iNews Briefs
Cayman Islands minister publically abuses his female Chief Officer
What was an absolutely appalling display of temper and foul mouthed abuse in public at his Chief Officer, Jennifer Ahearn, has warranted Minister Osbourne Bodden to send her an apology.
Premier Alden McLaughlin revealed this in a statement about the incident when he commented that strong personalities being passionate about their work often means differences in opinion would occur. He said: “There was such a variance of opinion between Minister Bodden and his Chief Officer, for which the Minister has already apologised in writing to his Chief Officer and the ministry staff.”
The premier added, “The public can rest assured that the matter is being addressed to ensure that the important work of the Ministry of Health, Sports and Culture is not compromised and the several projects being undertaken by the ministry remain on target.”
Deputy Governor Franz Manderson who is charge of all civil servants said, “I was contacted by Chief Officer Ahearn concerning this matter and immediately raised the matter with the Honourable Premier in accordance with the Constitution and the Public Service Management Law.”
Details of the dispute have not been revealed.
SOURCE: CNS
Cayman Islands: Mourant Ozannes supports Acts of Random Kindness appeal
The Cayman Islands team at offshore law firm Mourant Ozannes has donated over 60 bags of provisions, food and gifts to support those less fortunate this Christmas time.
The donations support Cayman charity ARK’s (Acts of Random Kindness) annual “Giving is receiving” campaign which the firm has sponsored for a number of years. Grocery bags with a list of food items to purchase and instructions were handed out to everyone in the firm so that they could participate in the simple act of giving. Over 60 bags were collected by ARK to be distributed in time for the holidays.
Peter Hayden, Managing Partner at Mourant Ozannes, commented: “Christmas is a busy time for everyone but the ARK “Giving is receiving” campaign helps to remind us what it is really all about. It helps to support local families and, by donating food and provisions, we hope to spread a bit of good cheer.”
The ARK “Giving is receiving” campaign is the charity’s most successful appeal of the year and last year provided food, food vouchers and gifts for 470 struggling families. Their target for this year is to help over 600 families.
Altered States: Configuring Madness in Caribbean Literature (Liège, Belgium, 23-24 April 2015)
From H-Caribbean
Daria Tunca’s picture Discussion published by Daria Tunca on Monday, December 15, 2014
Dear Colleagues,
The postcolonial research centre CEREP will be holding a symposium around the theme “Altered States: Configuring Madness in Caribbean Literature” in Liège, Belgium, on 23 and 24 April 2015. Confirmed keynote speakers are Alison Donnell (University of Reading, UK), Alecia McKenzie (Paris, France), Kei Miller (London, UK) and Caryl Phillips (Yale University, USA).
The full programme of the event can be found on the conference website at http://www.madness.ulg.ac.be. Registration will open in January 2015.
All enquiries can be sent to Bénédicte Ledent ([email protected]) or Daria Tunca ([email protected]).
We look forward to welcoming you to Liège!
Best wishes,
Bénédicte Ledent, Evelyn O’Callaghan and Daria Tunca
CEREP: http://www.facebook.com/cerep.ulg
Cayman Islands District of West Bay seniors honoured for contributions to Caymanian culture
From CITN
Seniors were in the spotlight Saturday night (13 December) at West Bay’s Annual Senior Appreciation Party. Hundreds turned out for a night of food, songs, and of course, stories from the days gone by.
Opposition Leader Hon. McKeeva Bush led the more than 500 attendees in song, belting out festive Christmas carols at the senior appreciation dinner.
It’s a tradition he says dates back more than 30 years.
This year, the event’s attendance grew to more than 500. The dinner, held at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School, was more than just a meal. It was a gathering of Cayman’s living history.
Dale Banks told Cayman 27 he remembers a time when the mosquitoes made the outdoor environment miserable after dusk. While he admits Cayman’s efforts to control the bloodsucking nuisances are a positive, he said some other changes have been less welcome.
In addition to a rollicking evening of entertainment and fellowship, all seniors in attendance took home a bag of groceries for the holidays.
Mysterious giant creature leaves strange ‘wake’ in New Zealand’s Oke Bay
By Reissa Su From International Business Times
A mysterious giant creature may be lurking in New Zealand waters. Engineer Pita Witehara has seen an unexplained wake in an image of Oke Bay in the Bay of Islands in Google Earth.
The wake of what appears to be from a large creature was captured by satellite on Jan 30 at about 11:30 am, according to the Daily Mail. Witehira said the wake in the water might have been left by a creature measuring 12 metres long. The engineer from Hamilton in New Zealand said the Native Maori would call the mysterious creature “Taniwha” which means troll. From the size of the wake, it is neither a shark nor a whale. He believes the creature was “moving too fast” and “turning too sharply” to be a whale.
Witehira ruled out the possibility that the wake might be from a boat since there was no white froth” like what is usually seen after a motorboat has passed. He said he first noticed the unusually large wake last week when he was looking for his property near Oke Bay on Google Earth. When he zoomed in, he found the mysterious image. He explained that the creature has to weigh a lot more than a shark or whale to leave that kind of weight.
According to reports, Oke Bay has a white sand beach with 40 metres of shallow water. Witehira said the deeper parts of the Bay has “a lot of undergrowth.” The mysterious sighting via Google Earth follows the popular image of a giant crab lurking in the shallow water in England. Google Earth is a popular tool for Internet users to see places with real-life images from satellites.
The image of the alleged giant crab appeared to be 50 feet wide became viral on social media. Many people had flocked to Whistable in Kent, England, hoping to see the giant crab. Some had insisted that the image of the giant crab was a hoax. Others say it was nothing more than a sandbank with a strange shape.
