High of 91 Low of 80 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet. LOCAL | PAGE 7 CAYMAN ‘NOTHING LIKE TEXAS,’ MAGISTRATE SAYS EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 WILL ENGLAND’S ‘BARITONE BARRISTER’ REPLACE THERESA MAY? ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 6 Eric Bergstrom, pioneer in Cayman tourism, passes at 85 Bergstrom remembered fondly by family, former colleagues KEN SILVA ksilva@pinnaclemedialtd.com Eric Bergstrom died Saturday in his home at Pompano Beach, Florida, leaving a legacy of being one of the key figures in developing the territory’s tourism industry. Mr. Bergstrom, who would have turned 85 on Sunday, was born in Wis- consin on Oct. 14, 1933. He graduated from Dartmouth College and worked for a brief period in his home state before visiting Cayman in 1961 with his then- wife Suzy Soto. They moved here in 1963 to run the original Tortuga Club in East End – what’s now known as Morritt’s Tortuga Club and Resort. The Tortuga Club hosted Jacques Cousteau, Emil Gagnon, the Lord of Bath, Prince Charles and other notable guests. When the Cayman Islands Tourist Board was created in 1966, Mr. Bergstrom headed the organization, and was in- strumental in increasing its budget from $7,000 in the first year to $98,000 by 1968. This statutory board was the prec- edent for the Cayman Islands Depart- ment of Tourism, which was created by the Tourism Law of 1974. Mr. Bergstrom served as the department’s first director. By the time Mr. Bergstrom retired in 1988, the Department of Tourism’s budget was over $9 million a year, and there were about 75 people on the payroll. Mr. Bergstrom eventually left the island in 1989, having spent a full 26 years here engrossed in the tourism industry. He and his second wife, Nancy, traveled the world and finally settled in Florida. The tourism pioneer received many awards for his efforts throughout his ca- reer, including being made a Member of the British Empire in 1969. A Jan. 9, 1969 article in The Cayma- nian Weekly notes that as a citizen of the United States, he had to receive permission from his government before he could ac- cept the award. “Mr. Bergstrom has given valuable vol- untary service as Chairman of the Cayman Islands Tourist Board for a period of sev- eral years,” the article states. “He has worked unstintingly for the promotion of tourism and his efforts have contributed greatly to the success achieved since the Board was formed three years ago.” In 2017, Mr. Bergstrom was honored during Heroes Day, receiving an award for Pioneer in Tourism. Mr. Bergstrom is remembered fondly by his five children. “Dad was one of the most honor- able individuals I have ever known,” said daughter Sheree Ebanks. “He was honest and humble, and a very kind man who never looked toward the limelight. His ethics were beyond reproach and we are all better for having him as our dad.” Former tourism permanent secretary Harding Watler also paid tribute to his late colleague. “I am very saddened to hear of Eric’s passing. He was truly a pioneer and an important part of Cayman’s emergence and success as an upscale Caribbean tourism destination,” Mr. Watler said. “A true professional, who kept Cayman on the path of continued growth in quality tourism. He will be missed by all who knew him.” CRUISE PORT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY MUST BE UPDATED DoE director says EIA update required on cruise berthing JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A second phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment on the cruise berthing project will likely be required before Cabinet can grant final approval for construction to begin on the project. Both Department of Environment director Gina Ebanks-Petrie and project manager Peter Ranger said Friday that an updated envi- ronmental study on the new designs would be completed before approval is granted for work to begin. Ms. Ebanks-Petrie said there was still sig- nificant work that needed to take place before the full environmental impacts could be quan- tified. That includes an examination of the rock on the seabed to determine what tech- nologies would be used during dredging and construction. At this stage, she said, it was not possible to rule out that blasting may be re- quired, something that would increase the ex- tent of the environmental impacts. Additional studies are also needed on 185 LEAVE CAYMAN DURING AMNESTY PERIOD The Department of Immigration announced on Friday that 185 people left Cayman in Au- gust, the month that the department was con- ducting an amnesty program for overstayers. “The revised number of 185 includes the previously reported 14 persons that volun- tarily turned themselves into the Enforcement Division,” said Deputy Chief Immigration Of- ficer Gary Wong. “The additional 171 individ- uals are comprised of those that simply left via airlines without notifying the department, and were identified as part of the post-am- nesty assessment.” According to the department, there were 75 Jamaicans, 55 Americans, nine Britons, five Canadians, and a number of other nationali- ties with one or more overstayers. The longest period of overstaying was found to be 13.5 years, with 122 individ- uals found to have overstayed for less than one week. The Department of Immigration added PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 8 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 9 » Cayman tourism pioneer Eric Bergstrom passed away in his Florida home on Saturday. He would have turned 85 on Sunday.2 LOCAL&REGIONAL MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Matinees Daily (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00, Mon-Fri Before 6pm • Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 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. - MONDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) A STAR IS BORN (R) 1:00 VIP I 3:50 I 6:40 VIP I 9:30 VENOM (PG13) 12:20 I 1:15 3D I 4:00 VIP I 6:50 9:15 3D I 9:40 VIP I 10:00 NIGHT SCHOOL (PG13) 1:30 I 4:15 I 7:15 I 9:50 BLOCKBUSTER RE-RELEASE: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (PG13) 3:25 I 9:20 GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN (PG) 12:15 I 2:30 I 4:45 I 7:00 SMALLFOOT (PG) 3:00 3D I 5:20 I 7:40 BLOCKBUSTER RE-RELEASE: INCREDIBLES 2 (PG) 12:45 I 6:40 Man shot during incident near Welly’s JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com An elderly man is in stable condition at Cayman Is- lands Hospital after suffering a serious gunshot wound to the abdomen. The man was shot around 8 p.m. Friday on Sound Way, police confirmed. Witnesses at the scene said they saw a masked man arrive with a machete and heard multiple gunshots fired before running for cover. Police said they were searching for two suspects, who were said to have left the location on foot. The scene of the shooting, they