SECTION | PAGE ## TITLE FOR THE SPORT/ BUSINESS SKYBOX FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS May movies at Camana Bay HospiceCare hosts Big Bash All-inclusive annual event promises entertainment aplenty B6 Events On Stage Events ■ EVENTS Junior Batabano Young paraders prepare for pageantry in George Town. B2 Be a hero for the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre Special screening of ‘Avengers’ film to benefit charity B5 Concerts in South Florida Justin Timberlake hails the start of summer season B7 STOLI FLAVOURS 2 for $56 Until 31 July Fine Wine & Spirits TORTUGA Due to ongoing renovations at the airport, we encourage you to visit our stores and BUY BEFORE YOU FLY ® Camana Bay Thrillers, dramas and comedies include latest ‘Star Wars’ film B4 PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY CAYMAN WEEKENDER Junior Batabano EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 EXPECTED FORECAST: ‘BLUE SKIES’ AHEAD FOR NATIONAL AIRLINE High of 87 Low of 76 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet. ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 75 CENTS – FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 SEVEN MILE BEACH WATERFRONT WALKERS ROAD TOWN CENTRE PLAZA RED BAY ORIGINAL CHICKEN SANDWICH BIG KING ‘Foots’ obscenity trial begins on Cayman Brac KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com The trial of Cayman Brac artist Ronald “Foots” Kynes began Thursday on the Brac, with the prosecution giving an opening state- ment and presenting two of its witnesses. Mr. Kynes was charged last October with possession of an obscene publication in rela- tion to his July arrest for refusing to remove a series of nude sculptures displayed on his roadside property, which are publicly visible. At the opening of the trial, Deputy Di- rector of Public Prosecutions Patrick Moran described four allegedly obscene statues that were displayed by Mr. Kynes: two statues de- picting women with skulls near their vaginas, one with a female seemingly performing oral sex on another female, and one with a female kissing the breast of another female. Mr. Moran alleged that Mr. Kynes delib- erately placed the statues in a publicly view- able area – beside South Side Road – to “create a scene.” According to the prosecutor, Mr. Kynes was interviewed by police last September, when he denied that the statues are obscene. Mr. Moran said that Mr. Kynes told po- lice the statues depicting females with skulls were Egyptian and Greek goddesses. The statue allegedly depicting oral sex was, in fact, depicting women in love, Mr. Kynes NRA DIRECTOR SUSPENDED IN PROBE Investigation into ‘misuse’ of government resources BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Paul Parchment, the managing director of Cayman’s National Roads Authority, has been placed on leave following a decision of the au- thority’s board of directors. According to sources familiar with the matter, the National Roads Authority Board, which oversees the agency responsible for road construction and right of way manage- ment in Cayman, discussed the issue during a meeting this week. Board Chairman Donovan Ebanks issued the following statement late Wednesday: “The board of directors of the National Roads Au- thority has commissioned an investigation into possible misuse of NRA resources by a senior employee. The employee has been placed on leave pending the completion of the investigation.” Mr. Ebanks’s statement did not identify Mr. Parchment as the employee placed on leave, but numerous government sources con- tacted by the Cayman Compass Wednesday confirmed that Mr. Parchment was the em- ployee in question. Calls and text messages seeking a com- ment from Mr. Parchment sent on Wednesday and Thursday were not returned. An interim director for the NRA had not been named by press time Thursday. It was understood that video evidence Five bidders vying for port project JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Outline bids from five different groups seeking to build Cayman’s new cruise and cargo dock are currently being assessed as the project inches toward the start line. The Central Tenders Committee will meet on May 9 to draw up a shortlist for a final round of bidding. The deadline for those detailed final submissions is July, with a contract ex- pected to be awarded in September. The current estimated cost of the piers planned for George Town harbor is still $180 million, as per the initial Outline Busi- ness Case for the project, according to Min- istry of Tourism officials. However, the ongoing bid process will ultimately determine the final price tag. Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell has insisted the process carries no finan- cial risk to government because the bidders are being asked to pay for the piers them- selves, in return for a share of the profits they generate. “The financial modelling formula (De- sign, Build, Finance, Maintain) will essen- tially be structured so that the bidder fi- nances the construction of the piers in return for a share of the annual revenue collected per passenger,” the ministry said in response to questions from the Cayman Compass this week. Currently, a charge of approximately US$20 is levied on all arriving cruise pas- sengers in Grand Cayman, a mix of port and government taxes and a separate fee Five bidders are being considered for the cruise and cargo port project in George Town harbor. – PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » Ronald ‘Foots’ Kynes leaves Summary Court on Cayman Brac, Thursday afternoon. - PHOTO: KEN SILVA PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS CARIBBEANCAFEA Lunch /Dinner 11am-10pm Daily A Cayman Orthopaedic Group DR. FRANK SMITH, MB, ChB., FRCSC Orthopaedic Surgeon & Reconstructive Surgery will be at #1 Smith Road Plaza Monday,30th April, 2018 to Friday, 11th May, 2018 Please call 945-8380 for appointments Judge: Firearm offense is ‘depressingly familiar’ Defendant pleads guilty after DNA evidence found CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Justice Michael Wood im- posed the mandatory sen- tence of seven years in a case of an unlicensed firearm on Thursday. “It’s depressingly familiar on the island for young men to have firearms,” he said. He noted a previous occa- sion on which he had sen- tenced four men to terms ranging from seven to 13 years for unlicensed firearms, and he had dealt with sim- ilar cases since. In this case, Kenny Ray Si- taram admitted possession of a handgun and a maga- zine with four live rounds of ammunition. The judge made it plain there were no exceptional cir- cumstances that could lower the sentence. He did, however, make six-month sentences concurrent for the ammuni- tion and for possession of ganja with intent to supply. Senior Crown counsel Candia James set out the facts. She said police were called to an altercation at the Esso gas station on Walkers Road in the early hours of Nov. 16, 2017. Their atten- tion was drawn to a male who ran to a white car, which then drove off. Officers followed the car and stopped it on Smith Road. Mr. Sitaram was the driver. The officers found a gun magazine in the footwell of the vehicle, on the driver’s side, under the floor mat. Mr. Sitaram ran from the scene and was not immedi- ately apprehended. Officers continued their search and found a semi-au- tomatic handgun on the pas- senger’s side, also under a floor mat. Police then went to Mr. Sitaram’s house, where they discovered 1.2 pounds of ganja and scales with ganja traces. Mr. Sitaram subsequently surrendered himself to po- lice. He provided a statement in which he said he had run from the scene out of panic and another man had the gun. Ms. James said that man was spoken with and he denied possession. Tests showed DNA matching Mr. Sitaram’s on the magazine and on the grip of the gun. The other man’s DNA was not found. Testing later showed that the cartridges in the maga- zine were viable. Attorney Crister Brady agreed there was little he could say in mitigation, ex- cept that the amount of ganja was not significant in terms of the quantities for supply generally dealt with in the Summary Court. He sug- gested a concurrent sentence and Justice Wood agreed. Justice Wood noted that, at 25, Mr. Sitaram was the father of young children and would miss out on a signifi- cant part of their growing up. He ordered that any time in custody should count to- ward sentence. Extradition sought for ‘El Chapo’ case suspect MIAMI (AP) — A Canadian known as “Russian Mike” who has been charged in the drug trafficking case involving notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman sought Thursday to block his extradition to the U.S. from the Caribbean. Mykhaylo Koretskyy, who was born in Ukraine, appeared before a three- judge panel at an extradition hearing on the Dutch Ca- ribbean island of Curacao, where he was arrested ear- lier this year after arriving on a flight from Canada. It was a continuation of a hearing that began Tuesday. Koretskyy, 43, has been indicted in federal court in New York on charges that include conspiracy to im- port cocaine. U.S. court re- cords list him among the defendants in the case that includes Guzman and say he also goes by the nickname “Cobra.” The indictment says he took part in an alleged drug smuggling conspiracy from 2008 to 2014, but does not go into detail about any connection to Guzman, who was turned over to U.S. au- thorities in 2017. Guzman has pleaded not guilty to charges that his Sinaloa cartel laundered billions of dollars and oversaw a campaign of murders and kidnappings. Koretskyy was arrested upon arriving in Curacao with his family in Jan- uary and has been in cus- tody ever since. The island, which is part of the Neth- erlands, has an extradi- tion treaty with the U.S. but a decision on whether to send him to New York is not expected for several weeks. Lawyers for Koretskyy in the U.S. and Curacao did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. DELAYED REPORT IN SOUTH SOUND ROBBERY A woman was robbed walking along South Sound road late Sunday, but the incident apparently was not reported to police until two days later. The Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Service said the victim was approached and grabbed by a sus- pect just before midnight Sunday as she walked along South Sound Road. Police said the man demanded the victim’s handbag, which she threw down during a struggle with the suspect. Investi- gating officers said the sus- pect attempted to pull the woman into some nearby bushes but fled when she shouted