as the polling locations. The postal ballots are counted first. They are kept in a separate box by the reg- istering officer and generally take a little longer because officers must verify a voter’s eligibility before counting the vote. When the count of the ballot boxes starts, the returning officer will take each ballot, call out the name of the candidate being sup- ported and then show the ballot to all attending can- didates or the agents rep- resenting them. A second vote count can be requested by the candidates or their agents attending. It may sound painstaking, but, Mr. Howell said that under the new one man, one vote single-member constit- uencies arrangement, there will be far fewer votes for the returning officers and their deputies to count. “The process is the same,” Mr. Howell said. “We’re ac- tually counting less names, with the exception of East End and North Side, per ballot paper. “I’m hoping for midnight [to have the vote count com- pleted]; it’s going to be a long day for them,” he said. Road closures A number of road clo- sures will be in effect for Wednesday’s voting. In West Bay, West Church Street is closed from the four-way stop junction to Elizabeth Street. In George Town, Fort Street is closed from Albert Panton Street to MacDonald Square, but vehicle access is granted to those working along Fort Street. Edward Street is closed from Dr. Roy’s Drive to Fort Street. Also, the downtown bus depot will be closed. The private road behind Cayman Prep will be closed. Residents seeking access to nearby apartments are asked to use Bobby Thompson Drive. The road closures will begin as of midnight on Tuesday and remain through the end of the vote counting process. WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS The following state- ment was released by the Cayman Islands Elections Office on Tuesday: “The elections office has been alerted to errors in the Cayman Reporter elec- tions printed supplement which has 11 polling sta- tion locations wrong. “We are very concerned that voters will be going to wrong locations and might not have time to get to the right one,” Elections Super- visor Wesley Howell said. “We don’t want that hap- pening. I am urging all voters to check their cor- rect location listed … on our website.” The entire correct list is posted on the elections office website at www.elections.ky and in today’s Compass, along with a list of candidates, on pages 6 and 7. accommodations, reaching 390 million viewers in 49 global markets, announced in October that its Viator booking service would stop selling tickets to exhibits featuring tourist contacts with captive wild and endangered animals, “including but not limited to elephant rides, petting tigers, and swim- with-dolphin attractions,” according to its website. Under the title “Wildlife. Not entertainers,” World An- imal Protection’s “10 cruellest wildlife attractions” lists at No. 4 “the world’s last remaining sea turtle farm that acts as a tourist attraction … in the Cayman Islands,” saying the animals suffer from “stress and disease,” living “a tortured life.” “They often panic when they are handled and it has been known for tourists to drop them, causing significant injuries which can kill turtles,” according to the list. Between late April and July 2014, 1,268 turtles died of a Clostridium infection. In 2015, however, TripAd- visor awarded the Cayman Turtle Centre a “Certificate of Excellence” for “accommoda- tions, attractions and restau- rants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers.” More than 1,800 opinions av- eraged between four and five stars for the facility, al- though it earned the lowest -3 rating for welfare. In April 2016, World An- imal Protection petitioned Tri- pAdvisor as part of its “Wild- life. Not entertainers” effort, asking the company for the changes it is now making. TripAdvisor’s October move came after six months of con- sultation with such animal groups as People for the Eth- ical Treatment of Animals, the Association of Zoos and Aquar- iums, Global Wildlife Conser- vation and others, according the news reports at the time. The October announce- ment also included a promise that by early 2017 TripAdvisor would fully launch its booking policy and an “education portal linked to every animal attrac- tion listing on TripAdvisor.” “The portal,” it said, would “provide links and informa- tion on animal welfare prac- tices, helping travelers write more-informed reviews, and be aware of opinions on con- servation implications of some tourism attractions. “In turn, TripAdvisor be- lieves that better reviews will enable travelers to make more informed booking decisions and improve the standards of animal care in tourism worldwide.” Mr. Hoyt said the weekend removal of Cayman Turtle Centre ticket sales was not in response to a precipi- tating event, but rather as the next step in the ban. “We did immediately turn off hundreds of these at- tractions, [but] we also said others would be phased out over time for a number