added, was a place where men congregated to play dominoes behind Welly’s Cool Spot, but no one was playing at the time. Police confirmed there were two suspects who were said to have left the loca- tion on foot. One suspect was said to have had a handgun and the other brandished a machete. One eyewitness, who showed a Compass reporter his badly scraped up knee, said he fell on the pavement running for cover. He said there were around 20 people in the back of the restaurant hanging out under the green tent by the breadfruit tree when he saw a man turn up at the scene wearing a black mask and carrying a machete. The witness told the Com- pass it was a mad dash for cover by everyone. People went into a panic and even those in the restaurant started running. He added “people were just buying food.” The man that was shot, he said, was just sitting in a chair. After the attacker left, people went back and saw the older gentleman holding his side until the ambulance came and took him away. One of the women who works at the restaurant, gath- ered with other workers out- side the restaurant, said people inside the restau- rant left. She also said the restaurant’s normal closing hours were 11 p.m. Additional witnesses said they did not know what direc- tion the masked man fled to behind the restaurant. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene shortly after 8 p.m., when it was reported that shots had been fired. “The area was assessed by the armed units and they then advised the EMTs when it was safe to enter the loca- tion,” the Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Service said in a press statement. Anyone with information pertaining to this incident is asked to contact the George Town Police Station at 949-4222. This tented area near Welly’s was the scene of a shooting Friday night. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY Police confirmed there were two suspects who were said to have left the location on foot. JOLLY ROGER PULLED FREE FOR SECOND TIME JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com After days of being stuck on hard sand near the George Town waterfront, Cayman’s pirate-themed ship the Jolly Roger was finally re- moved on Saturday. West Indian Marine suc- cessfully managed to pump the ship free of salt water to get it vertical and floating again. “There [are] no holes but the stress and tension opened up slightly some of the wood on the ship,” said crew- member Ryan Elle on Friday. Mr. Elle said the ship will be placed on a dry dock. The boat had been stuck since Oct. 8, when rough seas and high waves grounded the vessel near the Lobster Pot. The ship is a two-thirds replica of the 15th century vessel La Niña, captained by Christopher Colombus. It is used in Cayman Pirates Week and for booked tours. When the ship was grounded previously in September, the Depart- ment of Environment con- cluded that a few coral col- onies in the area sustained serious damage. The DoE is investi- gating whether additional damage was done by the second grounding. An investigation into what caused the accident by crew- members is ongoing. CUC SCHEDULING POWER OUTAGES IN WEST BAY The Caribbean Utili- ties Company is advising its customers in the Mount Pleasant area of West Bay that they will experience in- terruptions to their service on Monday, Oct. 15 between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Customers on Captain Reginald Parsons Drive from the Pleasant View Apart- ments to Rainbow Lane, in- cluding Captain Dudley Lane and Parkview Crescent, will be affected. Customers on Viewpoint Lane, Captains Joe and Os- bert Road, Boreal Street, Au- rora Drive, Australis Drive, Jade Drive, Crystal Valley Crescent and Ching Ching Lane will experience two 30-minute outages between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and again between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. CUC said the interrup- tion was necessary to fa- cilitate the upgrading of lines and poles to provide access for telecommuni- cation companies offering high-speed fiber. Motorists are asked to drive with cau- tion when using these roads in Mount Pleasant as CUC will have vehicles and per- sonnel in the area. For more information on the outage and streets affected, contact CUC at 949-5200 or email service@cuc.ky. Cayman Cookout activities announced The lineup of activities for the 11th Annual Cayman Cookout, Jan. 16-20, has been announced. The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman confirmed that Chef Eric Ripert will return with an exclusive lineup of the world’s top chefs, in- cluding José Andrés, Andrew Zimmern, Emeril Lagasse, Dominique Crenn, Amanda Cohen, Emma Bengtsson and Nancy Silverton. “Taking place on idyllic Seven Mile Beach … the ex- clusive weekend will cel- ebrate gastronomy with an impressive collection of tantalizing tastings, enter- taining cooking demonstra- tions, dynamic epicurean ex- periences, exciting parties and beachside relaxation,” The Ritz-Carlton said in a press release. There are more than 50 events scheduled over the five-day cookout. The event will kick off with “Olé José” by Chef José Andrés, who will share his spirited stories and famed paella. Later, Emeril Lagasse will host “Essential BAM!!!,” featuring Creole and Cajun cuisine. The Beach Bash will re- turn to Rum Point with the promise of catamaran fun and Cayman cuisine on the beach. Dishes from each of the chefs will be served at the Great Gala during a multi- course dinner, hosted by Chef Ripert, at Blue. For more information on events and tickets, visit www. caymancookout.com. Chef José Andrés rides in style for his grand entrance at the 2018 Cayman Cookout. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY VENEZUELAN DOCTORS JOIN US NAVY MISSION MIAMI (AP) – A dozen Vene- zuelan doctors volunteered to join the USNS Comfort as the Navy hospital ship visits three South American countries that are struggling to cope with a flood of migrants from crisis- wracked Venezuela. The doctors all live in the United States, but they wanted to help fellow Vene- zuelans who have fled wide- spread shortages of food and medicine amid an economic collapse that has pushed mil- lions of people into poverty. “This is like a Band-Aid” that will provide only tempo- rary relief, said Dr. Marco Bo- logna, a cardiologist who now lives in Florida, where he is a member of the Venezuelan American Medical Associa- tion. “But it is the right thing to do and it helps us to do something for our country.” The Comfort has been de- scribed as a threat by Ven- ezuela’s socialist govern- ment and it will not visit that country during its 11-week tour of Latin America. The ship sailed from Norfolk, Vir- ginia, on Thursday. It will spend several days at two Colombian ports, one of which is just a one-hour drive from the border with Venezuela. The ship will also dock at