SECTION | PAGE ## TITLE FOR THE SPORT/ BUSINESS SKYBOX ‘Wreck of the Ten Sail’ book launch Who will win an Emmy? Movies Music Television ■ ON STAGE ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ The Cambridge American Stage Tour brings the Bard back to Cayman. B3 ‘It’ dominates bo x office Pennywise the clown is a certifiable hit, smashing September records B4 Cayman’s top DJs are master mixers Meet the people behind the decks and get the lowdown on where they perform B6 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS REGULAR $11.99. NOW ONLY $9.99. Offer available for the month of September only. SAVE $ 2 SANTA RITA 120 WINE FROM CHILE Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot STOLI FLAVOURS2 for $ 56 Until 31 July STOLI FLAVOURS 2 for $56 Until 31 July STOLI FLAVOURS 2 for $56 Until 31 July STOLI FLAVOURS 2 for $ 56 Until 31 July Entertainment journalists weigh in on the biggest night for TV B5 Sail’ book launch Author Sam Oakley offers fresh insight into the famous ship’s foundering B2 Midsummer CAYMAN WEEKENDER ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 HURRICANE IRMA: KEEPING OUR EYE ON THE STORM High of 90 Low of 80 Smooth with wave heights of less than 2 feet. ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 75 CENTS – FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 SEVEN MILE BEACH WATERFRONT WALKERS ROAD TOWN CENTRE PLAZA RED BAY ALSO INCLUDING BIG KING ORIGINAL CHICKEN SANDWICH BIG FISH SANDWICHEXTRA LONG CHEESEBURGER INTERNAL DCI DOCUMENT: Liquor Licensing Board approved Sunday alcohol sales at Peanuts BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com An internal document from the Depart- ment of Commerce and Investment appears to confirm that the Liquor Licensing Board granted permission to Red Bay convenience store Peanuts to sell alcohol on Sundays. According to the document, now in the possession of the Cayman Compass, a DCI official attended the board’s March 28 meeting and took contemporaneous notes which support the initial “draft minutes” prepared by board secretary Marva Scott. Subsequently, the board released revised minutes showing that the Peanuts license had been denied. According to the DCI notes: “All [board members] agreed to allow sale of alcohol on Sunday with a retail license based on the primary business, e.g., Gas Stations & Con- venience stores less than 4,000 sq. ft.” The notes further state: “It was agreed Sunday trading for retail would only be allowed during 1-7 p.m.” The notes state that DCI Director Ryan Rajkumarsingh attended the meeting and that another DCI staffer wrote the notes. When contacted by the Compass Thursday afternoon, Mr. Rajkumarsingh said he would have “no comment.” These internal notes have been distrib- uted to a number of government depart- ments, including the DCI, which oversees the Liquor Licensing Board, and to the In- ternal Audit Service, which is investigating what occurred with the licensing approval for Peanuts convenience store. Meanwhile, the Compass has learned that Peanuts owner Gary Rutty has as- serted, through his legal counsel, that “the loss of sales and associated legal costs … due to the manner in which this license has been processed has now exceeded $100,000.” Further, it is also claimed that on the same day of the board’s March 28 decision, acting chairman Woody DaCosta personally called CAYMAN POLICE ASSIST IN SECURING BVI PRISONERS A team of Royal Cayman Islands Police Service helped capture some 70 prisoners who escaped from a prison in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands during Hurricane Irma. The Cayman officers worked with BVI po- lice and the Royal Marines to return the inmates to the prison. For more on this story, see page 2. Engine problem forces Cayman Airways emergency landing KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com A Cayman Airways flight destined for Tampa, Florida, was forced to turn back to Grand Cayman on Thursday be- cause of engine trouble. Flight KX200 had to make an emer- gency landing. None of the 128 passengers on board was injured. The Owen Roberts Interna- tional Airport went into “full emergency” mode, the fire ser- vice confirmed, as the plane pre- pared to return to the airport. Police cordoned off roads around the airport before the emergency landing. In a statement, Cayman Air- ways said that shortly after takeoff, the aircraft experienced “abnormal engine parameters, accompanied by vibration, on the right-hand engine while climbing through 5,000 feet.” The pilots, Captain Steven Coe and First Officer Kel Thompson, completed “sev- eral required safety checks in- flight, which resulted in the en- gine having to be shut down and an emergency declared for a landing with an inopera- tive engine” at the airport, the airline stated. “The captain declared an emergency and returned the COURT REJECTS WATSON’S APPEAL KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com After hearing former Health Services Au- thority Chairman Canover Watson’s appli- cation to appeal his fraud- and corruption- related convictions on Thursday afternoon, justices for the Court of Appeal adjourned for less than 10 minutes before returning with their decision. “We reject all the grounds of appeal,” said Court President Sir John Goldring. “They are wholly without merit.” Watson, who was sentenced to seven years for being involved in a scheme that skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from the public hospital system’s CarePay patient PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » Cayman Airways flight KX200 approaches Owen Roberts International Airport, where it made an emergency landing following engine trouble on Thursday. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Javonnie Silburn, who is accused of shining a laser at the police helicopter, had his trial adjourned until next week because a police officer due to give evidence is on an emergency relief operation in Turks and Caicos. Crown counsel Emma Hutchinson said Sgt. Neil Mohammed was in Turks and Caicos with the police team providing relief after Hur- ricane Irma. He was sched- uled to be back in Cayman on Friday night, which would enable her to call him as a witness in the coming week. Mr. Mohammed was named by Constable Gus- tavo Rodrigues, who told Magistrate Grace Donalds on Wednesday that he was part of the helicopter crew deployed to East End on the night of April 29, 2015 fol- lowing reports of a laser being shone at police cars. The officer explained that he was responsible for com- munications with ground units and Mr. Mohammed was using the infra-red camera “with my guidance.” Silburn, now 21, pre- viously pleaded guilty to causing harassment, alarm or distress on the basis of shining the laser at the heli- copter one time. The Crown rejected that basis of plea because the laser was used numerous times. Statements of several of- ficers have already been read into evidence with the agree- ment of defense counsel John Furniss. One statement indi- cated that when officers on the ground received informa- tion from Mr. Rodrigues, they approached Silburn and he produced a flashlight from his waist. The flashlight was checked and showed a white LED light; activated again, it showed a red laser beam. Silburn initially told the officer who cautioned him, “It wasn’t me, I swear.” In- terviewed several days later, he said he did point the laser at the helicopter but was not the first one to do so. He said he got the flashlight from “JJ” who had left the scene when police arrived. He said he did not know JJ’s real name or address. When Mr. Rodrigues was questioned by Mr. Furniss on Wednesday after lunch, he said the helicopter was flying at a height between 600 and 800 feet. He had previously stated that when the ground unit of- ficers notified him that they were speaking with a male who had an Afro hairstyle (as Mr. Rodrigues had described him), the helicopter returned to base for refueling. Asked if the officers on the ground could have been speaking to another man with an Afro hair style, Mr. Rodrigues said it was pos- sible, but he had not seen any other male with an Afro. Mr. Furniss suggested that Silburn had been wearing long pants that night, but the officer said what he saw was short pants. He told Mr. Furniss that the camera was not shining on the individual being arrested. Asked again about iden- tity, the officer said that if the defendant was the man with the Afro he saw on the camera, then he was the man shining the laser for the 30 minutes the helicopter was over the scene. In summary, Mr. Furniss suggested that the officer could not say definitely that the defendant was the man with the laser. “No, I have not said defi- nitely he is the man,” the of- ficer replied. Unit #125 Cannon Place GT (Formerly Mirco Centre) caymankarateacademy@gmail.com www.caymankarateacademy.com Telephone: 926-5425 Back to School SPECIAL 1 Week Trial Program Including Uniform for $ 29 Congratulations Award-Winning Caribbean Chicken! Fresh, Healthy & Delicious! West Shore Center, SMB 945.2290 • ch icken@chicken2.com® Dine-in!Take-out! Celebrating 24 Years! 