for help. The victim suffered bruises in the incident, according to police. No arrests were immedi- ately reported. Tests showed DNA matching Mr. Sitaram’s on the magazine and on the grip of the gun. Part of the new depar- tures hall at the Owen Rob- erts International Airport will open Tuesday, May 1, the Cayman Islands Airports Au- thority has advised. JetBlue and United Air- lines will continue to serve their departing passengers out of their current gates, ac- cessed through the existing departures lounge, until the following Monday, at which time they too will move over to the new area. All other airlines will be in the new hall from next Tuesday. The new departures hall, when fully complete, will feature nine gates, duty- free shops, a children’s play area and a food court, ac- cording the CIAA. A tender process to deter- mine which businesses will be granted contracts to run the shops and restaurants is not yet complete. Airport’s new departures area to partially open next week The new departures hall at Owen Roberts International Airport is ready for its partial opening on Tuesday. DIVE GEAR STOLEN FROM PORCH A significant amount of diving gear was reported stolen from the porch of a West Bay home Wednesday. Royal Cayman Islands Police said two bags of scuba diving gear, a pair of Mares Avanti Quattro fins and two H2O black and yellow dive masks were taken. The equipment was dis- covered missing around 7 a.m. Wednesday, police said. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call 911 or the West Bay Police Station at 649-3999. The indictment says he took part in an alleged drug smuggling conspiracy from 2008 to 2014.The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 186381_PRINT-IH-Ad_FP_CC_ChrtyDrPage 1 4/17/18 2:31:41 PMThe 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. 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 findtheirownway” Last year, 61 million people flew in and out of the Denver International Airport – that is more than 167,000 per day. Next year, if discussions go well, some of those travelers will be heading to or from the Cayman Islands, on board our national carrier Cayman Airways. Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell told business leaders Wednesday that Cayman Airways is “very close” to announcing a direct service to a new gateway city “in the western part of the United States.” The Compass under- stands that Denver – home to the United States’ sixth-bus- iest airport – is one of the cities under consideration. If the deal goes through, we predict scores of “Mile- High City” travelers will flock to our low-lying islands for a taste of the good life down here at sea level. If they get homesick for heights, we recommend taking in the breathtaking sea-to-sound panorama from the 75-foot- tall Camana Bay Observation Tower … or if they are more adventurous, perhaps scaling the island’s newest “tower” – the 70-foot-high stack of containers going up at the Port Authority’s Cargo Distribution Centre on North Sound Road. (We’re joking, of course; don’t even consider it.) Even if Denver turns out not to be the “mystery” airport being wooed by our national airline, we are glad to see Cayman Airways “spreading its wings” to unlock tourism potential from prosperous western markets, from Los Angeles to Vancouver, and every point in between. “We want to open the west coast because we believe it is an under-served market for Cayman,” Mr. Kirkconnell told business leaders at a recent Chamber of Commerce breakfast briefing. That seems wise, given the Midwest- to-Eastern tilt of current scheduled flights. In addition to Cayman Airways’ direct flights to Miami, New York, Tampa, Chicago and Dallas (not to mention Kingston, Montego Bay, Havana, La Ceiba and Roatan), other airlines currently offer service to London (via Nassau), Toronto, and U.S. cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. But, as of today, no commercial traveler starting west of Dallas can sink their toes in Cayman’s white sands without juggling connecting flights. The untapped potential is enormous: More than 50 million people live on America’s west coast, alone. Cayman Airways is right to identify this as a potentially fruitful market. When Cayman Airways was launched in 1968, it was with the recognition that Cayman’s fledgling tourism industry would struggle if visitors struggled to arrive on our shores. The airline’s primary mission, therefore, was not to make a profit, but to facilitate the free and easy flow of travel. Over the years, the national airline’s “prime directive” has sometimes led to operational deficits that demanded significant infusion of government funds. Ideally, Cayman Airways would “break even” while breaking new ground by demonstrating the viability of new markets – enticing commercial airlines to follow its lead. In the airline’s 50th year, that purpose is no less important. As we mentioned in Wednesday’s edito- rial, there are dozens of exciting development projects under way, including several luxury hotels and condomin- iums, along with our expanded airport. Cayman Airways can help ensure those rooms are filled. Over the next 50 years, airlift capacity will continue to play a central role in fueling Cayman’s economy. The best scenario would be one in which Cayman Airways