ports in Ecuador and Peru, two other nations that are now home to hundreds of thousands of struggling Ven- ezuelans. It will wrap up its tour in the Central American country of Honduras. U.S. officials said the itin- erary was designed with sev- eral local needs in mind, including the plight of Vene- zuelan migrants who are des- perately seeking healthcare. The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. Will England’s ‘baritone barrister’ replace Theresa May? Geoffrey Cox, the U.K.’s baritone barrister, is dem- onstrating he can perform on multiple stages with equal aplomb. For years, Mr. Cox has been mesmer- izing judges and jurors with his theatrical courtroom presentations, and since 2005, he has been repre- senting his home district of West Devon and Torridge as a member of Parliament. Mr. Cox, a Queen’s Counsel (QC), is well-known in the Cayman Islands. He, along with local attorney Michael Alberga, represented House Speaker McKeeva Bush in his credit card trial in 2014 (final score, 11-zip, in favor of the defense). Mr. Cox recently ignited his fellow conservatives with a speech in which he spoke passionately about the “opportunity” facing Great Britain as it negotiates its way toward Brexit. The BBC echoed other breath- less news reports with this headline: “Geoffrey Cox wows Tories with warm-up act for PM.” As Prime Minister Theresa May wobbles her way through the negotiations for a departure from the European Union, we in the Cayman Islands should be paying close attention to Mr. Cox’s career path in his home country. On its face, he is everything that Ms. May is not – confident to the point of cockiness, brilliant in his scholarship, and, perhaps most important, theatrical and thunderous in his delivery. In the land that gave us Shakespeare, Mr. Cox could play any number of the Bard’s roles, from Sir John Falstaff to Julius Caesar. He would be miscast, however, as the indecisive Hamlet, tortured by an inability to make up his own mind. Mr. Cox shows little indication of having even a modicum of such diffidence or indecision. And that’s what makes him such an attractive foil to Ms. May (aka “The Dancing Queen,” a reference to ABBA’s background music to which she shimmied on stage recently to deliver her keynote address to the party faithful. Her self-deprecatory gesture followed her painful-to-watch attempt at “dancing with the natives” during her recent tour of Africa. Ouch.) Over the weekend, we reached out to House Speaker Bush, who is in London, for some personal insight into Mr. Cox. His “report card” was all “A’s,” giving Mr. Cox the highest grades as a political repre- sentative – he goes out in his van to hold meetings (thousands over the years) with his constituents. Mr. Bush also told us that Mr. Cox is a devoted husband (to his wife Jeanie) and father (to their three children – a daughter Charlotte and two sons, James and Jonathan). Although Mr. Cox is the richest man in Parliament (measured by annual income), he also may be the cheapest. His expense account has included reimburse- ment claims for a carton of milk (49 pence) and 95 pounds for a refrigerator (presumably to house the milk). An inquiry ensued into this and other expense matters, but the lead investigator, a gentleman by the name of Sir Thomas Legge, gave him a clean bill of health. Whether Mr. Cox replaces Ms. May in residence at 10 Downing Street or continues to serve in her cabinet as Attorney General, we would hope he would remain forceful in advocating for the interests of the Cayman Islands. Recently, he said this: “In 2009, we gave the people of the Cayman Islands a solemn pledge in this House. We said, ‘We will not legislate for you in these areas of public respon- sibility without your consent.’ By this measure today [endorsing public ownership registers for the territo- ries] we are breaking that promise to them, and it is beneath the dignity of this Parliament to do away with that promise and that pledge of good faith.” Thank you, Mr. Cox. MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS How to heal our epidemic of loneliness? WASHINGTON – If Sen. Ben Sasse is right – he has not re- cently been wrong about any- thing important – the na- tion’s most-discussed political problem is entangled with the least-understood public health problem. The political problem is furious partisanship. The public health problem is lone- liness. Sasse’s new book ar- gues that Americans are richer, more informed and “con- nected” than ever – and un- happier, more isolated and less fulfilled. In “Them: Why We Hate Each Other – and How to Heal,” Sasse’s subject is “the evapora- tion of social capital” – the sat- isfactions of work and com- munity. This reflects a perverse phenomenon: What has come to count as connectedness is displacing the real thing. And matters might quickly become dramatically worse. Loneliness in “epidemic proportions” is producing a “loneliness literature” of so- ciological and medical find- ings about the effect of loneli- ness on individuals’ brains and bodies, and on communities. Sasse says “there is a growing consensus” that loneliness – not obesity, cancer or heart dis- ease – is the nation’s “number one health crisis.” “Persistent loneliness” reduces average longevity more than twice as much as does heavy drinking and more than three times as much as obesity, which often is a consequence of loneli- ness. Research demonstrates that loneliness is as physically dangerous as smoking 15 cig- arettes a day and contributes to cognitive decline, including more rapid advance of Al- zheimer’s disease. Sasse says, “We’re literally dying of de- spair,” of the failure “to fill the hole millions of Americans feel in their lives.” Symptoms large and small are everywhere. Time was, Sasse notes, Americans “stocked their imaginations with the same things”: In the 1950s, frequently 70 percent of television sets in use tuned in to “I Love Lucy.” Today, when 93 percent of Americans have ac- cess to more than 500 channels, the most-watched cable news program, “Hannity” has about 1 percent of the U.S. population. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the average number of times Americans entertained at home declined almost 50 per- cent. Americans are hypercon- nected but disconnected, with “fewer non-virtual friends than at any point in decades.” With the median American checking (according to a Pew survey) a smartphone every 4.3 min- utes, and with nearly 40 per- cent of those 18 to 29 online almost every waking minute, we are “addicted to distraction” and “parched for genuine com- munity.” Social media, those “tendrils of resentment” that Sasse calls accelerants for po- litical anger, create a nuance- free “outrage loop” for “profes- sional rage-peddlers.” And for people for whom enemies have the psychic value of giving life coherence. Work, which Sasse calls “ar- guably the most fundamental anchor of human identity,” is at the beginning of “a stag- gering level of cultural disrup- tion” swifter and more radical than even America’s transfor- mation from a rural and ag- ricultural to an urban and in- dustrial nation. At that time, one response to social disrup- tion was alcoholism, which begat Prohibition. Today, one reason the average American life span has declined for three consecutive years is that many more are dying of drug over- doses – one of the “diseases of despair” – annually than died during the entire Vietnam War. People “need to be needed,” but McKinsey & Co. analysts cal- culate that, globally, 50 per- cent of paid activities – jobs – could be automated by cur- rently demonstrated technol- ogies. America’s largest job category is “driver” and, with self-driving vehicles coming, two-thirds of such jobs could disappear in a decade. This future of acceler- ating flux exhilarates the ed- ucated and socially nimble. It frightens those who, their work identities erased and their communities atomized, are tempted not by what Sasse calls “healthy local tribes” but by political tribalism of griev- ances, or by chemical oblivion, or both. In today’s bifurcated nation, 2016 was the 10th con- secutive year when 40 percent of American children were born outside of marriage, America has “two almost entirely dif- ferent cultures,” exemplified by this: Under 10 percent of births to college-educated women are outside of marriage compared to almost 70 percent of births to women with high school di- plomas or less. Repairing America’s phys- ical infrastructure, although expensive, is conceptually simple, involving steel and con- crete. The crumbling of Ameri- ca’s social infrastructure pres- ents a daunting challenge: We do not know how to develop what Sasse wants, “new habits of mind and heart … new practices of neighborliness.” We do know that more govern- ment, which means more satu- ration of society with politics, is not a sufficient answer. Sasse, a fifth-generation Nebraskan who dedicates his book to the Kiwanis and Ro- tary clubs and other little pla- toons of Fremont, Nebraska (population 26,000), wants to rekindle the “hometown-gym- on-a-Friday-night feeling.” But Americans can’t go home again to Fremont. George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2018, Washington Post Writers Group GEORGE F. WILL GEORGE PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com ADVERTISE WITH US: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS DAVID R. LEGGE AND VICKI L. LEGGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DAVID R. LEGGE EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way”The islands’ most-trusted news source 5 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 Oct 15th – Dec 19th For every fuel and convenience store purchase* of CI$25 or more, receive a stamp on your contest card at participating Rubis service stations. Complete your card with 5 stamps and be entered to win 8 weeks of prizes, plus the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro RS Grand Prize. *Purchase total MUST include fuel purchase. PURE JOY 2018 OVER $50,000 in prizes6 LOCAL NEWS MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS STEM conference aims to inspire students MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com There were “Eeew”s and “Ahh”s when Alexander Dalley pulled a partially di- gested blue chromis from the stomach of a lionfish and held it up for his fellow students to see. A Clifton Hunter High School student, Alexander, 12, did not know he would get the chance to cut open a lionfish when he came to the STEM Carib 2018 conference at the University College of Cayman Islands last week. But when the opportunity arose, he jumped at it. Using a pair of surgical scissors, he opened the belly of the invasive fish and cut up past its gills. He and a group of fellow students then examined the internal organs to determine that it was a female lionfish and that it had eaten well, just before it was killed. In a lab filled with about 40 students, Katie Correia of the Central Caribbean Ma- rine Institute, assisted Alex- ander in his dissection work, while also directing other groups who were busy iden- tifying fish by their overall appearance or by their scales. She said the idea was to make the subject inviting. “The overall point is to make science fun and at- tainable for everyone,” Ms. Correia said. “Science really means you’re just an adult being a kid.” In essence, the idea was to allow curiosity to take hold. And there were lots of chances for kids to have their curiosity piqued during the four-day conference on sci- ence, technology, engineering and math. Those included a talk on looking at how physics works, or does not work, in action and super- hero movies, how a degree in zoology led one teacher to become a consultant on “Ju- rassic Park” and a look at how technology is affecting the fashion industry. This was the sixth year for the UCCI-hosted confer- ence. The past three years, one of its partner schools, Harrisburg University, has co-sponsored the event, helping to bring in more in- ternational speakers. This year, 18 presenters came from off-island, compared to 10 last year. Student at- tendance went from 650 last year to 800. “Every year it grows in popularity and in what we offer students,” said Ste- phen Ta’Bois, a STEM spe- cialist from the Ministry of Education. A broad spectrum of talks, workshops and dis- plays showed students some of the possible applications of STEM-related studies. “We’ve got VR, robotics, marine biology,” Mr. Ta’Bois said. “We’ve got liquid ni- trogen (displays). It’s about getting students who are young and building that excitement.” Part of generating that excitement, he said, is pre- senting science in an accessible and entertaining way. The theme of this year’s event was “Fact and Fiction,” which played out in sev- eral ways, including a dis- cussion of opportunities in e-sports and a keynote pre- sentation on looking at su- perhero movies through the lens of physics. “We said, ‘What’s a theme we can roll with that encom- passes STEM but is fun?’” Mr. Ta’Bois said. “And what better than comic books?” “I’m glad they’re making it fun for younger kids,” said Kaylani Scott, 13, a Clifton Hunter student. This was the first year in which primary students were able to take part. On the final day of the conference, some students who had par- ticipated in the UCCI STEM summer camp program for Year 7-9 students, presented their projects. Malik Copeland, 17, of Cayman Academy, said he liked watching the younger kids talk about science. “It’s an opportunity to show people, ‘Oh, I could do this,’” said Mr. Copeland, who plans to study informa- tion technology. Ray Ann Havasy said making science approach- able, rather than daunting, is important. Ms. Havasy di- rects the New York-based