24th Cayman police assist in securing BVI prisoners SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com A delegation of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Ser- vice has been on the ground for five days in the British Virgin Islands, and on Thursday it went a long way toward re-establishing secu- rity on Tortola. The 16 members of the RCIPS force in BVI was part of an exercise that resulted in securing a local prison that had been compromised by Hurricane Irma. Seventy pris- oners were reported to have escaped during the storm, but after a joint police exercise, they are all back behind bars. Matthew Forbes, head of the Governor’s Office in the Cayman Islands, who is deployed with the RCIPS on Tortola, relayed the news of the prison opera- tion to the Cayman Com- pass on Thursday. “This morning, there was a joint operation led by the BVI police in partnership with the RCIPS officers here, with Royal Marines in sup- port,” he said. “They managed to recapture 70 prisoners. The prisons hadn’t been se- cure, but the prison is now secured and the prisoners have been incarcerated. Ob- viously, we’re very pleased about that and it’s a great ac- complishment for the RCIPS team that went in.” The RCIPS officers are based in Road Town, the cap- ital of Tortola, where they have been tasked with patrol- ling the area and providing visible security around banks and food convoys. Mr. Forbes said the police have encoun- tered buildings and trees that were destroyed and downed power lines in several areas of Road Town. He also said that communication is problem- atic outside of the capital. “There’s a cleanup opera- tion starting, and things are beginning to get a bit better,” he said. “It’s going to take time. I think anyone who went through Hurricane Ivan will know how long these things take.” A contingent of 45 British officers are also on the scene. There are lots of generators in Road Town and some build- ings have power, but whole- sale recovery could take weeks or months. Mr. Forbes said he is not certain how long the RCIPS will stay on Tortola to assist in the recovery. The Cayman officers were the first out- side police to arrive as reinforcements. Cayman’s police helicopter has been on Turks and Ca- icos assisting with aerial re- connaissance and support for much of this week. “Without adequate po- licing, the environment cannot stabilize enough for aid to be delivered and people to get the help they need,” said Derek Byrne, Cayman Islands police commissioner. “We are proud to be able to help the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force restore law and order and deliver humanitarian aid.” At some point, the RCIPS unit, which traveled to Tortola after an urgent request from BVI Governor Augustus Jas- pert, will have time to reflect on their efforts to preserve a neighboring community. For now, they are too busy with the day-to-day business of po- lice work to think about their place in the world. “That’s something that maybe they’ll think about when they come back,” said Mr. Forbes. “At the moment, there’s just a big focus on trying to do things. It’s long days for everybody.” Hurricane relief mission delays laser/helicopter trial The RCIPS command team poses with the 16 officers deployed to the British Virgin Islands. Second Fidelity Fun Run on Saturday The second in a series of three fun runs is sched- uled for Saturday, Sept. 16. More than 170 people took part in the first of this year’s 2-mile Fidelity Fun Run, which was held last Saturday. The first five male fin- ishers on Sept. 9 were Will Edwards, Okeve Hamilton, Levi Superville, Andrew Keast and Sherlock Brooks. The first five fe- male runners were Tif- fany Cole, Ava Hider, Na- dine Gray, Molly Kehoe and Sion Hawkes. The start of the Week 2 leg is at 7:30 a.m. on Sat- urday, opposite the former John Gray High School. Week 1 participants are re- minded to bring their bibs. Complete results for the fun runs can be found on www. caymanactive.com. POLICE SEARCH BEACH SAND AT BODDEN TOWN HOME JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com A Bodden Town sea- side home undergoing ren- ovation was the scene of a search Thursday morning as Scientific Support Offi- cers and police sifted beach sand from a pile along- side the home. Two white tents cov- ered the area where of- ficers worked. Wearing face masks and sur- gical gloves, officers hov- ered over a wooden and wire sieve placed over a rusted wheelbarrow and picked objects out of the remnants as the sand was sifted. Every so often, an of- ficer would pluck an object from the screen and place it into a brown paper bag held by an officer from the Scientific Support Unit. When passersby stopped to inquire what was taking place, police ushered them along, saying only that they were car- rying out an investigation. Royal Cayman Islands Police Service spokes- woman Jacqueline Car- penter said she was “unable to comment at this time on any ongoing investigation.” Police officers search beach sand from a pile alongside a Bodden Town home Thursday morning. – PHOTO: JEWEL LEVYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 CAYMAN PREP & HIGH SCHOOL Owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands CELEBRATES ANOTHER YEAR OF EXCELLENT ACADEMIC RESULTS Top Performing Year 12 AS-Level Students Jade Wilkinson 8 A* 2 A 1 B Anja van Genderen 5A Alex Dakers 7 A* 4 A Matthew Penner 11 A* 1 A Trey Milgate 8 A* 3 A 1 B Matthew Barnett 4A Charlotte Hodkin 4A Emma Turnbull 4A The 2016/17 Year 11 cohort achieved the following outstanding IGCSE/GCSE results: 45% A*-A, 79% A* - B, 95% A* - C Dinara Perera 6 A* 4 A 1 B Christian Dyer 9 A* 2 A Alisalee Aaron 10 A* 1 A Top Performing IGCSE Students The 2016/17 Year 12 cohort achieved the following outstanding AS Level results: 49% A - B, 75% A - C, 95% A - E The 2016/17 Year 13 cohort achieved the following outstanding A Level results: 53% A*- B, 86% A* - C, 99% A* - E Johann Whorms 2A* 2A University of Warwick Finance & Business Dominic Dyer 2A* 1A 1C Columbia University Economics Georgia Burke 1A* 2A 1C Nottingham University International Finance & Economics Teresa Anderson 1A* 2B 1C Queen Mary’s University London Maths & Actuarial Science Derricka Neysmith 2A 1B 1C University of Miami Accounting & International Finance Brett Azan 3A 1B Mischa Kluvyer 1A* 1A 1B 1C King’s College London Physiotherapy (deferred to 2018) Kali Maclean 3A 1B Cayman Prep & High School (Primary School) 242 Smith Road PO Box 10013, KY1-1001 Tel: (345) 949-5932 Email: psoffice@cayprep.edu.ky Cayman Prep & High School (High School) 559 Walkers Road PO Box 10013, KY1-1001 Tel: (345) 949-9115 Email: hsoffice@cayprep.edu.ky Will Edwards 3A 1C Amy Peccarino-Palmer 2A 2B 1C Top Performing Year 13 A-Level Students & Universities Kai Gunning 1A 2B 1C Exeter University Marine Biology Torrean Shields 1A 2B University of West Indies Medicine Brittney Ferguson 5A* 3A 3B Peter McMaster 3A* 6A 2B Sarah Needham 3A 1C The Council of the United Church in Jamaica & the Cayman Islands join the Board of Governors of Cayman Prep & High School in congratulating our highest performing Year 11, 12 & 13 students who, once again, have achieved outstanding academic results. Congratulations to all our students and their teachers on this richly deserved reward of their talent, hard work and commitment to excellence. Many thanks to our parents for their continuous support. 