continues to identify new, profitable routes, enticing commercial carriers to add Cayman to their flight plans. As more airlines make further connections to Cayman and the Caribbean, adjustments will continually have to be made to keep Cayman Airways ahead of the curve, and keep our little islands “one stop away” from the rest of the world. Expected forecast: ‘Blue skies’ ahead for national airline FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Apprenticeships offer an alternative to college After decades worrying about a shortage of good- paying jobs, America has too many – manufacturing, con- struction and increasingly service businesses cannot find the qualified workers needed to expand. This is a significant barrier to perma- nently restoring 3 percent to 4 percent growth so that the nation can meet the needs of an aging population, finance its commitments to defend freedom – through our mili- tary and costly instruments of soft power – and invest in infrastructure and R&D without becoming danger- ously indebted. America is overinvesting in traditional higher edu- cation – it spends a much higher share of GDP than do other countries but gets too little return on these re- sources. Employers report that 4 in 10 graduates lack the critical thinking skills necessary for entry-level pro- fessional work, and too often four years of college adds little to students’ analyt- ical abilities. No one should be sur- prised. Universities are pouring millions in attrac- tive amenities and big time sports. Students spend about one-third less time in class and studying than in the 1960s but have plenty of lei- sure to demonstrate against alleged micro aggression, sexism and racism of conser- vative professors and engage in social activism enabled by university presidents bent on molding intolerant liberals. With nearly 70 percent of high school graduates en- rolling in two- or four-year colleges, too many lack the academic abilities and in- terest for the abstract study that goes into calculus, lit- erary criticism or economics. Many would profit more from a skills-based apprenticeship or a year or two of hands-on, focused training. Parents and students should not be blamed, be- cause employers give pref- erence to college gradu- ates in hiring for many jobs that hardly require the eso- teric stuff we do at universi- ties – for example, insurance adjusters, cellphone sales, makeup artists and the like. Diplomas are used as evi- dence applicants can follow instructions, navigate a bu- reaucracy and show up every day – the only real require- ments other than a big loan or rich parents for obtaining a B.A. these days. Finishing college pays 73 percent more than going to work after high school but that is an average, which in- cludes engineers, accoun- tants and the like. Many land in low-paying dead-end jobs and saddled with a lifetime of debt when more practical alternatives are available. The Department of Labor certifies apprenticeship pro- grams. Usually completed in well less than four years, those generally offer about $15 an hour while students take courses and get hands- on experience. On completion, 87 percent of students are in positions that pay an average of $60,000 a year – for col- lege graduates the average is about $50,000 and sub- tracting the above-mentioned skills-based majors, the col- lege average is a lot less. About two-thirds of ap- prenticeships are in construc- tion and manufacturing, but President Trump sees great opportunity in the service sector and has doubled the DOL budget for cultivating apprenticeships. Private ac- tors like Wells Fargo, profes- sional services firm Aon PLC and the National Restau- rant Association are building out programs. In the tech sector, Course Report connects students to some 95 coding schools – those annually matricu- late about 23,000 graduates through programs that last about 14 weeks, cost about $11,000 and place graduates in jobs with starting salaries averaging nearly $71,000. Through the online portal Coursera, Google offers an 8-to-12 month IT Support Professional Certificate pro- gram that connects grad- uates with employers like Bank of America, Walmart and GE Digital. More formalized schools are emerging like Holberton School in San Francisco, which trains software and operations engineers in two years and the fees are 17 per- cent of students’ internship and first three years post- graduation earnings. These less-expensive al- ternatives are not available in enough industries and enough places, making the vast network of community colleges and state four-year colleges the default option for most high school coun- selors and parents. Many are too often located far from po- tential students in economic depressed areas hard hit by globalization. The available seats in many programs fill up too quickly – often the one-to- two-year programs noted above have acceptance rates that rival Ivy League institutions. Redirecting federal and state funding from higher ed- ucation is sorely needed to encourage more of these in- novative programs – fewer students in college and more in skills-based training would make young workers more productive and pros- perous, less indebted and better enabled to embark on independent adult lives. Peter Morici is an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist. © The