Center for Science Teaching and Learning, a foundation that fosters science literacy. A zoologist, Ms. Havasy was teaching middle school science in the early 1990s when she got a call from Steven Spielberg to work as a consultant on “Jurassic Park.” After filming, she con- vinced him to let her have all the dinosaurs created for the movie. She created an ex- hibit using the robotic crea- tures that toured museums across the United States. The resultant money, she said, allowed her to provide $3.1 million in grants to dinosaur paleontologists. “We have the job of em- powering them so they feel they can have an impact and make a difference,” she said of students attending the conference. “It’s not only about adults changing the world,” she told the students attending Friday’s session. “You can change the world.” Katie Correia, left, looks on as Alexander Dalley holds up a blue chromis during a STEM conference lab exercise. At right is Trevor Carmola. - PHOTO: MARK MUCKENFUSS Botanic children’s park receives 20K from Clarke The Children’s Garden at the Queen Elizabeth II Bo- tanic Park in North Side is the recipient of US$20,000 from Clarke’s One For Tomorrow Next Gen Award program. Botanic Park General Manager John Lawrus re- ceived the check from Dr. Lyell Clarke, president and CEO on Wednesday, Oct. 10. The money will be used to help develop the planned Children’s Garden on more than an acre of the extensive grounds that the park occu- pies in North Side. The proposed Children’s Garden was part of the orig- inal master plan for the park, which was created in 1994. The Botanic Park expects to start construction of the Children’s area this year with completion scheduled for 2019, Mr. Lawrus said. “A purpose-designed, edu- cational garden will help chil- dren develop an appreciation of nature, conservation and the environment that sur- rounds us,” Mr. Lawrus said. He said the design al- lows for structured learning on one side of the develop- ment. Meanwhile, the other side will facilitate learning through play, and will be open to residents, visitors and school groups. Mr. Clarke said the men and women of Clarke se- lect nonprofits for the benefit of people, the planet and wildlife. “The ‘One For Tomorrow’ programme is an important part of Clarke’s ongoing com- mitment to making commu- nities more livable, safe and comfortable, and we’re proud to support the excellent work of the Queen Elizabeth II Bo- tanic Park,” he said. Environment Minister Dwayne Seymour was present for the handover of the check along with MLA Capt. Eugene Ebanks and Troy Jacob, senior policy ad- viser for environment. “The addition of an out- door educational area and an on-site classroom will really enhance what the Botanic Park has to offer our young people,” Minister Seymour said. “I believe it will be well received by educators, by students and their parents, and will help to increase the number of younger people visiting the park.” The Botanic Park was nominated for the award by Jim McNelly, unit di- rector at the Mosquito Re- search and Control. The Clarke award is a one-time grant that recog- nizes organizations striving to restore and/or preserve the environment, wild- life and food production. Clarke is a U.S.-based com- pany that focuses on public health, mosquito con- trol and aquatics services, Mr. Lawrus said. Parade of Lights registration opens Registration is open to participate in Cayman 27’s annual Parade of Lights at Camana Bay. Private and corporate boat owners are invited to participate in the Sat- urday, Dec. 1 event under two categories: boats under 30 feet and boats over 30 feet. Two winners of the best-decorated boat cate- gory will win a $1,000 prize and two general admission tickets to the KAABOO fes- tival in February. The theme of the fes- tival this year is “Christmas Around the World.” A new Christmas market will be added to the parade this year and businesses will showcase their products. Boats can be registered for free at www.cayman27.ky. For more information call 333-6560 or email C27ParadeOfLights@gmail.com. The Parade of Lights returns to Camana Bay on Dec. 1. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY The check presentation at the Botanic Park included, left to right, Lyell Clarke, Frank Clarke, Jim McNelly, Eugene Ebanks, Alan Wheeler, Minister Dwayne Seymour, Troy Jacob and John Lawrus. The Botanic Park expects to start construction of the Children’s Garden this year with completion scheduled for 2019.7 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 We will be streaming LIVE! The 7th Annual KPMG Brain Bowl Tournament Tuesday, October 16, 2018 © 2018 KPMG, a Cayman Islands partnership and a member firm. For the first time in Brain Bowl history, live streaming will be available via Facebook Live so family members and friends can watch the tournament as it takes place. Students, guests and online viewers will get the opportunity to listen to this year’s special guest speaker who is a representative of the Alex Panton Foundation. To watch Brain Bowl 2018 LIVE, visit: www.facebook.com/kpmgcayman Cayman ‘nothing like Texas,’ magistrate says CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Dealing with an American tourist on Friday afternoon, Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez accepted the woman’s expla- nation for having ammunition without a firearms license, but told her that Cayman’s laws are very strict. Possession of am- munition alone, without a fire- arms license, can land a person in jail, she warned. “We’re nothing like Texas. We’re the complete opposite of Texas,” she told the defendant, whose travels had included a visit to that U.S. state. The woman said she had gone to a shooting range in Texas several months ear- lier and did not realize the bullet was in her bag. She in- dicated she did not have a firearms license. After pleading guilty to un- licensed possession of a single round of 9 mm ammunition, she explained she had picked it up as a souvenir of “my first and only time at a range.” Crown counsel Kerri-Ann Gillies said the offense oc- curred on Thursday, Oct. 11, at the Owen Roberts Interna- tional Airport. A security of- ficer was on duty at the X-ray imaging machine in the de- parture area when the woman placed her hand luggage on the conveyor belt. The officer observed the image of what appeared to be ammunition in the woman’s handbag. The bag was scanned again and then a customs of- ficer was called to examine the bag physically in the woman’s presence. The officer recovered a spent shell and a single round of live ammunition. The defendant, 37, was obliged to remain in Cayman overnight for court the next day, while her family continued on to the U.S. She told the magistrate she had photos on her cellphone of the shooting range experi- ence. She was permitted to ac- cess the photos, which were then shown to Ms. Gillies. The