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. Two weeks ago, Hurricane Irma was newly formed and its path was far from certain. But as meteorolo- gists warned that this ninth named storm of 2017 had the potential to develop into a monster, the Cayman Compass newsroom began to mobilize. We knew from past experience (“Thank you, Hur- ricane Ivan”) that we would need a finely choreo- graphed effort to provide our readers, both online and in print, with fast, accurate, and meaningful coverage of this storm. It is one of the ironies of the news business that when readers most need timely and useful informa- tion, such as in the midst of a natural disaster, it is most difficult to obtain. Communications networks frequently fail, and accessing the hardest hit areas is often difficult, if not impossible. Days before Irma began pummeling islands in the eastern Caribbean, Compass journalist Spencer Fordin began tracking Irma’s progress, filing updates to our website – often several times a day – on the developing storm. As Irma decimated Anguilla, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, St. Martin and St. Barts, additional Compass editors and reporters joined the effort. The Compass drew upon the newsroom’s consid- erable reportorial experience and linguistic skills. Reporter Ken Silva mined contacts from his years reporting in the BVI, as well as his connections in Puerto Rico; business editor Michael Klein, who speaks fluent French, translated news coming out of St. Martin (which is divided into French and Dutch halves). Journalist Kayla Young translated Spanish-language news from Cuba. Other journalists located on-the- ground sources in places such as Turks and Caicos. Editors and reporters scoured the internet to find (and, importantly, to verify) images and videos from storm-affected areas, supplementing information being gathered here in Cayman. Others focused on relief efforts, humanitarian missions and the arrival of refugees after the storm had passed. Meanwhile, newsroom supervisors such as Exec- utive Editor Patrick Brendel and Managing Editor Norma Connolly “directed traffic” to ensure that amid all the Irma-related stories, local “non-hurri- cane” news events continued to be covered. Unlike many other media outfits, the Compass doesn’t judge the “success” or “failure” of our newsroom by the number of “clicks” we attract online. However, we are pleased to report that our Irma coverage (so far, about three-dozen stories plus seven videos) has drawn significant readership. For example, since we started following Irma, the six most-read stories on CaymanCompass.com (including the most- read story of 2017) were about the hurricane. In the same time period, local and international readership has increased significantly. (Cayman – 34 percent growth, United States – 300 percent, United Kingdom – 500 percent, and Canada – 330 percent.) What this tells us is that people across the world who were interested in Irma’s impact on the Carib- bean found their way to the Compass website for the content they wanted – or needed. Over the days, weeks and months, Irma coverage will cease to dominate the front page of our print edition and website, but we will continue to monitor and report important regional updates, issues and milestones as our fellow Caribbean communities begin the long process of recovery and renewal. Hurricane Irma: Keeping our eye on the storm FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Forget triple-A, US bonds deserve a rating of ‘F’ Were the United States any other country, its bonds would soon be down- graded to junk. Just like Greece and other profligate nations, the United States suffers from slow growth, a ballooning welfare state – in the particular case of the United States, a ter- ribly inefficient healthcare system – and growing public debt to support them. Entitlements and interest payments now consume more than 60 percent of the federal budget, and according to the Congressional Budget Office, those are on track to take it all by 2027. Households and busi- nesses save a great deal but not nearly enough to finance both private investment and the federal appetite for debt. Consequently, the nation con- sumes more than it produces through a $500 billion annual trade deficit and by selling foreigners private assets – for example, choice real estate in New York, equities and cor- porate debt – and govern- ment bonds to finance it. Net of what Americans own abroad, private citizens and Uncle Sam have more than $8.3 trillion in IOUs out to the rest of the world. That is about 45 percent of gross domestic product, and it should easily surpass 60 percent by 2027. In recent years, no na- tion has seen its indebted- ness reach that level without a reversal of its trade def- icit – and often an accom- panying financial crisis and wrenching internal adjust- ments – as foreign investors lost confidence in its govern- ment’s ability to raise money to service its debt. Of course, the dollar is the reserve currency – for- eign central banks hold dol- lars and Treasuries to back up their currencies – and the United States, unlike other big debtor nations, can print dollars to service its debt. This has created a false sense of security among poli- ticians and most economists. Many conservative Republi- cans and pundits talk about big tax cuts and ignore CBO and private scorings that show those could not possibly be financed solely by the ad- ditional growth generated. Big spending cuts – a.k.a. entitle- ments reform – are essential. Substantially raising taxes would likely prove self-defeating too. With U.S. corporate and private busi- nesses taxes already more burdensome than in other in- dustrialized countries, more businesses and intellectual property would move off- shore. GDP and tax-revenue growth would slow. And payouts from federal bene- fits programs to further as- sist the unemployed – in- cluding those discouraged and not looking – would rise even more quickly than cur- rently projected. Only stronger economic growth and curbing enti- tlements will avoid a train wreck. The upcoming show- downs over Medicaid, other entitlements and cuts to other federal spending as part of efforts to raise the debt ceiling and to define targets for spending in the 2018 fiscal year appropria- tion bills will reveal the Re- publican majority’s stomach for spending reform and courage to lead the country out of the fiscal wilderness. Their performance during recent efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare was not encouraging. Cooperation will be re- quired from Democrats in the Senate, for example, to increase the debt ceiling and pass 2018 appropriation bills – or at least continuing res- olutions. They will likely re- sist any cuts to entitlements. However, now that the Re- publicans control the Con- gress and the White House, they are in a position to win out in a government shut- down if they reach consensus among themselves about spending cuts and exercise party discipline. Foreign central banks and investors do not have an in- finite appetite for U.S. dollars and bonds. If the Congress and President Donald Trump do not step up, the Treasury will be issuing many more new bonds over the next de- cade than foreign private in- vestors and central banks will be inclined to absorb. Too many dollars in circu- lation may not cause inflation immediately, but it will stoke fears that long term, prices could get out of control. As Washington continues to spend and borrow, the Treasury will have to offer much higher rates on new 20- and 30-year bonds, making comparable securities issued in 2017 and earlier worth less in the resale market. That interest rate risk makes long-term U.S. Treasury securities lousy investments. Washington’s monopoly on printing dollars makes difficult the work of bond- rating agencies, which assign grades between AAA and D on sovereign debt. U.S. Trea- suries cannot default but long term, investor capital is still at significant risk. Perhaps a special grade is needed: “F” – flee now before you get stuck. Peter Morici is an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist. © 2017, The Washington Times. 