Washington Times, LLC. PETER MORICI Redirecting federal and state funding from higher education is sorely needed to encourage more of these innovative programs.The islands’ most-trusted news source 5 CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 CAMANA BAY WELCOMES BANG & OLUFSEN BY AUDIOPHILE Bang & Olufsen by Audiophile is Grand Cayman’s exclusive dealer for the world-renowned Danish audio-visual brand. The Camana Bay location is a part of The Audiophile Group, which specialises in the design, supply, installation and maintenance of complete high-performance home and commercial technology systems for home owners, businesses and developers. Located on the Paseo Mon-Sat: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. +1.345.623.8080 beocayman.com CAMANABAY.COM where life blossoms6 LOCAL NEWS FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Cayman cybercrimes shoot up since 2014 BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com While the number of cybercrimes reported in Cayman – computer scams like phishing, compromising email accounts or malware – has quintupled within the past four years, the local po- lice service’s ability to deal with such matters has not. Police Commissioner Derek Byrne said last week that two people, a police officer and a civilian tech expert, are now staffing the newly created Cyber Crimes Investigation Unit which recorded more than 50 cybercrime reports last year. That unit has been separated from the RCIPS Fi- nancial Crime Unit, which deals with finance-related criminal probes. That is two more people focused on cybercrime than the RCIPS had when Com- missioner Byrne arrived in Cayman in late 2016, the commissioner confirmed when asked about the po- lice service’s capacity to cope with such investigations. In 2016, a Ministry of Home Affairs report indi- cated that the RCIPS lacked both a “proper analytical un- derstanding” of these types of crimes and an operation plan to address them. Following a December 2015 government directive is- sued to the Information and Communications Technology Authority, the RCIPS began developing a cybercrime strategy in consultation with ICTA and representatives from the local financial ser- vices industry. Commissioner Byrne said a plan is now at least par- tially in place, and while the police service’s ability to in- vestigate “cyber-enabled” crime is limited at present, the capacity is increasing. Eventually, the goal is to in- corporate digital forensics, cybercrime analysis and in- vestigation to support law enforcement in combatting both more traditional crim- inal activity and cybercrime. The difficulty with cy- bercrime is the criminals are usually advancing their methods at a much faster rate and law enforcement has to play catch up, according to Ministry of Home Af- fairs officials. The ministry’s annual re- port for the 2015/16 fiscal year stated, “Phishing, trolling, malware, online scams, revenge pornography and the proliferation of child abuse imagery are each largely unreported and un- recorded [in Cayman]. More- over, the RCIPS currently lacks a strategic framework and operational action plan for tackling cybercrimes. “Consequently, crimi- nals are continuing to ex- ploit technology and the tools to preserve anonymity online [at] a disproportion- ately faster rate in compar- ison to the speed with which the RCIPS has introduced the skills, resources and the tools to combat cybercrime.” Last week’s release of crime statistics data from the RCIPS included the de- partment’s first attempt to report the extent of known cybercrime activity within the islands. According to those stats, in 2010, incidents of re- ported cybercrime were “rare to nonexistent,” according to a police report on the issue made public last week. Cy- bercrime reports saw a major spike in 2014, going from just a handful to about 40 reports in one year. Since then, the number of reports of cybercrime has increased through 2017. The main cause of the 2014 spike, according to police, was “business email compromise.” “The criminal objective behind these activities was to compromise online banking accounts,” the RCIPS crime report noted. “This was the primary cause for the rise in cybercrime from 2014 to 2016, along with phishing emails using the brands of local retail banks and being sent to customers and the general public.” Last year, “business email spoofing” overtook email compromise reports and the target appears to have prin- cipally been the Cayman Is- lands government. “There were 11 busi- ness email spoofs reported in 2017,” the police report noted. “There has been an increase in spoofed emails that attempted to mimic the email accounts of both the RCIPS and the Immigra- tion Department.” Commissioner Byrne said public safety threats from cybercrime would only con- tinue to grow in the near and medium-term and the RCIPS, as well as other re- gional police services, must prepare for it. “This is really a growing threat. [Cybercrime policing] is a global requirement,” Mr. Byrne said. “Its inclusion in the [crime] stats at the start of this year indicate the at- tention we’re paying to that aspect of crime.” “This is really a growing threat. [cybercrime policing] is a global requirement.” DEREK BYRNE, police commissioner RCIPS