prosecutor indicated she was satisfied with what the photos showed. The magistrate noted that the defendant had come through security in the U.S. with the live ammunition and nobody had stopped her, but officers in Cayman find these things when people are going out. She said she did not know what was happening at check- points elsewhere. The danger of unlicensed ammunition is that it can fall into the wrong hands, she pointed out – if, for ex- ample, the woman’s handbag had been stolen. In the circumstances of this case, the defendant’s ex- planation was accepted, and the magistrate said no convic- tion would be recorded so that she would leave with a clean record. However, costs would have to be paid of $1,000 be- fore the woman could have her passport back. The magistrate said she hoped the woman would visit again, but next time, “make a thorough search of your bag.” ONE PERSON INJURED IN BODDEN TOWN COLLISION A motorcycle and a car col- lided Friday evening near Agri- cola Drive and Shamrock Road in Bodden Town, sending one person to the hospital. Police said they believed the motorcycle had been car- rying two people and that the person riding on the back of the bike was the one hurt. That person was sent to Cayman Is- lands Hospital with what ap- peared to be minor injuries, according the RCIPS. The motorcycle driver re- portedly left the location be- fore police arrived. The driver of the car did not report any inju- ries when reached by emer- gency personnel. The Traffic and Roads Po- licing Unit is investigating the incident. Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to call the George Town Police Station at 949-4222. Charges withdrawn against man in ‘romantic triangle’ Witnesses did not wish to cooperate with the prosecution, court told CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man allegedly in- volved in “some sort of romantic triangle” had all charges against him withdrawn when he appeared in Grand Court on Friday. Kurt Stevenson Carter, 28, had been brought to Summary Court following an incident in the early hours of July 26 this year. The charges against him were assault causing actual bodily harm, common assault, damage to property and aggra- vated burglary. This last offense can be tried only in Grand Court and so the case was transmitted. In the Summary Court, defense attorney Jonathon Hughes had told the magistrate that Mr. Carter had been out drinking and then de- cided to visit a woman he knew. He knocked on her window and received no answer, so he tried the door and it was open. He presumed he had permis- sion to enter. Inside, he was met by a man and got into a situation that led to self-defense, the attorney said. The woman was al- legedly assaulted, as was a neighbor who went to her assistance. On Friday, senior Crown counsel Nicole Petit told Justice Roger Chapple that the Crown was offering no evidence because witnesses did not wish to cooperate with the prosecution. On that basis, the de- fendant was discharged. He knocked on her window and received no answer, so he tried the door and it was open.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS MLA Bryan wants new meeting to air all views on port project MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com Independent MLA Ken- neth Bryan, who represents George Town Central, said a Thursday night meeting on the pending cruise ship port project was meant to provide his constituents with relevant information and a forum where the fu- ture of the project could be discussed. The government and Op- position have sponsored previous meetings on the issue in past weeks. This is the first held by Mr. Bryan, who said he hopes to hold at least one more. Opposition members at- tended the session at the Town Hall in George Town, along with about 50 mem- bers of the public. Mr. Bryan said he invited Premier Alden McLaughlin to also attend the meeting, but that did not happen. However, he said, Mr. McLaughlin had agreed to attend a future meeting where Mr. Bryan hopes to also have members of the Opposition. Tammie Chisholm, spokeswoman for Mr. McLaughlin, said she was unaware of such a commitment. “We have not agreed to anything,” Ms. Chisholm said, in regards to a fu- ture meeting organized by Mr. Bryan. “The government is going to have its own meeting in George Town.” As with some Opposition members, Mr. Bryan said he is not wholly against a new port or pier that could accommodate the cruise ships that frequent Grand Cayman. He just wants to make sure that what- ever is built does not com- promise the resources it is meant to tap into. Concerns about the cur- rent plan, which calls for dredging to deepen George Town harbor, include the possibility that silt re- sulting from the construc- tion would damage or kill coral and other sea life on nearby reefs that are pop- ular with both local divers and tourists. Mr. Bryan also expressed concerns that a deeper harbor could mean higher waves when the seas turn stormy, which could poten- tially damage nearby busi- nesses and homes. “The dredging part seems to be the most important issue to me,” Mr. Bryan said. “I’m hoping the government will investigate and come up with solutions. We do need to remain competitive (in cruise tourism).” He said he is hoping all interested parties can at- tend a future meeting on the port project. “We should be mature enough to have that dialogue in the same room,” he said. The last in a series of Op- position-sponsored meet- ings is planned for 7:30 p.m. Monday at the East End Civic Centre. “I’m hoping the government will investigate and come up with solutions. We do need to remain competitive (in cruise tourism).” MLA KENNETH BRYAN the new design of the dock, she said. Since the original EIA took place, the design has changed to minimize the amount of coral that has to be dredged. But in some areas, the new de- sign pushes the margins of the dredge pit closer to parts of valuable sites like Eden Rock and Soto’s Reef, potentially making them more vulnerable to the effects of silt. There is also an additional area of dredging closer to shore for the cargo port. Ms. Ebanks-Petrie said she had not seen the new designs for the port until they were shown at a public meeting in September. “We haven’t seen those plans in any de- tail,” she said. “We have pictures that we took at the meeting but we are hoping to have fur- ther discussions to get more information.” She was speaking firstly on the Rooster FM morning talk show Cross- Talk on Friday and later in an interview with the Cayman Compass. She said her department had been in renewed dialog with the Major Projects Of- fice in the past week and they were now on the same page in terms of the steps required going forward. “There is now a clear un- derstanding on both sides. From the DoE but also from the Major Projects Of- fice and the Ministry of Tourism of exactly