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” PETER MORICIThe islands’ most-trusted news source 5 CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST The Laboratory Department provides a wide variety of services located at the Health Services Authority. Diagnostic tests are conducted in Hematology, Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology, Urinalysis, Serology, Blood Banking, Parasitology and Phlebotomy areas. Responsibilities include: The successful applicant must be proficient in all disciplines of the laboratory, and devotes 90% of time to sample collection, diagnostic testing, interpretation and reporting of results. Post holder is responsible for ensuring that diagnostic tests are performed accurately, reliably and in a timely manner. Accurate documentation of all procedures for the records and for reference is required. Attention is paid particularly to pre-analytic, analytic and post-analytic factors that affect test results. Qualification & Experience: Holder must possess a four (4) year diploma/degree in Medical Laboratory Technology and hold registration of a recognized professional society. A minimum of five years post-graduate experience in all disciplines is required and specialized training (1 ½ -2 years) in any of the disciplines of Medical Technology would be an asset. Must be eligible to apply for registration to practice with the Cayman Islands Health Practice Commission. Salary range: CI$56,523 to CI$65,864 per annum PHLEBOTOMIST The Laboratory Department provides a wide variety of services including direct customer interaction relating to patient preparation, sample collection, transportation and storage is paramount to the post. Responsibilities: The successful applicant must be proficient in the collection and transportation of blood and other body fluids. Post holder is responsible for ensuring that samples are collected from clients of all ages (including newborn) as per documented procedure and transported to the laboratory in a reliable and timely manner. Qualification & Experience: Post Holder must possess a high school diploma/certificate, a Laboratory Assistant certificate or Phlebotomy certificate. Candidate must have a minimum of one year hospital experience and be computer literate. Salary range: CI$29,450 to CI$33,181 per annum PHYSIOTHERAPIST Responsibilities: Candidate should have a background in treating neurological conditions. The position requires competence in treating a broad range of orthopaedic and musculoskeletal conditions, treating in-patients including ICU and medical patients and being able to undertake on-call Respiratory duties. Experience in Cardiac rehabilitation would be an advantage. Qualification & Experience: Post holder must have BSc. in Physiotherapy or the equivalent with three (3) years postgraduate experience. Post holder must also be eligible for registration to practice in the Cayman Islands and hold a valid license to practice in either; Canada, South Africa, UK, USA, Jamaica, or New Zealand. Proficiency in the use of windows applications and the ability to interact effectively with a diverse population. Must have excellent time management skills. Salary range: CI$56,523 to CI$65,864 per annum GENERAL MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN Responsibilities: The post-holder will assist with the operation and maintenance of the Health Services Authority HVAC equipment and associated systems to provide environmental conditions consistent with efficient and effective operational requirements in accordance with the HAS’s standards. Conducts routine, periodic, or special inspections to determine repair and maintenance work necessary to prevent breakdowns of facilities and equipment. Performs work in one or more of the maintenance trades: carpentry, masonry, plumbing, painting and lighting as needed. Enhances facilities and organizations reputation by accepting ownership of new and different requests and exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments. Customer Service is of the utmost importance. Qualification & Experience: Post-holder must have completed at least one year of secondary program and having 4 years related experience in commercial/industrial HVAC maintenance. Must be able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in general maintenance. Proficient in the use of multi-meter, hand and power tools. Excellent communications skills are essential as post-holder will be required to interpret instructions in written, oral, diagram, and schedule form. Salary range: CI$36,812 to CI$41,477 per annum PH SURVEILANCE OFFICER Assisting with the provision of national epidemiological service and implementation of Public Health Surveillance Programme for control of communicable and non- communicable diseases. Responsibilities include: Advising and assisting the Medical Officer of Health in developing Policies/system relating to Public Health, including but not limited to non- communicable disease (i.e. collection, collation and analysis of data for NCDs); conducting surveys, monitoring and evaluation of NCDs surveillance programme. Assisting with weekly surveillance of communicable diseases. (Collect communicable disease data from CERNER and various private health facilities; compiling data, dissemination to CARPHA and WHO on weekly basis; and investigation of cases and contacts). Assisting with food Borne Illness Investigation and other incidents of PH concerns. Participating in pertinent Health Education programmes. Qualification and Experience: Postgraduate degree such as Master in Public Health. Epidemiology or related field. Experience with Public Health surveillance and epidemiology is desirable. Excellent computer skills in Excel and Microsoft Word are essential. Experience with statistical analysis software is essential (e.g. SPSS, EpiInfo) Salary range: KYD$56,523 to KYD$65,864 per annum H.I.M. CODERS Health Information Management Coders are responsible for reviewing medical documentation and assigning proper ICD codes. Responsibilities include: The successful applicant must possess the ability to identify, evaluate and assign diagnostic & procedural codes based on documentation in the medical record using established Coding Classification Methodologies for data retrieval and claims processing. Qualification & Experience: The successful Applicant must possess an Associate Degree in a relevant area or hold a recognized Medical Coding qualification with 3-5 years experience. Knowledge of Clinical Documentation standards, Medical Terminology and Anatomy as well as a working knowledge of Retention and confidently Laws would be an asset. Salary range: CI$36,812 to CI$41,477 per annum DENTAL SURGERY ASSISTANT Responsibilities: The post-holder will assist clinical staff in the treatment of dental patients as required in a modern and well-equipped surgery. Participation in a Saturday and Evening rotations are required and applicants should enjoy working as part of a team. Qualification & Experience: The successful applicant should also possess a certificate in Dental Assisting with at least one year experience working in a high volume clinic. Good oral and written communication skills are required. All candidates must be registerable with the Cayman