ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 High of 86 Low of 76 Moderate with wave heights of 3 to 5 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 ‘POTHOLE PATROL’: LET’S ALL PITCH IN TO IMPROVE OUR ROADS WORLD | PAGE 12 CHARLES MANSON, WHOSE CULT SLAYINGS HORRIFIED WORLD, DIES 186905-Ad-Strip-MC-60th-Grammys-10.333x1.5.indd 111/9/17 5:15 PM Higher turnover for gov’t teachers, lawyers BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A total of 127 teachers and 13 legal practi- tioners have left the Cayman Islands civil ser- vice within the past two years, according to human resources management documents re- leased to the Legislative Assembly last week. The government’s 2014/15 budget year was a particularly bad one for teacher departures, when about 20 percent of the total number employed in public schools left their jobs. That number subsided somewhat in 2015/16 – the last budget year – when about 10 percent of the teaching staff departed, according to the annual human resources report. The teacher departure numbers include supply (substitute) teachers, who are only em- ployed on a fill-in basis. While the number of legal staff leaving their jobs during the two years, 13, may not seem high, it represents about 17 per- cent of the workforce employed in that area for each year. In 2016, government legal staff had the highest turnover rate of any occupation in the government service, the report noted. Other government jobs that saw high turn- over during the period included administra- tive personnel and IT personnel. The total turnover rate in the civil service during 2014/15 was 14.3 percent, but the rate was reduced in 2015/16 to 8.7 percent. Although law enforcement jobs in Cayman are often cited as having high turn- over, the government’s records for the past two years do not bear that out. A total of 44 police officers left the RCIPS between 2014 and 2016, equaling about 5.5 percent of the department total staff. Fire service, customs and immigration offi- cers all saw departure rates below 5 percent during both years. Prison officers’ departure rates dropped from about 12 percent of staff in 2015 to just 5 percent in 2016. “This is the lowest [turnover] experienced BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com More than 3,700 people have received grants of Caymanian status via either the naturalization (citizenship) process or through marriage to a Caymanian since Jan- uary 2009, according to records presented to the Legislative Assembly by Premier Alden McLaughlin last week. Another 14 people received Cabinet grants of status since 2012, according to the figures presented by Mr. McLaughlin. The three areas comprise the majority of status grants, which confer the “right to be Caymanian” upon a non-Caymanian indi- vidual. Based on the figures presented, the is- lands have averaged about 412 status grants per year since 2009. Roughly 194 of those grants each year were given to people who have resided in the islands for at least 15 consecutive years and applied for permanent residence and then nat- uralization as a British Overseas Territories citizen. These are typically individuals with no family connections to the islands (although some may have those via parents, grandpar- ents or children) who apply for Caymanian rights based on long tenure in the islands. Another 217 people each year received the right to be Caymanian through marriage to a Caymanian citizen. Those individuals typi- cally must apply for their status after seven years of marriage. The 14 Cabinet status grants are irrevo- cable grants of Caymanian rights based on direct application to Cabinet members. Each case is considered individually based on the Slam dunk: US college basketball comes to Cayman SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com The culture of college basketball made an impactful landing in George Town on Monday, when the opening games of the Cayman Islands Classic were played at John Gray High School. A host of fans came from all over the United States to watch the tournament, sporting their team colors and bringing their allegiances from home. The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns were the first matchup on Monday, and the stands at John Gray showed a clear separation of supporters. Half the crowd wore yellow and black in support of Iowa, and half wore red and white in support of Louisiana. “I saved money for a year to get here,” said Iowa fan Vicki Van Roekel, attending the tournament with her daughter Jodi. “As soon as I heard they were having a tourna- ment here, I started saving my money be- cause I’m a big Iowa Hawkeyes basketball fan. … I usually just watch them on TV but it’s in the Caymans and I love the beach and my baby daughter lives in Florida.” Tyler Cook, a sophomore forward for Iowa, scored the first basket of the tourna- ment on a layup, but Louisiana pulled away from Iowa shortly thereafter, ultimately winning the game 80-71. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Louisiana’s Frank Bartley IV scores on a layup in Monday’s game against the Iowa Hawkeyes. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » THOUSANDS RECEIVE ‘RIGHT TO BE CAYMANIAN’ SINCE 20092 LOCAL NEWS TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 JUSTICE LEAGUE 3D (PG13) 12:30 2D VIP I 12:50 I 1:30 2D 3:50 I 4:20 2D I 6:40 2D VIP 7:00 I 7:10 2D I 9:35 2D VIP 9:50 2D I 10:00 2D MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (PG13) 1:00 I 4:00 I 7:00 I 9:50 THOR: RAGNAROK 3D (PG13) 12:50 2D I 3:20 2D VIP I 3:55 I 6:55 2D 9:55 TYLER PERRY’S BOO2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN (PG13) 1:30 I 4:20 I 7:15 I 9:45 *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. 640-FILM (640-3456) 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. - TUESDAY - LA wraps up with committee appointment, private motions KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com Before adjourning on Thursday, Legislative As- sembly members appointed an oversight committee for the Ombudsman Office. Premier Alden McLaughlin said the Om- budsman Office committee is necessary because the of- fice replaced the Complaints Commissioner’s and Infor- mation Commissioner’s in- dependent offices, rendering the oversight groups for those departments obsolete. MLAs approved the appointment of the five nominated legisla- tors: Chairperson Tara Rivers, Deputy Chairperson Barbara Conolly, David Wight, Alva Suckoo, and Eugene Ebanks. Two private members’ motions, both by opposition MLA Chris Saunders, were also passed at the meeting. Mr. Saunders said his first motion – for government to consider hiring only Cayma- nians for public security ser- vices – is necessary because “it’s time to have our own people checking our people.” He said Caymanians know “who’s who” and would be able to identify suspicious activity more readily than an expatriate security guard. While government might save money by hiring non- local security contractors, that is putting the public at risk, he said. Mr. McLaughlin responded that during the next tendering cycle for secu- rity services, government will consider inserting provisions in its contracts that require companies to hire a minimum number of Caymanians. The motion was passed unanimously. Mr. Saunders’s second motion called for government to consider cre- ating an education fund to provide scholarships and other schooling opportuni- ties. He said it should be funded by appropriating 50 percent of the exchange spread earned by banks. The exchange spread is the fee banks keep when exchanging Cayman dollars for U.S. cur- rency – which is 3.2 percent, or about 4 cents per Cayman dollar exchanged. Opposition leader Ezzard Miller said a fraction of the $20 million that banks gen- erate annually from the ex- change spread would go a long way in seeding an education fund. However, Mr. McLaughlin balked at the idea. “In case people aren’t paying attention, you’ve seen a dramatic fall in banking institutions in these islands,” he said, referring to the decline in the number of Class B banks registered in Cayman over the recent years. “So the government has to be cognizant for the messages we send about how we value or don’t the business of banks in this country.” The motion was split into two separate proposals. The motion to consider creating an education fund was unan- imously passed, while the motion to consider funding it via the bank exchange spread was voted down 10-6. Kristin Amaya returns from Miss World pageant JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Kristin Amaya flew back to Grand Cayman Monday morning, after taking part in the Miss World pageant held in Sanya, China. She did not earn a spot in the top 40, but the 25-year- old said the experience was invaluable. After