of rea- sons – from contract terms to needing more information about the attraction.” Mr. D’Cruze echoed the re- mark: “The size and number of the attractions would [de- termine] progressive devel- opment, and the Carnival Cruise Line petition gave it a sense of urgency.” He said World Animal Pro- tection would continue col- laborating with TripAdvisor to ensure compliance of other wildlife exhibits with the web- site’s policies. Cayman Turtle Centre Man- aging Director Tim Adam re- jected World Animal Protection claims, warning against “the hysteria of an activist organi- zation’s web of deception.” He said contacts “between tourists and wildlife is super- vised, designed to ensure it is safe for the animals and the participating guests, and does not adversely affect the be- havior, growth and health of the animals.” The Turtle Centre, he said, “follows strict protocols of su- pervision, safety and animal care in these interactions,” pointing to “at least” twice- yearly inspections “by the con- stitutional authority for an- imal welfare matters in this jurisdiction.” Lamenting Mr. Adam’s re- luctance to address World Animal Protection directly, Mr. D’Cruze said he had ap- proached both Carnival and TripAdvisor because “we felt we’d exhausted all commu- nications with the [Cayman Turtle Centre] and the Cayman Islands government. “None of our communica- tions had been answered,” he said, “so we realized we had to look at the stakeholders and the entities that sent people” to the Cayman Turtle Centre. While “we are engaged with all the cruise line companies,” he said, Carnival Cruise Lines is one of the global leading cruise companies.” Carnival Cruise Lines re- leased a statement referring any questions to the Cayman Turtle Centre. “I can confirm that Car- nival along with several other cruise lines feature the Turtle Centre within our shore excur- sion offerings,” said the cruise company’s spokeswoman, Jen- nifer de la Cruz. “For specific information on the Turtle Centre’s practices, activities and turtle conserva- tion programs, please reach out to them directly as they are best positioned to discuss the WAP’s concerns with you.” World Animal Protection’s Mr. D’Cruze said his organiza- tion had engaged “in lengthy discussions” with the cruise company prior to the April 25 petition, “but we have heard nothing back. There is a com- plete lack of movement and we haven’t spoken to them since the petition was launched.” Hundreds help prepare for general election Hundreds of Elections Office workers and volunteers prepare Tuesday afternoon at the Family Life Centre for Wednesday’s elections. – PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ELECTIONS OFFICE CORRECTS ‘CAYMAN REPORTER’ INFORMATION TripAdvisor halts Turtle Centre ticket sales CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The Turtle Centre in West Bay has drawn the ire of animal rights activists. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017 Take a Kid Fishing ’1 7 K Registration forms are available from schools throughout the Island. For ages 6-11 years old Sunday May 28th Red Sail dock at Safehaven LenLayman 916-1059 Rotary Central will provide: (a) boats, (b) tackle and bait, (c) supervision, (d) snacks For further information please phone the following Rotarians: Red Sail dock at Safehaven May 28th id FiFiF shshs ing ’1 ROTARY CLUB CENTRALROTARY CLUB CENTRAL For further information please phone the following Rotarians:For further information please phone the following Rotarians: May 24th Manchester bomber identified as British citizen of Libyan descent MANCHESTER, England (AP) – Manchester police chief Ian Hopkins and a Euro- pean security official iden- tified the suicide bombing suspect at the Manchester Arena as 22-year-old Salman Abedi, a British citizen of Libyan descent. At least 20 heavily armed, helmeted police surrounded a house listed as Abedi’s ad- dress in the Fallowfield area of south Manchester and blasted down the door at lunchtime Tuesday. Police said officers carried out a controlled explo- sion to enter the property. Neighbor Natalie Daley said she was frightened by a loud bang, then police yelling, “Get in your houses – get away from the windows!” “When it’s like two sec- onds from your house, when you walk past it every day, you do live in fear,” Daley said. “It was so quick. These cars just pulled up and all these police with guns, dogs, jumped out of the car and said to us: ‘Get in the house now,’” said Simon Turner, 46. The British electoral roll lists Salman Abedi and Ismail Abedi as current residents of the house. Others with the same name are recorded as living there in previous years. Alan Kinsey, 52, who lives across the street, said he had seen “a lot of different people living there” in the past but in the last six months or more had only seen one young man in his 20s. Kinsey said he would often get picked up by another young man in a Toyota and often returned late. “I thought he worked in a takeaway or some- thing” because