Islands Health Practice Commission. Other benefits include subsidized health care (medical, dental, optical), a pension plan and vacation as per policy. Salary: CI$36,812 to CI$41,477 per annum DENTIST Responsibilities: The post-holder will be responsible for providing oral health care to the public on behalf of the Health Services Department and reports to the Chief Dental Officer. From time to time the post holder will be asked to work on the sister islands (Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) or in school clinics Qualification & Experience: The successful candidate must possess a degree from an accredited college in dentistry, which is recognized by the Health Practice Commission and have at least five (5) years post graduate experience and be listed in the “National Registry”. There must be a demonstrated commitment to continuing education and a willingness to keep up with internationally accepted standards. The successful candidate must be a team player with willingness and ability to provide statistics and information as required of a Government department. Salary: CI$91,964 to CI$110,627 per annum Other benefits include subsidized health care (medical, dental, optical) a pension plan and vacation range of 18 to 25 working days per annum. The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority Invites applications for: Application Deadline: September 29, 2017 My health. My team. My choice. To Apply: Submit applications to the Human Resources Department, Health Services Authority, Administration Reception, P.O. Box 915, Grand Cayman KY1-1103 Fax: (345)945-0890 or email: online to hsjobs@hsa.ky using pdf format6 LOCAL NEWS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Sargassum chokes beaches in wake of Irma Hannah’s Heroes returns for Big Shave NATIONAL TRUST CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY Cayman residents will once again have freshly shaved heads in support of childhood cancer re- search and the St. Bal- drick’s Foundation. Around 1,000 people are expected to turn out for the fifth annual Hannah’s He- roes Big Shave at the Wicket in Cricket Square on Sept. 22. The event began in 2012 in honor of Hannah, the daughter of Cayman resi- dents Gaylene and Nigel Meeson, who faced a difficult fight against brain cancer. Hannah turns 10 on Monday and currently shows no sign of disease. “We never thought we would celebrate Hannah’s 10th birthday, and she has amazingly defied the odds that left her with a less than 5 percent chance of survival, but she suffers many disabil- ities following treatment, in- cluding impaired balance, partial deafness, vision loss, cognitive, memory and fine motor deficits and slow pro- cessing,” Mrs. Meeson said. “Hannah is not alone. By the time childhood cancer survivors are 45 years old, more than 95 percent of them will have a chronic health problem or life-threatening condition. Without organi- zations like St. Baldrick’s, Hannah and children like her will simply not survive.” Other childhood cancer survivors from Cayman will join the event, including Skylar “Mimi” Ebanks, An- nabelle Reading, Beau Shields, Tayden Grant and Charli Foster. More than $54,000 has already been raised toward this year’s $163,000 goal. Since its inception, Han- nah’s Heroes has raised more than $1.1 million for child- hood cancer research at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The foundation has dedi- cated more than $188 million to childhood cancer research since its first event in 2000. Through sponsorship by Conyers Dill & Pearman, St. Baldrick’s CEO Kath- leen Ruddy will travel from California to Cayman for the fundraiser. “I am profoundly moved by the way the Cayman com- munity has united to sup- port Hannah’s Heroes and take childhood back from cancer,” Ms. Ruddy said. “Hannah’s Heroes Big Shave is one of St. Baldrick’s largest events, and I am hon- ored to be able to attend the event this year and meet the dedicated volunteers and do- nors who have generated such resources to help chil- dren survive cancer.” St. Baldrick’s has named four research grants in rec- ognition of Hannah’s He- roes since 2013. Teams for this year’s Big Shave include “The Firebalds” from the Fire Service, corpo- rate team “Maples & Balder,” Dart, PwC, MUFG, the par- ents of local childhood cancer survivors and several schoolchildren. For more information about the event, visit www.stbaldricks.org/ events/mypage/10830/2017. JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands National Trust, which this month celebrates 30 years of protecting the natural history of the territory, in- vites the public to a cel- ebration of music, dance, environment, history and local heritage at Pedro St. James Castle on Saturday, Sept. 23, from 6-10 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by Cayman tra- ditional kitchen band Swanky, Ken and Ben, called The Duo, and James Geary. Local food will be on sale, and a complimentary drink and canapés will be offered to guests. “Even though the Trust works to protect historic and environmental sites, sometimes it’s easy to forget we are doing so to secure a better future for Cayman,” said Christina Pineda, the Trust’s executive director. She invites members of the community to en- gage with the Trust council and staff to better under- stand their work, the ben- efits of becoming a Trust member, and the impact “one small act of time, trea- sure or talent” can have on the organization. The event is free for members of the Trust; non-members can attend for $30, which will include Trust membership. Benefits of being a Trust member include priority booking and discounts on all Trust activities and ex- cursions, and discounts or free admissions to National Trust properties in Australia, New Zealand, Barbados and the U.K. It also gives mem- bers 25 percent off Crystal Caves admission, discounted entry to the Cayman Turtle Centre, and free entry per year to the Botanic Park and Pedro St. James. Part of the proceeds from the event will be do- nated to the Trust’s Carib- bean partners that were af- fected by Hurricane Irma. Tickets and membership for non-members are on sale at the National Trust office at the Dart Family Park on South Church Street or can be bought at the event. For more information, email info@nationaltrust.org.ky or call 749-1121. SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman’s business owners are teaming up to rid the beaches of a smelly vestige of Hurricane Irma. The Cayman Islands Tourism Association sent an advisory this week regarding the seaweed and trash that has been accumulating along Seven Mile Beach. All prop- erty owners were encour- aged to responsibly remove the seaweed by rake and to respect the nesting grounds of sea turtles. “We work with property owners to make sure the re- moval of the seaweed is car- ried out in the most environ- mentally sound way,” said Wendy Williams, environ- mental assessment officer for the Department of Envi- ronment. “We factor in things like, ‘What are the wind and wave conditions doing?’ As of this week, there were con- tinual influxes of the sea- weed coming in. “We spoke to a number of property owners, including the Kimpton and Calico Jack’s, all along the northern end of Seven Mile Beach, and they just said, ‘It keeps washing in.’ We said, ‘If you remove it, that’s fine. But if you rake it, you’re just going to continue to get more and more and more.’” The Department of En- vironment issued guide- lines regarding the seaweed – called pelagic sargassum – in October 2015. Sargassum, which only occurs in the At- lantic Ocean, is a free-floating plant that never attaches to the ocean floor, and provides shelter and food for sea tur- tles and tuna. The sargassum travels on ocean currents and con- solidates into large mats and windrows, and Ms. Wil- liams said it had particularly plagued the northern end of Seven Mile Beach this week. The Department of Envi- ronment guidelines note that sargassum plays a role in beach nourishment and that leaving the seaweed on the beach is perfectly healthy for the environment. That is not always feasible for beach- front property owners, so the focus shifts to making sure it is removed responsibly. Using heavy machinery to remove the seaweed requires approval from the Depart- ment of Environment, and Ms. Williams wanted to make sure that everybody along Seven Mile Beach is aware of that. “Some of it will natu- rally get blown out,” she said of the seaweed. “Some of it will be taken out by the waves and ocean cur- rents, and then whatever’s left, the preference is to rake it, if possible. The problem with using heavy machinery on the beach is that quite often, sand gets caught up in it. It really results in erosion of the beaches. “We encourage people to rake, and where that’s not possible, property owners can use small-scale equip- ment to remove the seaweed very carefully. We always have to keep in mind that it’s peak turtle-nesting season, and we have lots of nests all along Seven Mile Beach.” The sargassum travels on ocean currents and consolidates into large mats and windrows. Part of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Trust’s Caribbean partners that were affected by Hurricane Irma. ‘Shavees’ from the Hannah’s Heroes fundraiser show off newly bald heads in support of childhood cancer research. - PHOTO COURTESY OF HANNAH’S HEROES Sargassum seaweed lines a beach in West Bay Thursday. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY More than $54,000 has already been raised toward this year’s $163,000 goal. 7 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 Her admission was moved by the managing partner of McGrath Tonner, David McGrath. In granting her admission, Mr. Justice Quin welcomed Ms. Park to the bar indicating that she was eminently qualifi ed to practise in the jurisdiction and that she was joining a busy and thriving practice. Ms. Park previously practised as a barrister & solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, specialising in civil, criminal and family law. 345 623 2740 • 345 949 2740 On 8th September, 2017 Mr. Justice Charles Quin called Anya Park to the bar of the Cayman Islands. info@mcgrathtonner.com Constitutional Commission renews call for Advisory District Councils TAD STONER tstoner@pinnaclemedialtd.com Cayman’s three-member Constitutional Commission on Thursday called for cre- ation of Advisory District Councils as part of efforts marking the annual “Day of Democracy” on Sept. 15. The group, comprising Chairman Vaughan Carter and members Natalie Urqu- hart and Olivaire Watler, named “democracy and con- flict prevention” as its 2017 theme, noting in a formal statement a “critical need to strengthen democratic insti- tutions to promote peace and stability,” and calling for “ef- fective and inclusive demo- cratic governance with re- spect for human rights and the rule of law.” The commission’s call for advisory councils, the state- ment said, reflects section 119 of Cayman’s 2009 Consti- tution, which refers to panels “for each electoral district to operate as advisory bodies to the elected members of the Legislative Assembly,” offering “the people of the Cayman Islands” a chance to “engage and influence the democratic process.” In 2011, then-Premier McKeeva Bush introduced legislation to create advisory councils. The effort fell flat in the face of opposition claims that the groups would serve only as political support for Mr. Bush’s United Dem- ocratic Party. The legislation at the time stalled after Alden McLaughlin, leader of the People’s Progressive Move- ment, now called the Pro- gressives, refused to sup- port the bill, preventing PPM members from accepting council seats. In the Progressives’ 2017 manifesto, released before the May general election, the party stated that it would be making “the necessary amendments to the Advisory District Councils Law to en- sure that a District Council is established in each electoral district to enable voters to interface directly with their elected representative.” According to the mani- festo, each Council would be given an annual budget “for which they will present au- dited financials, to fix the small irritants in their com- munities that matter most to them and which may be overlooked by central government or simply take too long to correct.” District MLAs would be required to attend quar- terly meetings of their re- spective Advisory District Council “to address their con- cerns, advise them of Gov- ernment’s plans and poli- cies and get feedback from the community,” the mani- festo continued. Currently, the only Ad- visory District Council that meets regularly is the North Side council. Thursday’s statement from the Constitutional Com- mission, while lamenting the 2011 failure, suggested that the time may be right to try again. The constitution, it said, requires a law to “pro- vide for the establishment, functions and jurisdiction of [Advisory District] Councils.” Such a move “may now ben- efit from fresh review and evaluation in light of subse- quent constitutional develop- ments, including the estab- lishment of single-member constituencies.” Constitutional Commis- sion members are appointed by the governor for staggered renewable terms of two years and four years. The commission’s inde- pendence, according to its website, “is deemed crucial for its effectiveness and legit- imacy in exercising its func- tions,” which combine those of “an advisory body … with a think tank on constitu- tional matters.” Conviction for manslaughter upheld, 20-year sentence not interfered with CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Raziel Jeffers, who has already lost appeals against two convictions for murder, lost a third time on Thursday when the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against a convic- tion for manslaughter. Jeffers, 34, had been charged “together with others,” of murdering Marcus Mauricio Guzman Duran on March 11, 2010, in West Bay. The Crown’s case was that Jeffers was the master- mind behind a plot to rob Mr. Duran, who sold illegal lot- tery numbers, but the rob- bery plan went wrong and Mr. Duran was fatally shot. Court president Sir John Goldring said the victim had been killed by an unlawful act during an armed robbery “in respect of which there was ample evidence of [Jef- fers’] involvement. Irrespec- tive of the precise mecha- nism by which Mr. Duran suffered harm, the jury must have been sure that all sober and reasonable people would have realized that partici- pation in an armed robbery carried the risk of some (al- beit not necessarily serious) harm to another. That was a sufficient and safe basis to found the conviction for manslaughter.” Chief Justice Anthony Smellie imposed a sentence of 20 years and that was not disturbed. Jeffers was convicted in 2012 of murdering Marcus Leon Ebanks in West Bay in 2009 by gunshot. His appeal was dismissed the same year. Jeffers was convicted in 2014 of murdering Damion Omar Ming, also by gun- shot, in West Bay in March, 2010. His appeal was dis- missed in 2015. Last year, in preparation for the manslaughter ap- peal, Jeffers appeared before the court and explained that the credibility of his ex-girl- friend, an important Crown witness, would be challenged. It was suggested that de- pending on the view the court took in the manslaughter ap- peal, the other conviction ap- peals might be revisited. RAZIEL JEFFERS LOSES THIRD APPEAL8 LOCAL NEWS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Saturday Sept 16th 9AM-NOON Open to the Public CA$H ONLY YARD SALE MANY ITEMS AS LOW AS $1.00 LOCATION ISLAND SUPPLY JACQUES SCOTT COMPOUND, NORTH SOUND ROAD” ACROSS FROM CAYMAN COMPASS DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT HUNDREDS OF ITEMS PRICED TO MOVE YARD SALE MANY ITEMS AS LOW AS ACROSS FROM CAYMAN COMPASSACROSS FROM CAYMAN COMPASSACROSS FROM CAYMAN COMPASS DISPOSABLES EQUIPMENT SMALL WARES FOOD Businessman believes in giving second chances JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com