arriving at Owen Roberts International Airport Monday, Ms. Amaya told the Cayman Compass she put the value on the experience itself, and not her placement in the competition. “It was my first time in China and it was amazing,” she said. The 2017 Miss World pag- eant, in which 116 competi- tors took part, was won by 20-year-old medical student Miss India Manushi Chhillar. Miss England Stephanie Hill was the first runner-up, and Miss Mexico Alma An- drea Meza Carmona was second runner-up. Ms. Amaya said her fa- vorite segment of the pag- eant was the head-to- head segment. “The pageant did not have a swimwear or casual wear segment. We got to sit down in a formal setting and talk a bit more, so they got to know a lot about us and what we believed in. … I enjoyed that part of it,” she said. “I felt that people got the opportu- nity to know us a little better. I liked that face-to-face con- nection and a good conversa- tion. She said her strongest part in the contest was her people skills. “I love interacting with people. I love socializing and making people laugh and just showing my personality. That for me is my strong point,” she said. Ms. Amaya said was a bit nervous with the interview but once she got there, she felt comfortable. “It was in a casual setting, so I was OK,” she said. In the stage setting, she also felt comfortable. “We had an awesome opening routine and awesome stage directors, so everything came together nicely. I felt confident. I felt beautiful. Ev- erything ran smoothly … it was great,” she said. Now that the competi- tion is behind her, she plans to make public appear- ances, assist with commu- nity work, and help to fur- ther develop the Miss World Cayman competition. “When an opportunity arises, take it, don’t second guess it, don’t doubt it. Run with the opportunity be- cause it’s a once in a life- time chance,” she said. “For me, it was one of the best things I have ever done. Just being around so much pos- itive energy, people from different walks of life, and sharing my little story and talking about my little piece of paradise … you can’t put a value on it. “Take it for what it is, soak it in, enjoy and live in the movement.” Anna Clarke, a member of the Miss Cayman Com- mittee, said the committee had embraced the opportu- nity to send a competitor to the Miss World pageant. “We are very proud of what she has done at the pageant,” Ms. Clarke said. Bodden Town native Ms. Amaya was Cayman’s first privately sponsored con- testant in the Miss World pageant, having finished as runner-up in March’s Miss Cayman competition. The Miss Cayman Islands Committee relinquished its local rights in April to the Miss World contest fran- chise. Cayman marketing executive Pamela Small won the franchise for her “Miss World Cayman Is- lands” company in Sep- tember and quickly orga- nized to send Ms. Amaya to the competition. Anika Conolly, Miss Cayman, is currently in Las Vegas, preparing to take part in next weekend’s Miss Uni- verse pageant. Police respond to West Bay scuba incident A 73-year-old woman and her son were admitted to the Cayman Islands Hos- pital Saturday after get- ting into difficulty while diving off North West Point in West Bay. According to police, at around 9 a.m., 911 received the report and police and Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to the scene. The woman got into dif- ficulties while under the water. Her son helped her to the surface but also had trouble. Both were placed on a boat where CPR was ad- ministered to the woman, police confirmed. Both were transported to the Cayman Islands Hos- pital by ambulance and were later discharged. Kristin Amaya, who represented the Cayman Islands at the Miss World pageant in China over the weekend, arrives home Monday. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY Young visitors celebrate Pines birthdays Members of Rotary Sunrise and their young colleagues from George Town’s Early Actors visited the Pines Retirement Home Saturday to sing carols and celebrate November birthdays. At the home, they wished a happy 96th birthday to resident Olive Miller, who was the first manager at the Pines, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1983.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 2017 15 Sunday, 3rd December Race starts at 10:30am Energy Food Drink of Champions Start: Front of Government Admin Building, Elgin Ave, George Town Finish: Big Marathon Finish Line on Harbour Drive! (Approximately Half a Mile) IT’S FREE! • All Primary School children Years 1 -6 • All participating kids will receive a T-shirt, Runners Bib and Finishers Medal! • All kids are encouraged to complete a Runners Log (available online at CaymanlslandsMarathon.com) and run 25.5 miles leading up to Race Day. • All kids that complete their running log will be entered into drawings for Milo prizes! Sunday, 3rd December Front of Government Admin Building, Elgin Ave, George Town Big Marathon Finish Line on Harbour Drive! IT’S FREE! All participating kids will receive a T-shirt, Runners Bib and Finishers Medal! All kids are encouraged to complete a Runners Log (available online at ) and run 25.5 miles leading up to Race Day. Front of Government Admin Building, Elgin Ave, George Town Big Marathon Finish Line on Harbour Drive! All participating kids will receive a T-shirt, Runners Bib and Finishers Medal! All kids are encouraged to complete a Runners Log (available online at ) and run 25.5 miles leading up to Race Day. Warm up party from 10:00am Register ONLINE at www.CaymanlslandsMarathon.com For more Information call 632.8822. To run you must collect your packet, 9:00am - 3:00pm, at The Westin Resort, on Saturday, 2nd December, 2017. AD SPONSORED BY MILO KIDS FUN RUN Customs officer charged in cocaine importation case CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Customs officer David Karl Lobo had bail with- held on Monday when he ap- peared in Summary Court on a charge of being concerned in the importation of 1.814 kilograms of cocaine. The offense is alleged to have occurred between May 1 and June 3 this year. The charge names Lobo and four other men, including Alan Taylor Dominguez. A fur- ther charge against Lobo is conspiracy to import a con- trolled drug between March 30 and May 20 this year. The alleged conspiracy is with “others,” who are not named. The drug is not specified. Defense attorney Amelia Fosuhene elaborated on what Lobo had told po- lice when questioned – that he was negotiating for the importation of Colom- bian artifacts. She told Magistrate Valdis Foldats that Lobo had been suspended from work be- cause of this matter and he was completing studies for his degree during this time. “He has five weeks left,” she said in her applica- tion for bail. Crown counsel Neil Kumar objected to the granting of bail. He said police went to an apartment on West Bay Road on Friday, June 2, and found three men and a sub- stantial quantity of cocaine. It appeared that the premises was being used for a drug smuggling operation. It had been rented short-term, from May 31 to June 4. He said two men had in- gested condoms filled with liquid cocaine before trav- eling to Cayman and the apartment was being used to convert the liquid to powder for onward distribu- tion. The stove was on and a creamy substance was being heated, Mr. Kumar reported. The substance later proved to be cocaine. The three men were cautioned and inter- viewed with the assistance of an officer who spoke with them in Spanish. One of the men made ad- missions, suggesting that David Lobo was involved. Lobo was arrested shortly after he was seen outside the apartment. He explained that he was a customs of- ficer and was at the loca- tion because he had dropped off his friend’s wife, who had just come in on a flight. Someone in the apartment provided her with car keys and then he left, Lobo said. He also mentioned statues someone had brought for him and said he had castor oil to clean them. Mr. Kumar told the court that analysis of Lobo’s phone had revealed photos of pass- ports of two men who had served as drug couriers. Lobo was interviewed again and said he was nego- tiating for the import of Co- lombian gold artifacts. Ms. Fosuhene said she had been present at all of Lobo’s interviews and he had always answered ques- tions, not knowing what the police could or could not prove. Inside the apartment with the drugs were statues Lobo had negotiated for, she pointed out. The magistrate asked if it were “bad luck” that the people Lobo was dealing with for art happened to be couriers of drugs. Ms. Fosuhene said one had to consider the fuller picture. Lobo was friends with Alan Laurems Taylor Domin- guez, whose wife Lobo had dropped off at the apartment. Dominguez has since pleaded guilty to his involve- ment in cocaine