Commissioner Derek Byrne East End man pleads guilty to burglary CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man arrested for bur- glary on Tuesday pleaded guilty Thursday when he ap- peared in Summary Court. Brian Percival Rankine, 48, admitted entering a resi- dence on John McLean Drive as a trespasser with intent to steal. That offense oc- curred on Monday, April 23, during daylight hours. A woman who was in the home discovered him and he fled. She recognized him and a report was made to police. The next day Mr. Ran- kine was arrested at his own home. During the arrest, he was alleged to have used threatening, abusive or in- sulting language or behavior to a police officer. In court, Mr. Rankine told Magistrate Valdis Fol- dats he was guilty of the burglary and guilty of con- suming cocaine. He asked to be allowed to apply to the Drug Rehabilitation Court. Crown counsel Garcia Kelly was asked to review the charge of causing ha- rassment, alarm or distress to the officer. No bail application was made for the defendant, who was represented by at- torney Neil Kumar. The magistrate remanded Mr. Rankine in custody until Thursday, May 17. ROAD CLOSURES FOR BATABANO EVENTS The following road clo- sures will be carried out over the next two weekends to facilitate the annual Ba- tabano carnival and asso- ciated events, according to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. Insane! Wet Fete On Thursday, April 26, from 6:30 p.m. to 3 a.m., Har- bour Drive will be closed be- tween Shedden Road and Fort Street in order to facili- tate preparation of the event. The following day, Friday, April 27, from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., Harbour Drive will be closed between Shedden Road and Fort Street. Junior Batabano Parade On Saturday, April 28, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Elgin Avenue will be closed be- tween Shedden Road and the Glass House. The parade will travel north from the Glass House on Elgin Avenue, turn left onto Shedden Road, right onto Harbour Drive, right onto Fort Street, right onto Edward Street, then con- tinue onto Elgin Avenue and finish at the Glass House. Po- lice officers will be directing traffic on these roads during the parade and motorists are asked to exercise caution in these areas. Carnival Friday Night Fete On Thursday, May 3, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., Har- bour Drive will be closed between Warwick Drive and Fort Street to facili- tate preparation. On Friday, May 4, that section of Harbour Drive will be closed from 6 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. Cayman Carnival Food Festival On Saturday, May 5, from 7 a.m. to midnight, Cardinall Avenue and Albert Panton Street will be closed. Adult Batabano Parade On Saturday, May 5, the junction of the West Bay Road and the Esterley Tib- betts Highway, north of Duke’s restaurant, will be closed from noon. The pa- rade will proceed south along West Bay Road from 1 p.m. and road junctions will be closed as the pa- rade proceeds. As the procession passes closed junctions, these will be reopened to afford motor- ists the use of the road to the rear of the procession. The procession will continue onto North Church Street all the way to Harbour Drive. Harbour Drive (between Fort Street and Shedden Road), Fort Street, Edward Street, and Shedden Road (between Harbour Drive and Edward Street) will be closed to facilitate the parade and subsequent events. Cayman Carnival Street Dance On Saturday, May 5, from 6 p.m. to midnight, Har- bour Drive and South Church Street will be closed between Fort Street and Boilers Road. Women search for bag with missing passports SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com This bargain carried a barrel of un- intended consequences. Two women are searching for a suit- case that was sold in George Town last month at a yard sale with impor- tant documents inside. Laura Butti- gieg sold the bag by accident without knowing that her former roommate Sonya Cumpsty had stashed two pass- ports and a permanent residency card inside a back pocket. Ms. Cumpsty said Wednesday that her Australian and British passports are missing, along with her Canadian permanent residency card. She dis- covered the documents were missing recently when planning a vacation, and she is hoping the community will hear her plight and help her find her passports. “I recently moved out with my boy- friend,” she said. “We were … looking at booking a trip, and I was like, ‘Oh, I must’ve left that bag at my old house.’ I went looking for it and was explaining to [Laura] what it looked like, and I think that’s when the penny dropped that she’d sold it.” The bag is a black Dunlop suitcase with blue trim, and Ms. Buttigieg con- fused it for a bag of her own. The yard sale was held on March 10 on South Church Street, and Ms. Buttigieg be- lieves that the man who purchased it was between 30 and 40 years old and wearing a uniform of some kind. “It was so busy. Everybody was grabbing stuff and yelling,” said Ms. Buttigieg. “It wasn’t even for sale. I was using it to display things that were for sale, and people kept asking about it. I thought, ‘OK, we might as well sell it. I don’t need it.’ But I thought it was mine. And it was hers.” The two women have made several postings on Facebook about the bag, and they are hoping that someone in the community will hear their story and help them fix their mistake. “Maybe he’s just using it to store things and he hasn’t gone through it,” said Ms. Buttigieg of the man who pur- chased the bag. “I went through it when I gave it to him, and to me, it appeared empty. But there’s a zip at the back that I didn’t notice. And that’s where her passports were.” Ms. Cumpsty said she has not called the respective consulates to apprise them of her missing docu- ments, and she’s holding out hope that she will somehow be able to find them. “I can’t get an emergency passport because of the circumstances. It’s re- ally only for emergencies,” she said of obtaining a replacement. “My whole family in Australia is on vacation at the moment, so I can’t even get them to send my original birth certificate. I can’t even start the process for at least a month. I was supposed to be going on vacation in two weeks and then to South Africa in two months.” Anyone with information about the bag or missing documents can contact Ms. Buttigieg at 922-2845, or they can send an email message to Ms. Cumpsty at scumpsty@hotmail.com. The missing bag bears a close resemblance to this Dunlop suitcase.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS The family of Susan Sumalapao regrets to announce her death on Thursday, 12 April, 2018. A viewing will be held 6:00-9:00 p.m. on Sunday, 29 April, 2018 at Bodden Funeral Service 117 Walkers Road. Ms Sumalapao will be repatriated to the Philippines. Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page. The family of the Late Edith Marie Ebanks regrets to announce her passing on Wednesday, 28 March, 2018. Condolences can be registered at www.boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page A Service of Thanksgiving will be held 3:00 p.m. Sunday 29 April, 2018 at George Town Seventh Day Adventist Church. (Smith Rd. George Town) The family of the late Clive Waldorf Musson regrets to announce his death on Wednesday, 11 April, 2018. The Memorial Mass and Thanksgiving for the life of Cive Waldorf Musson will be held at St. George’s Anglican Church, Courts Road, George Town on Saturday, 28 April at 10:00 a.m. Cheerful colours welcomed In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to “Positive Intervention Now - ‘PIN’” (a ministry of St. Georges’s Anglican Church) and “Feed Our Future” Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page. of NRA equipment being used in a project done on private property had been presented to the board, but Mr. Ebanks de- clined to discuss the na- ture of the investigation being conducted. Mr. Parchment was named as NRA managing director in August 2014 following a period during which he and deputy di- rector Edward Howard served as alternating acting directors. The permanent manag- er’s post was left vacant following the controver- sial departure of former NRA director Brian Tom- linson in 2012. Mr. Tomlinson sued and settled out of court with his employer in 2015, al- leging a number of ex- amples of “mistreatment” he said he suffered at the hands of his former em- ployer and that his health deteriorated as a result. An undisclosed settle- ment amount was paid to Mr. Tomlinson. Other probes under way The Cayman Islands public sector – both cen- tral government and out- side authorities such as the NRA – is facing var- ious investigations and au- dits in several high-profile sectors at the moment. The Cayman Islands Immigration Department has half a dozen sus- pended officers before the courts in a corrup- tion case where they are alleged to have profited from sharing information about the department’s English language test with foreign workers. The charges are due to come before the court again Friday. Other matters con- cern reports of finan- cial irregularities at the Health Services Au- thority, the Department of Environmental Health and the Cayman Islands Port Authority. The Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Commis- sion has been notified of an ongoing internal audit at the Health Services Au- thority regarding “irregu- larities” in overtime pay- ments to security officers. The audit review came amid the suspension of a number of the Health Ser- vices Authority’s secu- rity officers. Meanwhile, Depart- ment of Environmental Health Director Roydell Carter remains “out of of- fice” as an internal gov- ernment inquiry over the management of over- time in his depart- ment continues. Mr. Carter has not been at work since De- cember. Government de- nied reports in early Jan- uary that Mr. Carter had been suspended from his job, saying he was simply on leave. An inquiry into the management of overtime at the depart- ment has been going on since December. Financial, human re- sources and other admin- istrative “irregularities” have been identified at the Cayman Islands Port Au- thority in a special audit completed earlier this year. Port Authority Board of Directors Chairman Errol Bush informed staff members about the re- port, which he called “con- cerning,” in an email sent earlier this year. for the tender boat operators. Based on an estimate of two million cruise passengers per year, the winning bidder could expect to pull in US$40 million per year in direct revenue over the