A businessman who knows what it’s like having the employment door shut in his face is doing his part to give people trying to help themselves a second chance. Shyam Ebanks, owner and manager of NCI Services Ltd., said “I believe in second chances. I too was once a young person and had my turning point in life. It’s up to them to make the best of it,” he said. A young man by the name of Sidney Levy, working as a courier, is the newest addition to Mr. Ebanks’s company. Mr. Ebanks was ac- quainted with Mr. Levy in younger days. He saw Mr. Levy last year when he was carrying out vol- unteer work at the Pirates Week office after being re- leased from prison. “When I met Shyam,” Mr. Levy said, “he was glad to see me, we shook hands, talked, ate some jerk chicken and right after that I registered with the National Workforce [Development] Agency.” After reaching out to NWDA Employment Develop- ment Outreach Coordinator Jean Solomon about the po- tential for candidates seeking employment, Mr. Ebanks said Mr. Levy’s name came up on the list. “I interviewed him, gave him the opportunity [for] part-time work, and right away I saw something in him that I wanted to take a chance with. Shortly after that I gave him a full-time post,” Mr. Ebanks said. Mr. Levy’s father left Cayman to join the U.S. Army and met Sidney’s mother when he was stationed in Seoul, Korea, where their son was born. It was al- ways his father’s intention to bring him back to Cayman when he retired. Arriving in Cayman, Mr. Levy enrolled in college, did well in school and passed a few exams, but started to go astray and get into trouble before landing in prison. He got work in Cayman Brac when he left prison but soon got in trouble again and ended up back in prison. This time, he decided to feed his mind with good things. He said he took a lot of Na- tional Workforce Development Agency classes – behavior modification, basic English, accounts … anything he could get his hands on in prison. When he was released, he had a different mindset and out- look on life, he said, and de- cided to volunteer his services to the Pirates Week office. “The National Workforce [Development Agency] is willing to help, but you also have to help yourself too. They give you the website, [but] you have to definitely take the classes,” Mr. Levy said. “They do the best they can with the resources they have. It’s just for the person to get out there and do what they have to .… [And] it’s not only them, there are other de- partments that are willing to help,” he said. Mr. Levy said there are plenty of jobs available, but “you have to go put your foot in the door.” “People who have not even been in jail are saying jobs are hard …. Go back to school, do some volunteer work, get your foot in the door and get with the right people, and op- portunities will work out for you,” Mr. Levy said. Ms. Solomon of the NWDA said she did not want people to doubt that there are oppor- tunities and second chances out there. She has been in- volved with placements for more than a decade and all people need to get their lives back on track is a second chance, she said. ”We must always be re- membering to put our- selves in the other person’s shoes. If you made a mis- take, how would you like to be treated?” she said. Growing up in Windsor Park, business owner Mr. Ebanks said, was trying times. He got into all sorts of problems with his group of friends. There were times when he would go to Ms. Sol- omon at the Tower Building seeking whatever employ- ment he could get during the summer holidays, but it was extremely hard because he did not have experience. “It was hard. Many times the doors were closed, But I never gave up pushing. In addition to that, a lot of my friends that I grew up with ended up in some serious trouble, went to prison, came out of prison and life was hard for them,” he said. Mr. Ebanks said he under- stood the mindset of some of his friends, who are unem- ployed and have a family to feed and who turn to crime to feed their children. “If you are unable to get that legally, you don’t have any other choice,” he said. Mr. Ebanks was one of the fortunate ones to make it out. “I tried to give them the same opportunities. Some worked out short term, some long term, and some did not work out at all …. It’s a small community and if you don’t help your neighbor, your community won’t get any better,” he said. Seventeen of the 20 staff members in Mr. Ebanks’s company are locals. He started the company to make a few dollars extra for col- lege, and it grew into a flour- ishing business. He thinks that companies can do more to assist locals with work, but the people have to want to work and make a differ- ence in the community. Ms. Solomon thanks all the employers over the years since 1977 who have re- ally been instrumental in hiring people. She could not put a number on the successful placements over the years. “You can’t really quan- tify because they are placed and sometimes they drop out, end up back in prison or re- offend, but many have been given opportunities such as this one and have really be- come productive citizens in communities,” she said. “Go back to school, do some volunteer work, get your foot in the door and get with the right people, and opportunities will work out for you.” SIDNEY LEVY, former NWDA client Shyam Ebanks, owner and manager of NCI Services, congratulates new employee Sidney Levy. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 The Family Of The Late Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page. Lillian Ellen Pearson regret to announce her passing on Saturday, 9 September, 2017. A funeral service will be held 3:00 p.m. Saturday, 16 September 2017 at the Church of God Chapel, Walkers Rd. Viewing will be from 2:00 p.m. prior to the service. Interment will follow in Dixie Cemetery. rals rvi & The Family Of The Late Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page. Nelson Lura Crance regret to announce his passing on Friday, 8 September, 2017. A service of thanksgiving for the life of “Mr. Nelson” will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, 16 September 2017 at the Church of God Chapel, Walkers Rd. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Cayman Islands Cancer Society. Condolences can be registered at: www.churchillsfuneralhome.com We have been asked to announce the passing of Mr. Errol Anthony Sinclair of George Town, Grand Cayman, who passed away on Saturday, September 2, 2017. A Thanksgiving Service will be held on Saturday, September 16, 2017 at Church of God (Universal), Walkers Road. Interment follows at Prospect Cemetery We have been asked to announce the passing of Mrs. Florence Virginia Berry affectionately known as “Biggie” of George Town Central and Savannah, Newlands, who passed away on Saturday, September 9, 2017. A Thanksgiving Service will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2017 at Church of God Chapel, Academy Way off Walkers Road. Viewing will be from 1:00 -1:45pm Interment follows at Dixie Cemetery. We have been asked to announce the passing of Mrs. Florence Virginia Berry affectionately known as “Biggie” of George Town Central and Savannah, Newlands, who passed away on Saturday, September 9, 2017. A Thanksgiving Service will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2017 at Church of God Chapel, Academy Way off Walkers Road. Viewing will be from 1:00 -1:45pm Interment follows at Dixie Cemetery. Condolences can be registered at: www.churchillsfuneralhome.com Mr. Rutty’s attorney and confirmed that Peanuts’ retail license had been approved. A side-by-side examination of the newly discovered DCI notes and the draft minutes reveals sim- ilar or even identical language and accounts of the meeting, par- ticularly that the license had been approved. Nevertheless, in another letter, written by the DCI on Sept. 1 and obtained by the Compass, the de- partment continued to maintain that the Peanuts license “is now correctly recorded in