importation, Mr. Kumar told the court. The magistrate said he was not looking at guilt or innocence in a bail hearing. From what he had been told, the conspiracy was sophisti- cated and well-resourced. He denied bail and set the matter for mention again on Nov. 28. Crown counsel Neil Kumar told the court that analysis of Lobo’s phone had revealed photos of passports of two men who had served as drug couriers. ELEVEN TRAFFIC ARRESTS OVER WEEKEND The head of police’s Traffic Management Unit said Cayman was “lucky that no one lost their life on the road this weekend” be- cause of irresponsible and dangerous driving. Inspector Ian Year- wood said, “We are out conducting regular patrols and doing radar checks, because drunk driving is a menace to all of us. Re- member, if you are caught driving drunk, you will lose your license for a minimum of one year,” he said in a Royal Cayman Islands Po- lice Service statement. Between Friday and Monday, six people were arrested on suspicion of DUI, two for driving while disqualified, one for dan- gerous driving, one for leaving the scene of an ac- cident, and another for pos- session of ganja. In one incident, shortly before 11:30 p.m. Friday, officers carrying out radar checks on West Bay Road stopped a vehicle near Governors Square after it was caught traveling at twice the speed limit. The 63-year-old motorist from George Town was driving with an expired driver’s li- cense, expired certificate of road worthiness and ex- pired registration. He also failed a breath test and was arrested for DUI, dan- gerous driving, and other traffic offenses. On Saturday afternoon, just before 2:30 p.m., of- ficers responded to a re- port of a head-on collision near the cricket pitch on Crewe Road, involving an orange Honda Element and Honda Civic. Both vehicles were badly damaged but there were no serious inju- ries. The 22-year-old George Town driver of the Honda Civic was arrested for driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, and possession of ganja. Just before 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, a white Nissan Fuga and a blue Hyundai Accent collided on South Church Street near Boilers Road. The Hyundai driver, age 31 of George Town, was arrested for DUI after she was breathalyzed and found to have a blood- alcohol level over twice the legal limit. Between Friday and Monday, six people were arrested on suspicion of DUI.The 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. Forget those childish fears of “things that go bump in the night.” For adults, what’s really scary are the “things that go bump into your car.” That is why we are contributing our editorial mega- phone to amplify the National Roads Authority’s call to deputize the Cayman Islands population as an unof- ficial “pothole patrol” to report dangerous or deterio- rating roadway conditions. We all complain about issues such as flooding, damaged signs and missing (or misleading) road marks – it’s a staple of conversation at the office water cooler – but it’s imperative that people direct those complaints to people who can actually do something about it. Enter the NRA’s “Safer Roads Start With You” campaign, which the authority announced in a full- page advertisement in Friday’s Cayman Compass. The NRA is seeking assistance in identifying road hazards and has established a “customer complaint hotline” to make it easy to report them. You just call 525-1251 or 946-7780 (or email nra@nra.ky) to report common safety issues such as: • Overgrown vegetation that blocks a clear view of road signage, or encroaches upon roadways • Standing water or flooding on public roadways caused by poor drainage • Missing or damaged signs or road markings • Potholes and other damage to road • Spills or obstructions on the public roadway • Broken or malfunctioning traffic signals • Excessive noise or vibration caused by blasting of explosives • Bad or unsafe driving in NRA vehicles • or other safety concerns. The Compass fully supports this effort to “crowd- source” the identification of road safety hazards. Gov- ernment is in charge of maintaining safe roadways, but it cannot be everywhere, all the time, to spot needed fixes (nor would we want it to be). It seems like a worthwhile exchange of services. Road users act as the NRA’s “eyes and ears,” and the NRA takes action with shovels, backhoes and chainsaws. We encourage every driver and passenger to par- ticipate by calling the hotline, or by taking photos of roadway hazards and emailing them to the roads authority. (If you spot a condition that is espe- cially egregious, feel free to copy in the Compass at editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com. We can assist with getting the word out, too … and monitoring the situa- tion until it is addressed.) Making sure roads are in good repair, with traffic directives clearly marked, is more than a question of convenience – it can be a matter of life and death. Over the years, Grand Cayman has witnessed an alarming number of traffic accidents for a population of our size (and a general speed limit of modest velocity). The “driving conditions” of the roads themselves, of course, are only one half of the safety equation. The other half is the “driver conditions” – how motorists behave when they’re on the road. The first is the responsibility of the NRA. The second is the responsibility of police. Individually, each of us is responsible for not driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, only driving vehicles that are properly licensed and inspected, and driving without electronic distrac- tions. Put the vehicle in “park” before taking calls and sending text messages. And — yes — find a parking space first. This is especially important as we head into the winter season – a traditional time of merriment, busier than usual schedules and liberal amounts of holiday “cheer.” The roads authority has demonstrated its commit- ment to help make Cayman a safer place for motorists, passengers and pedestrians. Let us all do our part. – EDITORIAL – ‘Pothole patrol’: Let’s all pitch in to improve our roads TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS LETTER TO THE EDITOR Protecting marine life is a matter of survival As much as I appreciate and support the National Conservation Council’s dedi- cation to and faithful efforts toward preserving our envi- ronment, I respectfully and fervently disagree with their proposed change in plans to phase out spearfishing (aside from licensed li- onfish spears). I grew up fishing and spearfishing in California, but gave up both after wit- nessing how devastating my own spearfishing was on reef fish, which are territo- rial and much longer lived than I had thought in my youthful ignorance. My own destructiveness was most evident in a pri- vate cove in which I was the only spearfisherman over a three-year period in the 1970s. After three sum- mers, I had cleaned out all of the nooks and crannies in that cove and they were not replenished. Most of the large reef species live in ex- cess of 25 years, so as I re- moved them from their lairs, that reef remained empty for years afterward. Mature fish do not cross pelagic waters, so there is no new stream of them coming in from the deep sea. The edge of our shelf acts like an aquarium wall to them. Studying marine biology, I learned that egg produc- tion increases exponen- tially with a fish’s age and size. Unlike us, they never stop growing as they age. The older and bigger, the more valuable they are to any restoration effort. It is human nature to go for the largest fish you can find, so spearfishing, which affords selectivity, is very effective at reducing replenishment. This is especially problem- atic on our reefs, which are severely over-fished from roughly 40 years of unsus- tainable take by a wide va- riety of methods … not just from spearfishing! My argument is not about how we got into this di- lemma, but what we must now do to resolve it. Having moved to Cayman in 1983 as a scuba instructor/un- derwater photographer, I heard our most experi- enced divemasters grum- bling and moaning about how quickly all of the big fish and big schools of fish were disappearing, and soon saw it for myself. The big old territorial masters that I had gotten to know inti- mately and could count on greeting the divers I was leading, were not returning after spawning season. With thousands of dives since, I have seen our most valu- able tourism attraction van- ishing before my eyes. Although I quit the dive industry when I went full time as a photographer in 1988, I continue to dive reg- ularly to this day. The de- crease in reef fish popula- tion has been at least as dramatic and obvious as the increase in human pop- ulation has been during this same period. Imagine paying to visit Seaworld