what the process needs to be.” She said the National Conservation Law mandated that the Environmental Im- pact Assessment be updated in these circumstances. She said this would be done by a contractor that had to be approved by the Environmental Assessment Board, which she chairs. She said the terms of ref- erence of that study and the final statement would go out for public consul- tation before the National Conservation Council made its final recommendation to Cabinet on whether to grant a permit for the work or not. Cabinet must consider the advice of the council but is not obliged to follow its recommendations. Peter Ranger, chief project manager at govern- ment’s Major Projects Of- fice, said it had always been part of the plan for an up- dated EIA to be completed once a preferred bidder was selected. He said that bidder would be responsible for early works activities in- cluding a geotechnical survey, finalization of de- sign, submission of a coral relocation plan, dredge management plan and en- vironmental management plan. He said it would also be required to carry out an Environmental Impact As- sessment, which would go through public consultation. “The National Conser- vation Council and Central Planning Authority would then make a recommenda- tion to Cabinet who have to approve the project moving forward to the construc- tion stage which has always been part of this procure- ment process,” he added. During the radio inter- view, Tim Austin, deputy director of the DoE, high- lighted areas of coral cov- erage that would be im- pacted. Asked about a video shown at government’s Sept. 26 public meeting on the project which appeared to show very little life in George Town harbor, he said that footage was out- side of the dredge zone and showed a much deeper area of reef that had been deci- mated by cruise ship an- chors over the years. Within the dredge pit, he said there was a lot of healthy reef and coral cov- erage is actually higher than the average elsewhere on the island. In addition to the zone of coral that will be com- pletely removed for the project, there is a wider area of reef that will be drastically impacted within at least 100 yards of the project, he said. Key sites, including Eden Rock and Soto’s Reef, fall within that wider zone. Ms. Ebanks- Petrie said the initial EIA had established that these areas would be affected. She said, “It is not rea- sonable to expect that we are going to be able to dredge a significant amount of fill from the sea bed in close proximity to sensitive coral reef sites like Eden Rock and Soto’s Reef and not have a signif- icant impact.” Cruise port environmental impact study must be updated In addition to the zone of coral that will be completely removed for the project, there is a wider area of reef that will be drastically impacted within at least 100 yards of the project, Tim Austin said. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CRIME BRIEFS Arrest made following assault on elderly woman A West Bay woman was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm to an elderly woman. The Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Force said it re- ceived a report of an assault Thursday that had occurred the previous day in West Bay at a residence off Wa- tercourse Road. “An elderly woman was assaulted by someone known to her during an argument at the residence,” RCIPS said in a press statement. The elderly woman was taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital and treated for a broken hand. The suspect, age 33, is on bail as the investiga- tion continues. Cocaine recovered from South Sound Police officers re- covered five packages that washed ashore near South Sound dock Sunday, Oct. 7, that proved to be cocaine upon fo- rensic examination. The packages were weighed by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service on Oct. 12 and were found to have a total weight, including pack- aging, of 5.2 kilograms. The contents were destroyed. POPE DEFROCKS 2 CHILEAN BISHOPS ACCUSED OF SEX ABUSE VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis on Saturday de- frocked two more Chilean bishops accused of sexu- ally abusing minors, and to show greater transpar- ency about how he’s re- sponding to the church’s global sex abuse crisis, he publicly explained why they were removed. The Vatican’s unusu- ally detailed statement an- nouncing the laicization of retired Archbishop Fran- cisco Jose Cox Huneeus and retired Bishop Marco An- tonio Ordenes Fernandez signaled a new degree of transparency following past missteps by Francis that showed he had grossly un- derestimated the gravity of the abuse scandal. The statement said the two were defrocked for abusing minors with ev- idence so overwhelming that a canonical trial was unnecessary. The Vat- ican said the decision cannot be appealed. Cox, 87 and suffering from dementia, is a member of the Schoenstatt religious order and had served as a bishop in Chillan, Chile be- fore becoming the No. 2 of- ficial at the Vatican’s Pontif- ical Council for the Family, a high-profile position during St. John Paul II’s papacy. He returned to Chile and became bishop in La Serena until he left in 1997 under unclear circumstances, but took on administrative jobs in Rome and at the Latin American bishops’ confer- ence in Colombia. In 2002, the Vatican of- fice for bishops asked the Schoenstatt Fathers to take him in one of its houses, ap- parently because of abuse allegations. He has been living in Germany since then but last year a new, formal accu- sation was received by the Vatican about an alleged case of abuse that happened in Germany in 2004. The Schoenstatt Fathers said Saturday the Vatican had asked that Cox remain in their custody. The order said it would cooperate with the justice system, given that victims in Chile have made criminal com- plaints against him. “We receive this news with much shame for the damage caused to the vic- tims,” the community said. “We show solidarity with them and their profound suffering. Today more than ever, we deplore every act of abuse that offends the dig- nity of people.” Given the favor that Cox enjoyed by John Paul’s inner circle, his fall is yet another stain on John Paul’s legacy. It also calls into question the senior Schoenstatt car- dinal in Chile, Cardinal Ja- vier Errazuriz, an adviser to Francis who has long been accused of covering up for abusers. Ordenes Fernandez, 53, for his part, was made bishop of Iquique, in northern Chile, in 2006 at the young age of 42. He re- tired six years later alleg- edly for health reasons. But subsequently allega- tions of abuse were lev- eled against him. Previously, the Vat- ican has rarely, if ever, an- nounced laicizations of in- dividual priests and only issued a single-line state- ment if a bishop had re- signed, without fur- ther explanation.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 CAYMAN COMPASS • MONDAY OCTOBER 15, 2018 Stan eld DaCosta Barton July 11th, 1924 - October 1st, 2018 Who passed away peacefully at home in Clarendon, Jamaica. A anksgiving Service will be held at Rock Hall Methodist Church, St Andrew, Jamaica at 10am on Saturday October 20th, 2018 Viewing will be held from 9am-10am Interment will follow at the Church cemetery. We regret to announce the death of that it has continued to target those who did not take advantage of the amnesty period. On Aug. 16, enforce- ment officers carried out a targeted operation in the vicinity of Spotts, Newlands. The suspect, a male Jamaican national, was found working at a residence in the area, and was arrested on al- legations of working outside the terms and conditions of a work permit, according to the department. On Sept. 4, after the amnesty period was over, an operation was executed to locate a Saint Lucian national in violation of the Immi- gration Law for alleg- edly overstaying. “Based on informa- tion received by enforce- ment officers, a search warrant was issued for a residence in the West Bay area,” the Depart- ment of Immigration stated. “After reviewing the premises, the suspect in question was not dis- covered. On Sept. 10 2018, enforcement officers con- tinued their search in the Midland Acres area of Bodden Town, but with the same result.” On Sept. 13 2018, after receiving new informa- tion, officers carried out an operation at a com- pound in Bodden Town. The Saint Lucian national was successfully located and was arrested by the Enforcement Division, the department stated. “When officers are un- able to locate a suspect, our efforts don’t simply stop there,” Mr. Wong said. “The division con- tinues to actively pursue all leads, in addition to information provided by the public, until the in- dividual is identified and subsequently arrested.” 185 leave Cayman during amnesty period CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 RCIPS revising road-closure policy The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service announced on Friday that it is tightening the number of approvals it gives to public procession and road closure requests, specifically with respect to main arterial roads, including the George Town waterfront. “As a general rule the RCIPS will no longer authorize the closure of these arterial roads during peak hours on weekdays, which are 7-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m., for events,” po- lice stated. “Exceptions to this rule will be rare, especially with respect to road closure requests in the town centre of George Town.” The RCIPS announcement was made after the Cayman Islands National Museum held “Looky Ya!” – an event to honor the territory’s elderly – on Har- bour Drive on Wednesday. The event was scheduled from 3-6 p.m., but the waterfront was closed hours before then. Cayman Compass reporters heard multiple complaints about the traffic disruption and the lack of notification for the road closure. In the future, the RCIPS asked that all public proces- sion and road closure applica- tions be submitted one week before anticipated events, in- stead of the three-day dead- line required under legislation. The RCIPS explained that this will assist with evaluating and approving the request in time to issue timely notifications about approved road closures. Those applications meeting the three-day minimum dead- line set by legislation will still be considered, police added. “The RCIPS commits to no- tifying the public of approved road closures for events in ad- vance,” the RCIPS stated. “No- tices regarding road closures for events will be posted on our website at www.rcips.ky/ news/breaking-traffic and sent to the local media as soon as practicable based on the timing of the request.” The RCIPS noted that it is responsible for publicizing road closures related to public events only. Road closures due to roadwork or other repairs or improvements will continue to be publicized by the entity responsible for the roadwork, the department said. “The RCIPS appreciates the value that public events bring, and will continue to facilitate these events whenever pos- sible in order to foster a spirit of community and awareness of the many deserving causes on island,” police said. “How- ever, the RCIPS must also con- sider the inconvenience and delays to the general public road closures can cause, as well as the public safety haz- ards that congestion can also create on roadways.” Applications to hold a public procession and request road closures can be found at www.rcips. ky/public-procession-application- form. Questions about the above can be directed to the Traffic and Roads Policing Unit at 649-6254. Cyclone Leslie slams into Portugal, leaves 27 injured “The RCIPS must also consider the inconvenience and delays to the general public road closures can cause, as well as the public safety hazards that congestion can also create on roadways.” ROYAL CAYMAN ISLANDS POLICE SERVICE LISBON, Portugal (AP) – A weakened hurricane Leslie slammed into the coast of Portugal, leaving 27 people injured as it uprooted trees, brought down power lines and smashed store win- dows with gusting winds and heavy rain. Over 60 people were forced to leave their homes by the storm and over 300,000 people suffered power outages overnight, Luis Belo Costa of Portu- gal’s National Protection Agency said. He also gave the injury toll but added that none of the injuries were life-threatening. Leslie had been down- graded from a Category 1 hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 70 mph by the time it landed on Portugal’s Atlantic coast late Saturday. But state broadcaster RTP said Leslie’s wind speeds reached 170 kph (105 mph) in the coastal town of Figueira da Foz, 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Lisbon. Portugal’s weather service had is- sued red warnings for high winds or dangerous coastal conditions for 13 of its 18 mainland districts, in- cluding Lisbon. Winds sent trees crashing onto cars and sidewalks in the Portuguese capital and in the northern city of Porto. Over 200 power lines were affected by the storm, according to reports citing power authority EDP. Some flights were also can- celed or delayed. Leslie moved east Sunday across the Iberian Penin- sula to Spain, where author- ities issued warnings for heavy rains and storm con- ditions for the northern part of the country. Leslie is a bit of a weather outlier, since hurricanes that regularly batter the Amer- ican side of the Atlantic rarely bring their destructive power all the way across the ocean to Europe. People walk their pets at Zurriola beach, in San Sebastian, northern Spain, Sunday. - PHOTO: AP According to the department, there were 75 Jamaicans, 55 Americans, nine Britons, five Canadians, and a number of other nationalities with one or more overstayers.Next >