our system as ‘refused.’” (Emphasis theirs.) Following its March 28 meeting, the board sent notification to Pea- nuts, the DCI and the media that the Sunday license had been granted. Later, acting chairman DaCosta said the notification of approval had been sent in error. In August, Mr. DaCosta told the Compass that the board had de- ferred its decision in March and rejected the application at a sep- arate “electronic meeting” held in June. No record of that electronic meeting has ever been made public. Mr. DaCosta has since been removed from the Liquor Li- censing Board. The Compass reported this week that some political pressure may have been applied to the Li- quor Board’s decisions to grant Sunday retail licenses by an influ- ential church group. On the same day the Liquor Board was deliberating whether to grant permission for Sunday sales, the Cayman Ministers’ Association sent a letter to Cayman Islands Governor Helen Kilpatrick urging the approval of a Cabinet order halting liquor sales on Sundays. The letter stated: “We believe that the issue should be considered in terms, not only of what may be strictly legal, but in terms of an application of good civic common sense, bearing in mind the well- known impairment of judgment caused by alcoholic beverages, as well as the serious driving infrac- tions that are already observable on every journey. “The Cayman Ministers’ Asso- ciation understands that Cabinet is able to issue a directive in this matter, as it has done in the past, and urges it to do so at this time without hesitation.” Governor Kilpatrick responded to the ministers’ letter on April 4, stating that she had forwarded their letter to then-government minister Wayne Panton, who had oversight responsibility for the Li- quor Board, and Premier Alden McLaughlin. “I agree that this issue needs to be considered with common sense, given the harm that alcohol can cause and particu- larly combined with driving,” Gov- ernor Kilpatrick wrote. Mr. Panton said he never brought any Cabinet paper re- garding the Minsters’ Associa- tion request, and Governor Kil- patrick has denied that she was seeking to put political pressure on former minister Panton or anyone else to respond to the Sunday al- cohol sales issue. Additional reporting by Compass staff. swipe-card contract while he was the Health Services Au- thority chairman, laid out a number of grounds for ap- peal in his written submis- sions to the court. His at- torney, Tom Price, QC, mainly focused on two of the grounds during his verbal ar- guments on Tuesday. Mr. Price argued that three of his client’s five February 2016 convictions – those dealing with official corrup- tion – should be overturned because Mr. Watson did not fall under the definition of a “public officer” in the Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Law. According to Watson, that is because the law states that someone has to receive emoluments from a public entity in order to be consid- ered a public officer. Watson received at least some $15,000 in stipends during his time as the health au- thority chairman between 2010 and 2013, but Mr. Price argued that a stipend is not an emolument. Mr. Price contended that the stipend was meant to re- imburse Watson for his ex- penses. The compensation for Watson would only be an emolument if he profited, said Mr. Price. However, Justice Goldring noted that Watson provided no evidence during his trial that the stipends were reim- bursements for his expenses. “He was paid on a set basis,” said Justice Gold- ring, adding, “Somebody re- ceiving payment in connec- tion to performance of his office is receiving a form of emolument.” Watson also sought to ap- peal his two convictions for conspiracy to defraud, ar- guing that trial judge, Justice Michael Mettyear, improperly instructed the jury on how to deliberate before rendering a verdict on those charges. These charges had to do with allegations that Watson and his partner, Jeffrey Webb, concealed the fact that they were involved with the CarePay system’s local con- tractor, AIS (Advanced In- tegrated Systems) Cayman Ltd.; that he had “adjusted” the cost proposal for the con- tract upward in late 2010; and that he and Webb pro- vided bogus records to Fi- delity Bank to set up an AIS Cayman account. According to Mr. Price, the Crown had to prove that Watson was acting dishon- estly in carrying out these deeds. This “dishonesty” el- ement was not emphasized enough to the jury, said Mr. Price. The Court of Appeal disagreed, saying that Jus- tice Mettyear was “crystal clear” in letting the jury know that whether Watson acted dishonestly had to be considered. Watson’s other grounds for appeal were that he re- ceived an unfair trial due to the adverse publicity he re- ceived, and that he received an unfair trial because some of the evidence during the hearing was submitted later than it should have been. Mr. Price did not ver- bally argue these submis- sions, but the Court of Appeal addressed them when ren- dering its decision. The adverse publicity Watson received was due to his trial occurring simulta- neously against the backdrop of former FIFA Vice President and Cayman Islands resi- dent Jeffrey Webb’s guilty plea to racketeering in the U.S. Webb was also charged in relation to the CarePay scandal but has yet to stand trial in Cayman due to the ongoing matter in U.S. He is scheduled to be sentenced there in January. Justice Goldring noted that the jury was asked be- fore the trial whether they had strong views against Watson or Webb. Moreover, the judge said, Watson’s at- torneys never asked for the jury to be discharged over the publicity from Webb’s case. Justice Goldring gave a similar explanation for not rejecting Watson’s ground of appeal that pros- ecutors disclosed evidence against him later than they should have. While the Crown did dis- close evidence after the trial began – including a flash drive seized from Watson’s office, which contained evi- dence of financial transac- tions he carried out – Watson had plenty of time to review that evidence, and could have requested more time from the Grand Court, said Jus- tice Goldring. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Court rejects Canover Watson’s appeal Canover Watson is led from court after being convicted in February 2016 on five of the six criminal charges against him. On Thursday, his application to appeal those convictions was struck down by the Court of Appeal. INTERNAL DCI DOCUMENT: Liquor Licensing Board approved Sunday alcohol sales at Peanuts CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 aircraft to the airport, landing safely at 12:20 p.m. without incident,” ac- cording to the airline. Cayman Airways CEO Fabien Whorms said in a statement, “While our pilots are highly trained and well prepared to handle any situa- tion in flight, we highly commend Captain Coe and the rest of the crew for their precise execution of the pre- scribed procedures in this instance.” He said all multi-engine aircraft are certified to operate all phases of flight with one engine inoperative, including takeoff and landing, pro- vided a specific set of operating pro- cedures are followed. Mr. Whorms added, “We know that the onboard experience during this event was unsettling for our passengers and we apologize for any discomfort experienced. We can, how- ever, assure everyone that the flight crew maintained a safe operating en- vironment throughout the flight.” He said the aircraft had been re- moved from service for repairs and another Cayman Airways aircraft and crew operated a delayed flight KX200 to Tampa, which departed Thursday afternoon. Engine problem forces Cayman Airways emergency landing CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “All [board members] agreed to allow sale of alcohol on Sunday with a retail license based on the primary business, e.g., Gas Stations & Convenience stores less than 4,000 sq. ft.” DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND INVESTMENT NOTESNext >