in Florida and discovering that nearly all of the big fish and well more than half of the rest were missing. Would you go back? Would you rec- ommend it? This is why our dive tourism numbers are not more than double what they are today. Certainly, taking fish (of any species) while spawning has been the sin- gularly most devastating of all methods of capture, but at this point in time our reef fish populations are so depressed that every in- dividual of our rarest spe- cies removed today is a significant loss to restora- tion. Spearfishing is only one part of a large variety of ways that I believe we must change our take from the reefs if we hope to solve this problem before it is too late for our most important, most endangered species. Enhancing enforce- ment of all marine resource laws, expanding the ma- rine parks and seeking even more ways to reduce our take is rapidly becoming more necessary and dire the longer we continue de- nying the urgency of this issue. Effectively stopping poaching is recognized by all as an imperative. Elim- inating spearguns would make stopping poaching with illegal guns much easier than it is today. There is more at stake than merely what is cur- rently tens of millions of dollars per year in diving tourism income if we fail. This is a significant, po- tentially perpetually sus- tainable food stock for all future generations of Cay- manians that we are losing. When your herd of 10,000 cattle has been reduced to less than 500, you’d better reconsider how you are managing your stocks. If you want to know more about my observations and thoughts about what must soon be done to reverse this loss, please watch my brief, 18-minute TEDx talk. At the very least, every resi- dent should download the Department of Environ- ment’s easy-to-use phone app called “Siren” avail- able on its website, which makes all of the regula- tions immediately acces- sible to you so that you can become part of the solution. Use it to help stop poachers and to avoid unknowingly becoming one yourself. He hath founded it upon the seas and then He made us His stewards. Courtney Platt Enhancing enforcement of all marine resource laws, expanding the marine parks and seeking even more ways to reduce our take is rapidly becoming more necessary and dire the longer we continue denying the urgency of this issue. 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”5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 Teacher returns to East End Primary TRANSITION UNIT GETS BOOKS FROM LIFE Students read through Literacy Week Literacy Is For Everyone donated 170 books to the government’s Transition Unit to assist children who need extra learning support in their reception year. The collection includes books with sounds, non-fic- tion titles, read-aloud publi- cations that help the develop- ment of vocabulary, and early readers for children ages 5-6 to read on their own. “Some children are re- luctant to pick up a book. These noisy books are fan- tastic for getting children in- terested in books and making reading fun for them,” said Lisa O’Donoghue, classroom teacher of the Transition Unit. The Transition Unit was formed in 2011 to integrate children who might other- wise have required special education into mainstream primary schools. A desig- nated speech and language therapist, occupational ther- apist, counselor and edu- cational psychologist work with the teaching team to provide both one-to-one and group sessions. Based at the George Town Primary School, the Transi- tion Unit’s six students join in physical education, music lessons and assemblies at the school. “This provides the chil- dren with an inclusive envi- ronment and prepares them for Year 1 in their respective primary schools next year,” Ms. O’Donoghue said. Marilyn Conolly, executive director of LIFE, said the or- ganization’s goal is to donate an additional 10,000 books to primary schools this year. “This is made possible by the generosity of our private and corporate sponsors and through the book drives orga- nized by schools and volun- teers,” she said. The classroom library do- nation is the first in an on- going partnership between LIFE and the Transition Unit, she said. To date, LIFE has donated more than 5,000 books to primary schools across the Cayman Islands. Erica Greenidge-Daniel said Literacy Week, held Nov. 14-17 in Cayman public schools, makes a difference. “I’m seeing a renewed interest in not just books, but the children reading different genres,” said Ms. Greenidge-Daniel, lead lit- eracy teacher at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School, about what she was seeing in the classroom last week. “They’re more willing to take a risk and read books they would not nor- mally explore.” That impact fits with the “Thinking outside the Box!” theme of this year’s Literacy Week. Part of the week’s activi- ties at Sir John A. Cumber school included a book buffet, where students could find books they might not have considered reading be- fore. The books were laid out in their classrooms and the students were given three eight-minute intervals to read. At the end of each in- terval, they shifted to the next available book. Key Stage 2 students took time to read aloud to Key Stage 1 students, and local community leaders dropped by the schools to read to the students. The week also included story writing activities. At Sir John A. Cumber school, students in the early grades started stories and passed them on to older stu- dents, who added to and finally finished the sto- ries. The stories were read during an assembly at the end of the week. Ms. Greenridge-Daniel said the events emphasized how crucial it is for stu- dents to be literate. “It’s essential for per- sonal growth and overall de- velopment,” she said. “Every year we seek to expose chil- dren to bigger and better literary ideas.” Expanding their minds through reading and writing, she added, “helps develop the future economy of the islands.” Students excited to have teacher back MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com A Year 5 teacher at East End Primary School, who was removed from the class- room a month ago, has re- turned to the school. The school was shut down for two days, Nov. 9 and 10, when parents pro- tested that an assistant teacher was running the class in the regular teach- er’s absence. The parents de- manded a qualified teacher for the class. A credentialed teacher was placed in the class on Nov. 14 and stu- dents went back to school. Ministry of Education of- ficials confirmed Monday that the teacher who had been removed returned to take over the Year 5 class on Thursday, Nov. 16. An incident involving the teacher had originally been referred to Family Protection Services and subsequently to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. In a statement, the edu- cation ministry said, “The police investigation … con- cluded that the incident can be dealt with by words of ad- vice and does not meet the criminal threshold.” Parent Kenia McFarland, 30, said children at the school were excited to have the reg- ular teacher back. “They got into the parking lot, they saw his car and they were running looking for him. It was like bringing Christmas to school,” Ms. McFarland said Thursday. Her Year 2 daughter is not in the teacher’s class, but was still happy about the return. “She said, ‘Christmas is right around the corner so we can go caroling and have Santa Claus,’” Ms. McFar- land said. The teacher, she added, “organizes all that stuff, like Santa Claus coming to the school and bringing Christmas presents.” Parents are pleased as well, she said, not only be- cause the teacher is back, but also because they feel they made a difference in the pro- cess. She encouraged other parents to be more active. “If it’s a situation that happens to other parents in other schools, don’t be afraid,” Ms. McFarland said. “Come together and unite so your voices are heard. Our voices were heard and we’re satisfied.” The school was shut down for two days, Nov. 9 and 10, when parents protested that an assistant teacher was running the class in the regular teacher’s absence. The Transition Unit was formed in 2011 to integrate children who might otherwise have required special education into mainstream primary schools. “Every year we seek to expose children to bigger and better literary ideas.” ERICA GREENIDGE-DANIEL, lead literacy teacher, Sir John A. Cumber Primary School Transition Unit teacher Lisa O’Donoghue is flanked by Erin Galatopoulos, left, and Marilyn Conolly, both from Literacy Is For Everyone, which donated books to the unit earlier this month. Laura McCauley, assistant director of human resources at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, reads to schoolchildren at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School as part of Literacy Week. Children at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School participate in the book buffet during Literacy Week. LIFE’s Woody Foster reads to the students.