course of a 20-25 year contract. How- ever, government would need to retain a significant amount of that tax revenue and the exact formula for how that income would be divided is understood to be a pivotal part of the bid process. The planning process for the project has been long and complex. PwC first produced an outline business case in 2013, refining that document in 2015 to include data from a separate environmental im- pact assessment. Mr. Kirk- connell told business leaders at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Wednesday that further work to lessen the en- vironmental impact of the piers had pushed the time line back further. But, he said, the coalition government was committed to delivering a cruise and cargo port in one project and was now entering the end- game in the bidding process. “The research that has been done and the business case that has been done sup- ports the proposal,” he said. The bid process itself has been long and involved. Offi- cials told the Compass that nine consortiums passed an initial pre-qualification stage and were invited to submit outline bids on the project. Five submitted bids by the deadline and those are in the process of being evaluated by the project steering com- mittee, which will make rec- ommendations to the Central Tenders Committee ahead of its May meeting. Though the identity of several of the bidders has been circulated in the com- munity, ministry officials say those consortiums will not be named officially until the process is complete and a winning bidder selected. Despite some criticism over perceived lack of trans- parency in the project, the ministry insisted, in re- sponse to questions from the Compass, that the process, though slow, had been han- dled according to interna- tional standards. “While it is a lengthy, me- thodical and complex pro- cess, we believe in its effi- cacy and are satisfied that by taking this approach, we are doing everything possible to deliver a world-class and af- fordable cruise berthing fa- cility that will be owned by the people of the Cayman Is- lands,” it said in a statement. allegedly told police, de- clining to comment on whether they were engaging in oral sex. Mr. Kynes also said the statue allegedly de- picting one woman kissing the breast of another was, in fact, women hugging, ac- cording to Mr. Moran. The prosecutor added that Mr. Kynes said his intent for the statues was to support gay rights, and that he dis- agreed that they contained sexual overtones. The first witness, Brac res- ident Alta Solomon, told the court that she first saw the statue of women seemingly engaging in oral sex last July. “Being an artist myself, I was interested,” said Ms. Solomon, a photographer. “I wanted to see the works that were there.” Ms. Solomon said she was “shocked” by the statue, and that afterward she re- frained from driving by there with her 8- and 11-year- old children. Mr. Kynes, who is repre- senting himself in the trial, cross-examined the witness, asking her how often she travels by his property. She replied that she does so regu- larly at the weekends. “You said ‘it seemed’ like two women having sex. Have you seen two women having oral sex?” he asked. Ms. Solomon said that she has. Mr. Kynes also asked her whether, as an artist, she has ever displayed semi- nude photos of her husband. Ms. Solomon said that she has not. The second witness, Raquel Matute, said that she first saw the statue in June, and reported it to the police. Mr. Kynes’s cross-ex- amination of Ms. Matute was brief, only asking her how often she travels by his property. She replied that she travels there a few times a month. The two-day Summary Court trial, which is being held at the Aston Rutty Centre before Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn, is scheduled to con- tinue through Friday. The prosecutor added that Mr. Kynes said his intent for the statues was to support gay rights, and that he disagreed that they contained sexual overtones. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ‘Foots’ obscenity trial begins on Cayman Brac NRA director suspended in probe CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “The board of directors of the National Roads Authority has commissioned an investigation into possible misuse of NRA resources by a senior employee. The employee has been placed on leave pending the completion of the investigation.” NRA BOARD STATEMENT Five bidders vying for port project The winning bidder for the port project is expected to be announced in September. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 27, 2018 Twin $ 99 | Full $ 125 | Queen $ 145 | King $ 250 TWIN FIRM MATTRESS QUEEN SERTA PERFECT SLEEPER FIRM “DOUBLE SIDED!” MATTRESS QUEEN SERTA PERFECT SLEEPER FIRM PILLOWTOP KING SERTA PERFECT SLEEPER FIRM “DOUBLE SIDED!” MATTRESS FULL SEALY POSTUREPEDIC EUROTOP MATTRESS Twin 6” $ 99 or 8” $ 140 | Full 6” $ 150 or 8” $ 175 | Queen 6” $ 175 or 8” $ 225 Our prices can’t be beat You can get to try before you buy! $ 499 $ 599 $ 199 $ 499 $ 399 BOXSPRING PRICES MATTRESS HIGH DENSITY FOAM (All Foam, no springs) A DIV I S I O N O F sales@tomlinsonfurniture.ky | tomlinsonfurniture.ky 949-5383 | 9 Walkers Road | Tomlinson Building Includes FREE Delivery! 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