For more: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/576047/20141216/new-zealand-oke-bay-mystery-creature.htm#.VJBvZCd3eQY
New president and committee for Cayman Islands golf association
The committee elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting
of the Cayman Islands Golf Association on 29th November 2014 are:
Paul Woodhouse President
James Walton Vice President
Isabel Lawson Treasurer
Emma Woodhouse Secretary
Committee Members:
Brandon Smith
Richard Laws
Siobhan Ribbins
Brian Ross
Dan Fortune
Mexico’s Graveyard
By Brett Gundlock From Mashable
Corruption, murder and the disappearance of 43 students
GUERRERO STATE, Mexico — Life in Iguala has always moved at a deliberate pace.
Located in southwestern Mexico in the pacific coast state of Guerrero, the city is known for its historic, peach-colored church and for the tamarind trees that lend Iguala its nickname: “la Ciudad Tamarindera” – the Tamarind city.
Although Mexico’s bustling capital of 20 million people is only a three-hour drive north, this area feels decidedly peaceful. Many people still work the fields and dinner is sometimes still alive when you buy it.
To most Mexicans, however, Iguala has come to stand for something else than rural tranquility.
The students had traveled by bus from a teacher’s college in nearby Ayotzinapa to stage a protest in Iguala where the mayor’s wife was speaking.
At some point, police apparently took the students at gunpoint on the order of the city’s corrupt mayor, José Luis Abarca Velázquez, who has since gone into hiding along with his wife and the city’s police chief. (They caught the mayor and his wife a few weeks later.)
Two students and three bystanders were killed as police confronted the students in a shooting that strafed nearby buildings with bullets. Reportedly, police handed over the students to a local cartel, the Guerreros Unidos.
The following day, the body of one student was dumped in the streets of Iguala. In a horrible statement from his murderers, the skin had been removed from his face.
As people and government security forces have combed through the area, searching for the students, multiple mass graves have been uncovered around Iguala, grisly reminders of how frighteningly routine murders have become here.
People now refer to the mountains surrounding Iguala as a graveyard. But the students have still not been found.
Cayman Islands volleyball Federation elects new president
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, December 15, 2014 – NORCECA Confederation is pleased to announce the election of Mr. Kennedy McGowan as new president of the Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation.
The election of Mr. McGowan, who replaced Noel Williams, took place at the Cayman Islands Sport Center presided by Mr. Cristobal Marte Hoffiz, Norceca President and Mr. Mushtaque Mohammed President of Cazova and Vice President of Norceca. McGowan will be accompanied in the Executive Committee of CIVF by Andrea Williams as Vice President and Carlene Alexander as Secretary.
Sherry Diaz is the new Treasurer and Taylor Burrowes Nixon, the Public Relations Officer. Glen Daykin was elected Technical Director and Dana Smith as Extraordinary Member.
Cristobal Marte Hoffiz president of NORCECA Confederation and First Executive Vice President of FIVB, sworn Mr. McGowan and his colleagues, during a special ceremony.
Marte Hoffiz assessed the work done throughout the years by the Cayman Volleyball Federation saying “you have organized one of the most successful stops of the NORCECA Beach Circuit.”
“You can count on NORCECA to continue offering the necessary support to the national federation and I encourage you to keep the good work and collaboration with us,” Marte Hoffiz added.
On behalf of NORCECA, Marte Hoffiz was presented with a plaque in recognition to the contribution of the institution to the development of the sport in the islands. The plaque was presented by the outgoing president Noel Williams.
Sabinah Clement, Norceca Legal Commission Secretary and Lic. Arateide Caceres , Norceca National Federation Director , also in attended the assembly.
For more: http://www.norceca.net/Cayman%20Islands%20Federation%20elects%20new%20president.htm
Former Cayman Islands police commissioner dies
It is with much sadness to hear that former Cayman Islands Police Commissioner, jim Stowers, died at his home in Devon, England, last week. He was 90.
Commissioner Stowers served in the Cayman Islands in the early 1980’s, he was head of the Criminal Investigation Department, and was commissioner during her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s royal visit in 1983.
He was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for “distinguished service in the British and colonial police”.
Cayman Airways reports delays last Monday due to mechanical problems
Lengthy delays to Cayman Airways flights last Monday (15) was due a mechanical issue. In a statement from Cayman Airways it said a Boeing 737-300 jet that was fully loaded with passengers and scheduled to operate to and from Jamaica, was removed from service to address a mechanical issue that developed prior to taxi when the engines were being started at the gate area.
Cayman Airways reported the following delays Monday resulting from the problem:
KX620 from Grand Cayman to Kingston/Montego Bay, scheduled for 7 a.m. departed Grand Cayman at 1:30 p.m. The return legs from Kingston and Montego Bay were rescheduled from 8:40 a.m. and 9:55 a.m. to depart at 3:15 p.m. and 4:40 p.m., respectively.
KX200 from Grand Cayman to Tampa was expected to depart at 5:30 p.m. instead of 11:35 a.m., and KX201 from Tampa to Grand Cayman was rescheduled to depart at 8:15 p.m. instead of 2:15 p.m.
KX832 from Grand Cayman to Havana was rescheduled from 1:20 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and KX833 from Havana to Grand Cayman was expected to depart at 8:15 p.m. instead of 3:25 p.m.
KX106 from Grand Cayman to Miami was rescheduled from 5:50 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.
KX107 from Miami to Grand Cayman was delayed from 8:30 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Cayman Islands Premier host’s seniors’ party
The Cayman Islands Premier, Alden McLaughlin hosted a party for his senior supporters last Sunday.
Members of his party were on hand to add to the Christmas cheer and there were many very happy attendees.
There was much food and fun.
If it could only be Christmas all the year around…
IMAGES: Tammie Chisholm