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS TUESDAY, NOV. 21 OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIPS: The Ministry of Education advises that it is now receiving applications for overseas scholarships for the 2018/2019 academic year. An information session on the application process takes place at the George Town Public Library at 5:30-7 p.m. Anyone applying for a government scholarship for the 2018/2019 academic year is encouraged to attend. BUY A BAG SALE: The NCVO New to You Thrift Shop hosts a sale now through Dec. 15. Buy a bag for $5 and whatever it holds inside is yours. 90 Anthony Drive, off Smith Road, next to Miss Nadine’s Pre-School. SEAFARERS ASSOC: The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association informs all members that there will be a General Meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Seafarers Hall, 11 Victory Ave. Prospect. Guest speaker will be Dr. Brian Michael, on the topic of diabetes. Buses will be provided from West Bay Town Hall at 6 p.m. A bus route has been added in George Town, leaving the Public Library parking area at 7, stopping at Cayman Compass building and Airport Fosters. The bus is marked Bobo $1 Public transport and is blue in color. There is no charge. PORTRAIT DRAWING: Continues tonight and next Tuesday. 7-9 p.m. Visual Arts Society offers introduction to portrait drawing drop-in workshops, an opportunity for artists to develop drawing skills using a live model as subject. Fee is $25 per session/$35 non-members and includes easels, boards, studio and art instructor. For more information, contact workshops@visualartcayman. com or 546-9422. CHAMBER COURSE: Essentials of Supervision; Developing Your Team. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Chamber of Commerce, Governors Square. $150 for members, $225 for future members. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. CHAMBER COURSE: Business Writing Skills. 12:30–4:30 p.m. Chamber of Commerce, Governors Square. $150 for members, $225 for future members. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 22 CHAMBER COURSE: The Essentials of Selling, Part One. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Chamber of Commerce, Governors Square. $150 for members, $225 for future members. Register online at www.caymanchamber.ky. THURSDAY, NOV. 23 PLAYHOUSE FAMILY CHRISTMAS: At the Prospect Playhouse. Annual holiday production. Opens tonight. Then Nov. 24, 25, 30, Dec. 1, 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 26 and Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. Adults, $15. Children under 12, $12. Tickets now on sale at www.cds.ky or call 938-1998. SATURDAY, NOV. 25 SHAPED BY THE SEA: New exhibition opens today at National Museum, Harbour Drive, celebrating Charles O. “Captain Chuckie” Ebanks. Part of the Christmas Looky Ya, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with local artisans and food. All are invited. RED CROSS THRIFT SHOP: Bag Sale from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Purchase a bag (medium $5, large $10). Enter the sales room. Fit as many things as you can in a bag without tearing the bag. The item must not be falling from a bag to be considered “in” a bag. Items that fall from tearing of the bag will NOT be considered in. Huldah Avenue, RC headquarters building. BRAC BREEZE FUSION: 5K WALK/RUN 6:30 a.m. Adults $15, students 16 and under $10. Route is Public Beach to Foster’s Corner and back. Visit www.radiocayman.gov.ky for more info. T-shirt and participation medals for the first 100 registrants. Chance to win random prizes for all participants. BRAC ANNIVERSARY: 50th anniversary celebration for the high school. Football game features Alumni vs. Students. 7 p.m. Cayman Brac Sports Complex. Refreshments and souvenirs on sale, Visit www.facebook.com/lshs50th for more information. SINGING CHRISTMAS TREE: 6:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow on the grounds of First Assembly of God, 195 Old Crewe Road, George Town. Admission is free. Special guest singers are the Fort Lauderdale Christian Life Centre Singers and Gillian Seecharan-Nancoo from Trinidad. MEMORIAL WALK: Boatswain Bay Presbyterian Church invites all to attend the annual memorial walk starting 6:30 a.m. Meet at the church. SMALL BUSINESSES: Today is Small Business Saturday. Discounts will be available at participating small businesses. ART & CRAFT SALE: Paseo, Camana Bay, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Organized by Visual Arts Society. Deadline to register to sell is Nov. 17. Contact info@visualartcayman.com. TURKEY TROT: The annual 5K and 10K fun run/walk takes place at SafeHaven from 6:30 a.m. to benefit Meals on Wheels. Prizes awarded at 7:45 a.m. Cost is $25 for adults; $15 for juniors (11 to 17); $10 for children (4 to 11). Register online at www.caymanactive.com/ turkeytrot. For more information, contact info@mealsonwheels.ky or 323-0848. CHRISTMAS ARTS AND CRAFT BAZAAR: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Loyola Hall, St. Ignatius Catholic School, Walkers Road. Arts, crafts, handmade jewelry, skin care products, baked goods, henna tattoos, and more. Many local crafters and artists, over 25 vendors. Free admission. For more information, contact Allison Taylor at 939-0220 or ataylor2005@hotmail.com. All proceeds go toward Girlguiding Cayman Islands. CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST: The Grand Cayman chapter of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International is holding its annual Christmas breakfast at 8 a.m., at Lola’s restaurant in Camana Bay. Spouses are invited as guests. The speakers are Mr. and Mrs. Tom Mason. SUNDAY, NOV. 26 ANNIVERSARY SERVICE: Boatswain Bay Presbyterian Church invites all to attend their 87th anniversary service at 11 a.m. and Benefit Concert at 7 p.m. for Stanley “Stan” Ebanks. TUESDAY, NOV. 28 FAMILY RESOURCE CENTRE: The Family Resource Centre hosts a three-day domestic violence intervention training program today through Thursday. For further information or to register contact frc@gov.ky or 949-0006. THURSDAY, NOV. 30 LIGHT UP A LIFE: Cayman HospiceCare hosts its annual Light up a Life ceremony of remembrance at Cassia Court, Camana Bay. A minimum donation of $10 is requested. Pre-registration advised. All are welcome. Contact fundraising@ caymanhospicecare.ky or call 945-7447 for further information. FRIDAY, DEC. 1 INFINITY BALL: Celebrating the National Gallery’s 20 years anniversary and raising funds to make the visual arts available to everyone. Starts 6:30 p.m. Contact events@nationalgallery.org.ky or 945-8111. SUNDAY, DEC. 3 REDEDICATION: All are invited to a service of rededication of Gun Bay United Church. 3:30 p.m. GENERAL INTEREST CONCH AND WHELK SEASON: The Department of Environment reminds the public that the conch and whelk season opened Nov. 1. It is still lobster closed- season. The legal limit for conch is five per person per day or 10 per boat, whichever is less. Whelk limit is two-and-a-half gallons in the shell, or two-and-a-half pounds of processed whelks, per person, per day. CAYMAN CRAFT: The exhibition, “Revive!” – Celebrating contemporary and traditional craft from the Cayman Islands, is open at the National Gallery. OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIPS: The Ministry of Education is receiving applications for overseas scholarships for the 2018/2019 academic year. The application period is open until Jan. 31. Anyone planning to apply for a government scholarship for 2018/2019 is invited to complete the Overseas Scholarship Application at www. education.gov.ky. Contact the Scholarships Secretariat for any further information at scholarships@gov.ky or 244-2482. HURRICANE RELIEF: The Adventist Church has started a fund in aid of Hurricane Irma victims in the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas. Financial contributions may be made at the local office, 209 Walkers Road, during business hours, or at the nearest Adventist Church. Donations may also be deposited at the Royal Bank of Canada, to ADRA account number 500-6234. CERAMIC OPEN STUDIO: Offered by the Visual Arts Society on Wednesdays to adults. 9 a.m. to noon at the Watler House Studio, Pedro St. James. $15 per person or $25 per non-member. Clay, materials and firing facilities available. Contact info@visualartcayman.com. SPECIAL OLYMPICS: Volunteers needed for weekly sports training. Tuesdays – Track, bocce, football. Wednesdays – Lighthouse School swimming at Lions pool. Thursdays – Basketball. Saturdays – Adult swim. Golf is starting soon if interested. Contact Darrel Rankine, national director at soci@candw.ky or 916-2600. CANDLE MAKING: Visual Arts Society offers this workshop at Lucky House Pizza on Sundays 1:30-3:30 p.m. Fee of $45 per member or $55 per non-member includes materials for two candles. Parasol painting workshops, 4-6 p.m. Same fee, includes one parasol and paint. Contact info@visualartcayman.com. OPEN STUDIO: Painting, Mondays, 1-4:30 p.m. at Watler House, Pedro Castle grounds. $5 for members, $15 non-members. Fee includes use of studio, easels, painting boards and library. Thursday, 10 a.m. till noon for arts and crafts. Contact info@visualartcayman.com. BETHESDA COUNSELLING CENTRE: Caters to all who seek help. Open Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 68 Mary St. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946-6575. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday 5:30-7:30 p.m. Volunteers needed for front desk a few hours per week. Email humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or call 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, DVDs, cards etc., in good condition always needed. RED CROSS THRIFT SHOP: The Thrift Shop opening hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Friday hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and closed evenings. Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. COMMUNITY CHESS: Tuesdays 5-8 p.m., West Indies Wine Company. Join the Cayman Chess Club for a complimentary chess class and open challenges weekly. Anyone can learn to play and enjoy chess, even beginners. OPEN CANVAS: Every Wednesday. Visual Arts Society supports this event at KARoo Restaurant located in Camana Bay. 7-11 p.m. No fee. Easels provided for artist of all levels to come out and enjoy painting and socializing with other artists. info@visualartcayman.com or jar.was@gmail.com. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. The Playhouse Family Christmas will be held at the Prospect Playhouse on various dates from Nov. 23 until Dec. 3.7 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 CUC, OfReg plan major changes for consumers, renewable energy program TAD STONER tstoner@pinnaclemedialtd.com Seeking to diffuse peak power demands, the Ca- ribbean Utilities Company will make major changes, starting this month, to its renewable energy program ahead of a report about al- locating resources during the next 30 years. The changes, according to CUC and regulators at the Utilities and Compe- tition Office, will include raising the 9 megawatt cap on the Consumer Owned Re- newable Energy program, known as CORE, reducing some payments to program subscribers, expanding the size of private solar arrays – called “distributed energy re- sources” – and allowing them to connect to the national electricity grid without be- longing to CORE. The company says fur- ther changes will follow in January when it announces fresh charges for demand billing customers – tempo- rarily limited to large com- mercial enterprises. The changes come as CUC meets steadily rising power demands – reaching a record 105.6 megawatts on Aug. 29, according to its third-quarter report earlier this month – and makes increasing invest- ments to meet them. In July 2016, for example, the utility commissioned two new 18.7 MW diesel generators, costing $85 million, designed to last 25 years. CUC said it will ac- company its new “demand billing” scheme, based on a consumers’ highest use of power in any given month, by efforts to diffuse peak de- mand and control consump- tion, reducing pressure on both generation and distri- bution assets. The scheme took shape last summer when CUC in- stalled “smart meters” in all 29,000 customer premises, recording consumption in 15-minute intervals. Starting in January, CUC will bill its large commercial customers according to the greatest con- sumption in any quarter-hour interval during the month. If consumers can spread consumption to alternate hours, however, they can re- duce spikes in demand – and peak-hour charges. The com- pany declined to say if the scheme would ultimately ex- tend to residential clients. The plan, explained Louis Boucher, deputy executive di- rector for energy and utilities at the Utility Regulation and Competition Office, “has been under consideration for quite some time; there were several iterations and back-and-forth agreements and disagree- ments with CUC. The first it- eration was submitted by CUC in mid-December 2015.” For the moment, the price of a kilowatt hour of elec- tricity will remain the same for most consumers, but CUC and OfReg will announce new rates in January for its 129 “large commercial cli- ents” – defined as those using 38,800 kWh per month for three consecutive months, ac- cording to CUC. Part of the scheme to mit- igate peak demand involves changes to CORE, which requires privately owned solar-energy systems to be connected to Cayman’s trans- mission and distribution grid – unless the owner wishes to go “off grid,” abandoning the system entirely. CORE subscribers sell their power to CUC, then buy it back as required at dis- counted rates. The program, started in 2011, has a strict 9 MW limit, however, allo- cated between commercial and residential clients, and 1 MW reserved for govern- ment. The size of residen- tial solar systems has been limited to 10 kilowatts, en- suring individuals produce no more power than their own peak load. Both the regulator and the utility say, however, they will raise the 10 kW limit on system size, raise the 9 MW cap and allow distrib- uted energy resources unaf- filiated with CORE to con- nect to the grid “because the new demand rate billing mechanism will enable infu- sion of DERs on the grid,” Mr. Boucher said. “This is one of the con- sumer benefits of the new demand rate structure,” said CUC spokeswoman Pat Bynoe-Clarke. “It is de- signed to allow customers to save money on their bills by managing both energy and demand usage.” “Customers wanting to have DER systems outside of the CORE program will have the demand rates available to them as soon as the program is finalized between CUC and OfReg,” she said, adding that the demand rates “will be completely different” from CORE rates, and will “be rolled out in a phased-in ap- proach for large commercial customers in January 2018.” She did not say what the new CORE cap or subscriber rates might be, while Mr. Boucher said no decisions had been made about limits to distributed energy re- source sizes. CUC and OfReg are scheduled to start discus- sions this month. Non-CORE distributed energy resources may also help CUC boost renewable- energy contributions to the power grid, recommended in the company’s Integrated Re- source Plan, commissioned in August 2016 to study en- ergy and market trends for the next 30 years. CUC has released selected portions of the plan, and officials ex- pect full publication by the end of the year. CUC headquarters on Sparkys Lane, George TownThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS in the uniform divisions over the last few years,” the report noted. Reasons for leaving The vast majority of de- partures (80 percent) from the civil service in 2015/16 came because employees had either reached the end of their contracts or be- cause they resigned. Thirty-four Caymanians retired from the govern- ment service during the year, six of them for med- ical reasons and three to “improve the performance of the organization.” Thirteen employees did not have their con- tracts renewed. These in- clude expatriate workers and Caymanians who had been working beyond the retirement age. Ten workers were dis- missed from the gov- ernment service. Van Roekel, a 1980 grad- uate of the University of Iowa, was wearing a white shirt with the Hawkeye logo on it, and said she only had plans to watch Monday’s opening game. “Never been here,” she said of coming to Cayman. “First time here and I can’t wait to get to the beach. We got in last night after dark, walked down to the beach this morning. I’m going to watch basketball and then I’m going to the beach.” Frank Bartley III, a resi- dent of Baton Rouge, Loui- siana, was part of a large group of Louisiana fans milling about before the game. Mr. Bartley, the fa- ther of Louisiana guard Frank Bartley IV, said the group had been looking for- ward to the tournament for quite some time. “This has been a won- derful experience since we’ve been here,” said Mr. Bartley about an hour before his son took the court. “Man, we wouldn’t trade it right now for nothing. This is where we want to be.” Mr. Bartley said his group follows the Ragin’ Cajuns “re- ligiously,” and they have had quite a bit of time to pre- pare for this trip. Now that it is finally here, they want to watch their team win and then take in more of the sights and sounds. “The view’s been beau- tiful,” Mr. Bartley said. “The scenery has been great. The food’s been excellent. The people have been extremely nice over here. They’re very personable people. We’re re- ally enjoying everything we’ve experienced so far.” Minister of Tourism Moses Kirkconnell thanked the as- sembled audience before the first game and spoke about what the government hoped the tournament may become. “As you sit in this gym- nasium today, I want you to see the vision that we be- lieve is the way forward,” he said. “We have built this for the students, for the young people of this country and partnered with people like yourselves to have tourna- ments here in the Caribbean. We’re extremely pleased with the success of the first tour- nament that we’re having.” Several other members of the Legislative Assembly at- tended Monday’s opening game, including Dwayne Sey- mour, David Wight, Joey Hew and Austin Harris. Laurie-Ann Holding, the managing director of events company Kelly Holding, said that it took 100 volunteers – staggered in three different shifts – to staff the three- day tournament. It took two years, she said, to plan and prepare for the eight- team tournament. “This started over a year and a half ago with signing teams and confirming teams,” she said. “The government and the entire crew that built this facility, I’d say it’s about two years in the making, with really intense work in the last six months. It’s very re- lieving to be here today.” The hope, over time, is that the Cayman Islands Classic will become a staple of the preseason basket- ball schedule and that it will spark a more intense love of the game among the local populace. At this point, Mr. Kirkconnell said, any- thing is possible. “I want to say to you that for us here and for you, sport is so important be- cause it breaks down all the barriers,” he said. “It speaks a language that everybody clearly understands and it allows us to build communi- ties and countries together. My hope from this first tour- nament is that the players will have a tremendous time and our young people will see how they perform and how they act.” specific circumstances of the applicant and Cabinet is only allowed to grant up to four per year. The figures presented to the Legislative Assembly were given as a result of a parliamentary question asked by Bodden Town West MLA Chris Saunders. Mr. Saunders said he asked for the num- bers after trying unsuccess- fully to obtain them via the government’s Freedom of In- formation process. Mr. Saunders said he was researching grants of status and awards of permanent residence for information he would later use to update the old ‘Vision 2008’ stra- tegic plan, which would look ahead to the next 20 years. “One of the things I’m mindful of is that we’re looking at the public school population now, we’re looking at a large number of children of Caymanian status holders or PR-holders who will be entitled to receive public school education in the next five years,” he said. During the same period be- tween January 2009 and mid- November of this year, Pre- mier McLaughlin said more than 3,100 Caymanians ap- plied to the Immigration De- partment to obtain proof that they had Caymanian status, which is similar to locally ac- knowledged citizenship rights within the overseas territory. This is known as “ac- knowledgement of the right to be Caymanian” and Mr. McLaughlin said a person would typically need it to prove they had status while applying for a job or if their non-Caymanian spouse ap- plies for citizenship rights. None of these would be considered new grants of status, he said. “Some entity or some indi- vidual has got to make a pro- nouncement as to whether or not a person is Caymanian,” he said. “That has fallen to immigration who, believe you me, would rather not have to deal with it.” Mr. McLaughlin said ob- taining this seemingly simple clarification of basic rights is often anything but that. The “proof” required apparently becomes more difficult to ob- tain over time for two types of individuals, multigenera- tional “born” Caymanians and those individuals who came here when they were young or who were born here to non- Caymanian parents and who never regularized their Cay- manian status later in life. The latter difficulty, some- times referred to by local immigration professionals as territorial laws creating “ghost Caymanians,” came before the Legislative As- sembly last week. It involves the case of a woman, Angelyn Zayas, who was granted Cay- manian status by Cabinet. “[This is] a woman … who was born in Cayman, went to school in Cayman … consid- ered herself a Caymanian all the way through,” the premier said. “She wound up mar- rying a Cuban national who applied for a residence and employment rights certifi- cate based on her Caymanian status. When immigration asked her to prove she was Caymanian, she could not.” In addition to the Cayma- nian “acknowledgements,” Mr. McLaughlin said another 1,188 people had received Cayma- nian status acknowledged ei- ther at the time they turned 18 or after they turned 18. These are typically young people who are born in Cayman or who move to Cayman when they are young and whose par- ents receive Caymanian status before they turn 18. Those children usually have to apply for status upon reaching the age of the ma- jority. Provision was made for a few hundred who did not regularize their status upon reaching age 18 to do so later in life. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Higher turnover for gov’t teachers, lawyers Slam dunk: US college basketball comes to Cayman CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Thousands receive ‘right to be Caymanian’ since 2009 Since 2009, more than 3,700 people have been granted Caymanian status. - PHOTO: CHRIS COURT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 80-71 in the opening game of the Cayman Islands Classic college basketball tournament at the John Gray gymnasium Monday. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY AMSTERDAM, PARIS PICKED TO HOST EU AGENCIES AFTER BREXIT BRUSSELS (AP) – The Eu- ropean Union went back to its roots Monday by picking cities from two of its founding nations – France and the Netherlands – to host key agencies that will have move once Britain leaves the bloc in 2019. During voting so tight they were both decided by a lucky draw, EU members except Britain chose Am- sterdam over Italy’s Milan as the new home of the Eu- ropean Medicines Agency and Paris over Dublin to host the European Banking Authority. Both currently are located in London. “We needed to draw lots in both cases,” Es- tonian EU Affairs Min- ister Matti Maasikas, who chaired the meeting and in both cases made the deci- sive selection from a big transparent bowl. Frankfurt, home of the European Central Bank, surprisingly failed to be- come one of the two fi- nalists competing for the banking agency. The relocations made necessary by the refer- endum to take Britain out of the EU are expected to cost the country over 1,000 jobs directly and more in secondary employment. The outcomes of the votes also left newer EU member states in eastern and southern Europe with some bitterness. Several had hoped to be tapped for a lucrative prize that would be a sign the bloc was truly committed to outreach. Some 890 top jobs will leave Britain for Am- sterdam with the Euro- pean Medicines Agency, giving the Dutch a wel- come economic boost and more prestige. The EMA is responsible for the eval- uation, supervision and monitoring of medicines. The Paris-bound European Banking Authority, which has around 180 staff mem- bers, monitors the regula- tion and supervision of Eu- rope’s banking sector. After a heated battle for the medicines agency, Am- sterdam and Milan both had 13 votes Monday. That left Estonia, which cur- rently holds the rotating EU presidency, to break the tie with a draw from the bowl. Copenhagen fin- ished third, ahead of Slo- vakian capital Bratislava in the vote involving EU nations excluding Britain. One country ab- stained in the vote. “A solid bid that was de- feated only by a draw. What a mockery,” Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Twitter. Dutch Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra was elated. “It is a fantastic re- sult,” he said. “It shows that we can deal with the im- pact of Brexit” The European Medi- cines Agency has less than 17 months to complete the move, but Amsterdam was considered ideally suited because of its location, the building it had on offer and other facilities. Even though rules were set up to make it a fair decision, the process turned into a deeply po- litical contest. Zijlstra said “in the end, it is a very strategic game of chess.” EU members except Britain chose Amsterdam over Italy’s Milan as the new home of the European Medicines Agency and Paris over Dublin to host the European Banking Authority.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2017 Norway gives stiff sentence to IS fighter A Norwegian court has sentenced a 34-year-old man to seven and a half years in prison for joining the Islamic State group and fighting alongside them in Syria. The man, identified as Kristian Michelsen, was arrested by Turkish authorities in 2016 and handed over to Norway. Zimbabwe ruling party: Mugabe could be impeached in 2 days German government talks collapse; Merkel seeks to reassure BERLIN (AP) – German Chan- cellor Angela Merkel pledged early Monday to maintain stability after the Free Dem- ocratic Party pulled out of talks on forming a new gov- ernment with her conserva- tive bloc and the left-leaning Greens, raising the possi- bility of new elections. Merkel told reporters that the parties had been close to reaching a consensus on how to proceed with formal coali- tion talks but that the Free Democrats decided abruptly to pull out just before mid- night Sunday – a move she said she respected, but found “regrettable.” She said she would con- sult with Germany’s presi- dent later in the day to brief him on the negotiations and discuss what comes next. Without bringing the Free Democrats back to the table, Merkel will be forced to try to continue her current gov- erning coalition with the So- cial Democrats, although that center-left party has said it will not do so, or she could try to form a minority gov- ernment, which was seen as unlikely. Otherwise Ger- many will have to hold new elections. “It is at least a day of deep reflection on how to go for- ward in Germany,” Merkel said. “But I will do every- thing possible to ensure that this country will be well led through these dif- ficult weeks.” Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats and sister Bavaria-only Christian Social Union, the pro-busi- ness Free Democrats and the left-leaning Greens had al- ready blown past Merkel’s own deadline of Thursday to agree on a basis for opening formal negotiations on a co- alition of all four parties, a configuration that has never been tried at a national level in Germany. Key sticking points were the issues of migration and climate change. Among other things the Greens were pushing for Ger- many to end its use of coal and combustion engines by 2030, though they had sig- naled they were open to some compromise. The other parties are also committed to reducing carbon emissions, but Merkel’s bloc had not put a date on when to phase out coal. The Free Democrats also expressed concern about what the moves would mean for jobs and Germany’s eco- nomic competitiveness. On migration, the Chris- tian Social Union wanted an annual cap on refugees, while the Greens sought to allow more categories of recent mi- grants to bring their closest relatives to join them. Merkel said “we thought we were on a path where we could have reached agree- ment,” when that the Free Democrats decided to pull out. Free Democrat leader Christian Lindner told re- porters that his party de- cided to withdraw rather than further compromise its principles and sign on to policies the party was not convinced of. “It is better not to govern, than to govern falsely,” he said. Greens politician Rein- hard Buetikofer criticized Lindner’s decision, saying on Twitter that the Free Demo- crat had chosen “a kind of populist agitation instead of governmental responsibility.” Looking ahead, if it comes to a new election, polls cur- rently suggest it would pro- duce a very similar parlia- ment to the current one, which would make efforts to form a new government simi- larly difficult. Though Merkel could also abandon the Free Demo- crats and the Greens and in- stead form a coalition with the center-left Social Demo- crats, her current partners in the outgoing government, the Social Democrats have been adamant about going into opposition following its disastrous result in the Sept. 24 election. Party leader Martin Schulz as recently as Sunday again ruled out the possibility of pairing up with Merkel’s bloc to form a new government. HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – Zimbabwe’s ruling party ex- pressed confidence Monday that longtime President Robert Mugabe could be im- peached within two days, while the world’s oldest head of state ignored the party’s midday deadline to resign. As ruling party lawmakers began meeting on impeach- ment plans, deputy secretary for legal affairs Paul Mang- wana said they would move a motion for impeachment on Tuesday and set up a parlia- mentary committee, and on Wednesday the committee would report back to all law- makers and “we vote him out.” The main charge against the 93-year-old Mugabe is “allowing his wife to usurp government powers” and that “he is too old and cannot even walk without help,” Mangwana told reporters. He said the ruling ZANU- PF party needs the backing of the MDC opposition group to have enough votes in Parliament but “we have talked to them and they are supporting us.” Zimbabweans were stunned by Mugabe’s defi- ance during a national ad- dress Sunday night in which the increasingly isolated president, put under military house arrest last week, had been expected to step down. Mugabe did acknowledge “a whole range of concerns” about the chaotic state of the government and the economy, which has collapsed since he took power after indepen- dence from white minority rule in 1980. The military appears to favor a voluntary resigna- tion for Mugabe, one of Af- rica’s last remaining libera- tion leaders, to maintain a veneer of legality in the polit- ical transition and avoid ac- cusations of a coup. Mugabe, in turn, is likely using what- ever leverage he has left to try to preserve his legacy or even protect himself and his family from possible prosecution. Amid the political con- fusion, the government on Monday urged Cabinet min- isters to pursue business as usual. Meanwhile, opposi- tion activists and the influ- ential liberation war veterans association announced more demonstrations to pressure Mugabe to go. “Your time is up,” veterans association leader Chris Mutsvangwa said at a press conference. He suggested that the military was still be- holden to Mugabe and com- pelled to protect him because he is officially their “com- mander in chief.” The war veterans’ asso- ciation will go to court to argue that Mugabe is “der- elict of his executive duty,” Mutsvangwa said. Mugabe was stripped of his party leadership on Sunday by the ruling par- ty’s Central Committee but said in his speech he would preside over a party con- gress next month. That congress is expected to ratify his firing as party chief, the expulsion of the unpopular first lady and the naming of Mugabe’s recently fired deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to succeed him. The firing of Mnangagwa and the positioning of first lady Grace Mugabe to suc- ceed her husband as presi- dent led the military to step in last week. Mugabe has discussed his possible exit on two occasions with mili- tary commanders. Some people in the cap- ital, Harare, have become more cautious about talking to reporters. That contrasted with the jubilation and open condemnation of Mugabe over the weekend, when the bulk of Harare’s population of roughly 1.6 million ap- peared to be in the streets, dancing and taking selfies with soldiers in an event backed by the military. At the University of Zim- babwe, students protested and refused to sit for exams, demanding that Mugabe step down. The spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Students Union, Zivai Mhetu, said they want all universities shut down until he does. The once-formidable Mugabe is now virtually pow- erless, largely confined to his private home by the military. Yet he sought to project au- thority in his speech Sunday night, which he delivered after shaking hands with security force commanders. The army commander himself leaned over a couple of times to help the president find his place on the page he was reading. “I, as the president of Zim- babwe, as their commander in chief, do acknowledge the issues they have drawn my attention to, and do believe that these were raised in the spirit of honesty and out of deep and patriotic concern for the stability of our nation and for the welfare of our people,” Mugabe said. The once-formidable Mugabe is now virtually powerless, largely confined to his private home by the military. I will do everything possible to ensure that this country will be well led through these difficult weeks.” GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL Pedestrians walk past a news stand in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Monday. – PHOTO: APNext >