of his late hours, Kinsey said. Kinsey said police did not bring anyone out of the house after the raid. Later, fo- rensic officers in white cov- eralls went in and out of the property. Manchester, 160 miles northwest of London, is one of Britain’s largest cities and Manchester Arena is one of the world’s largest indoor concert venues. Campaigning for Britain’s June 8 national election was suspended in the aftermath of the attack, the deadliest in Britain since four suicide bombers killed 52 London commuters on subway trains and a bus in July 2005. Horrors of the evening Teenage screams filled the arena just after the explosion Monday night, and mem- bers of the audience tum- bled over guardrails and each other to escape. The attack sparked a night-long search for loved- ones – parents for the chil- dren they had accompa- nied or had been waiting to pick up, and friends for each other after groups were scattered by the blast. Twitter and Facebook lit up with heartbreaking appeals for the missing. An 8-year-old girl was among the dead – the youngest known victim – and her mother and sister were among the wounded in what May called “a callous ter- rorist attack.” The wounded included 12 children under age 16, hospital officials said. “We struggle to compre- hend the warped and twisted mind that sees a room packed with young children not as a scene to cherish but as an opportunity for car- nage,” May said. The top U.S. intelli- gence official, Dan Coats, said the American gov- ernment had not verified whether or how Islamic State was responsible. Security ‘haphazard’ Some concert-goers said security was haphazard be- fore the show, with some people being searched and others allowed inside un- hindered. The bombing took place at the end of the con- cert, when the audience was streaming toward the city’s main train station. Witnesses said the blast scattered bolts and other bits of metal, apparently in- tended to maximize inju- ries and deaths. The train station, which is adjacent to the arena, was shut down for coming days, authorities said. about one-third of a mile from where the blast occurred Monday night. Mr. Barker did not attend the concert in the Manchester Arena, but said a friend and fellow student at the Uni- versity of Law, Manchester Branch, did. Fortunately, she stepped out of the arena just before the explosion occurred, he said, adding that the police sirens and whirring of helicop- ters could be heard all night, into the early morning. The area where Mr. Barker lives is “fairly peaceful,” he said, and any crime that oc- curs “almost never turns out to be something serious.” He said that view seems to have changed since last night. Fear in the neighborhood “You can just see the fear really, people are continu- ously looking behind them,” he said. “It definitely puts me on alert because these inci- dents recently in London [re- ferring to the stabbing attack outside Parliament] and Man- chester … it just makes you wonder what’s next. “It’s not easy just to go out on the streets and think it’s all good. I’m going to stay vigilant, but I can only do so much.” London Office Director Eric Bush said the office has checked the welfare of the three Caymanians registered as living in the Manchester area and all are fine. Mr. Bush said the blast hit a bit close to home for him as well. “My son and I were just in Manchester on Sunday watching a football game,” he said. “Too close for comfort!” Premier Alden McLaughlin and Governor Helen Kilpatrick both sent condolences in the wake of Monday’s tragedy. “It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the senseless terrorist attack on concert-goers in Manchester, England, on Monday night,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “Our prayers, thoughts and sym- pathy go out to the people of Manchester and England as they pull together in the after- math of this act of terrorism.” Flags at all Cayman Islands government buildings were flown at half-staff Tuesday to mark the tragedy. “We were all shocked and saddened to learn of the ter- rible events that took place in Manchester,” Governor Kilpat- rick said. “This attack delib- erately targeted children and young people and is therefore particularly despicable. Its in- tention was to sow fear, but it will not succeed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the vic- tims and their loved ones.” Cayman Compass journalist Brent Fuller contributed to this report. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Search widens for accomplices Flags flew at half staff in Cayman Tuesday. - PHOTO: CAROL WINKER Fans leave the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester on Tuesday, where they stayed after a suicide bomber detonated at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena late Monday night. – PHOTO: AP/RUI VIEIRA Members of the Manchester Sikh Community attend a vigil in the city’s Albert Square on Tuesday. - PHOTO: AP/KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTHNext >