Online postings from caymannetnews.com

Friday, October 15, 2004

• Property owners can now return
  Getting information on the status of my favorite Seven Mile Beach condos seems impossible. For Sanibel, there was a listing of the properties and the damage. Cayman – zip. No wonder the foreign press does not report anything. Nothing to report from. On the other hand, not telling the world you are a bedraggled disaster area is a good thing when it comes to getting tourists to return to condos without roofs or a working toilet - James Wall
  
  
• Spirit of caring and sharing alive in Cayman
  I have visited your islands one time last September. Ironically, we had our second vacation scheduled for 9/19 thru 10/3 and it was canceled. I was distraught for the people of your beautiful island as everyone we had met and gotten to know through diving were the most friendly and gracious people I have ever met. I pray for the recovery of your island and that someday again I may have the distinct pleasure of visiting with you again. Precious, fond memories of your beautiful island and people make me smile as I pray for your continued well being - Jan
  
  
• Burning up in the heat
  Any local or overseas company that has battery operated fans - mini or desk top - for sale, please let the public know - Anonymous
  
  
• No Pirates Week celebration this year
  If I am not mistaken, this is not the first year Pirates Week has been cancelled. It was cancelled one year several years ago. That was when they changed the dates of Pirates Week. It was held the last WEEK in October and now starts the last WEEKEND in October - SYC
  
  
• Disappointed by American media coverage
  I too would like to know why the American media hasn't given any information as to the devastation on Grand Cayman. Is the Cayman Government not giving out statistics? What was the death toll? It can't be zero. There was too much destruction. I care very deeply about the Cayman Islands and its people. I have been there on vacation ten times, and I will continue to come to my home away from home. I just would like to know when that might be! My prayers are with you - Tina Schelling
  
  
• Mac seeks UK aid
  n I hope he has success. I was on the Island when Ivan struck. I am now home in England and I have been writing to my M.P. telling him how much you wonderful people need help immediately. I shall keep on pushing for our Government to do something as opposed to sending consultants. You need tangible, visible aid. Good luck to you all - Joy
  
  
• I am so pleased that you are sending Mr Bush to London. It is time we realised just how much damage was done to this lovely Island that I often visit. Cayman belongs to England and they should be doing a lot more to help the people who have lost homes and everything they own. I am very, very sorry for the Cayman people but, knowing them, they will soon be up and going again - Dianne Cowan
  
  
• This aid should have been sought long ago. My kids and myself have been living away from our home, as I am sure plenty of other families, because of health issues. We have been forced to change our lifestyles, while the Honourable McKeeva Bush and the so called Governor are living like kings. I am so disgusted by the fact that help has been slow to arrive. I am depressed and my children miss their home. We ate poor meals and got very sick after the hurricane until we had to evacuate leaving my husband behind to take care of rebuilding, while Mr McKeeva seems to look quiet healthy by the picture I just saw. Doesn't seem to me that he's missed a meal yet. God bless our country and hopefully this catastrophe will serve as a lesson that we have been focusing too much on materialistic matters and forgotten how to be Christian and humble people - A Homesick Caymanian
  
  
• Don't forget the staff at the Chrissie Tomlinson Hospital
  Thank you for giving us all the opportunity to share our views via your newspaper.
  I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Dr Tomlinson and his staff at the Chrissie Tomlinson Hospital for their hard work and dedication following hurricane Ivan. I have read a lot in the media about the George Town Hospital and how they should be recognized for all their hard work. It seems that people forget that we have 2 hospitals. As a patient there, I saw the staff working extremely hard to attend to all the injured patients and they should be publicly recognized too.
  During the hurricane I received a nasty cut to my leg. I was actually TURNED AWAY from our Government hospital, and sent to Dr. Tomlinson's hospital, like many other patients. George Town Hospital was chaos and their generator wasn't working. They relied on the Chrissie Tomlinson Hospital during those most difficult hours and actually sent patients there. The Tomlinson hospital was up and running at all times and I received exceptional care there. The staff was great!
  I read a long letter from Mrs. Eloise Reid from the Health Services Authority thanking and recognizing their staff. Where was the thank you to the Chrissie Tomlinson Hospital staff who they had relied on so heavily to provide medical care when they couldn't? I would personally like to thank all Chrissie Tomlinson Hospital staff for taking care of us. Granted, I believe all medical staff deserves recognition and thanks. I want to remind everyone that we don't just have one hospital, we have two. Both are equally valuable. 
  Personally, I am so proud of Dr. Tomlinson for all he has achieved. His hospital excelled during and after the storm showing they can be relied on whatever the circumstances. His hospital was there for the country when we needed it most. Thank you and may God bless you all.
  I would also like to pose the question... when the public health department gave an account of how many injuries there had been due to Ivan, did they include statistics from Dr Tomlinson's hospital and other doctors? I guess not. The article I read gave the impression that the figures were for the country. This is misleading. Figures from ALL hospitals and other doctors should be included in these figures. Just another reminder to the Government that they are not the only people providing health care. It's time to acknowledge this. Let's see a true picture of the number of injuries following Ivan by including those patients that were cared for by private doctors - Name Withheld
  
  
• All is well on Cayman Brac!
  Since your publication and web site has a widespread readership abroad, I wish to address a glaring misconception that is being perpetuated in the international media. 
  Please do the Sister Islands a good service and publish this on your web site when you are able. The perception is that the entirety of the Cayman Islands has been devastated by hurricane Ivan. That is simply NOT true! 
  The country consists of THREE islands. It is the main island of Grand Cayman that was directly hit by Ivan and which suffered widespread devastation and is in relative chaos. However, approximately 90 miles to the east-northeast lies the other two Cayman Islands: Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. 
  The island of Cayman Brac has suffered no, I repeat, NO catastrophic damage and very little damage in general to speak of. Ivan missed us far enough to spare us from catastrophe. I hear that Little Cayman is equally unscathed and hope that is true. 
  It is Wednesday evening and Ivan has not long passed us and all is quiet now. I am sitting very comfortably in my home on the island of Cayman Brac, the second largest and easternmost of the three islands as I write this. I, and my fellow Brackers, have access to fresh water from our local and fully operational Water Authority desal plant; we have power, we have telephone service and even my 528 ADSL broadband Internet connection is back up, as is my Cable and Wireless cellular telephone service. 
  The stores here are all open, the airport is accepting aircraft and the cargo dock is ready for supply ships that are soon to arrive. The schools are open. The hospital and fire services are all operating as normal. The police service reports no incidents, and law, order, security and serenity prevail. Ironically, our little island, which is about 12 miles long and 1.5 miles across, has become a haven for people coming from the havoc of Ivan-torn Grand Cayman.
  My home is approximately 120 feet from the sea and about 13 feet above sea level. My family and I comfortably rode out the storm here and had a very good night's sleep as 90 mph peak winds howled. We were without power in the height of the storm because the utility service shut off power to their lines to minimize damage to their transmission system in the event of downed lines. However, there were no power poles down and no power transmission lines downed that I could see on my all-island drive yesterday and power was back on a few hours after the worst winds past us. A handful of the "drop lines" - both power and telephone - from the utility poles to the buildings were pulled away from a few buildings but Cayman Brac Power and Light are restoring them even as I write. During the storm we even had telephone service. It was not until Grand Cayman got hit that our international telephone and Internet service was disrupted, but was quickly restored, much to the credit of Cable and Wireless Ltd.
  Thus far, I have heard of only one house suffering any significant roof damage although that is unconfirmed. In my travels throughout Cayman Brac yesterday I saw no houses with anymore than very minor damage. Virtually 100% of the homes and buildings here are completely intact with no damage whatever. The brunt of the hurricane's force was aimed at the sparsely-populated South side of the island. Some of the houses on the South coast which are very near the shoreline or very low to the sea had some sea water wash in, but I neither witnessed nor have I heard of any structural damage. 
  The worst damage was to a small bar/restaurant overlooking the sea on the South coast. The sea gutted it as it was DIRECTLY on the edge of water. But even in summer wind squalls the sea will break over the low seawall there and occasionally wet bar patrons, so it was not any surprise that it was destroyed in Ivan. That is quite unfortunate as it was a favorite "watering hole" for many locals and visitors alike. A couple of the boat docks inside the reef on the South side of the island of Cayman Brac were either washed away or damaged.
  However, they were of simple wood construction and it was expected that they would probably suffer damage just as some of them did in other forceful hurricanes in the past. They will be rebuilt in short order and things will be back to normal on Cayman Brac. I am so sorry and so sad that the same cannot be said for our big sister, Grand Cayman.
  It was a beautiful day here on the Brac. As the sun sets here I sit and reflect on how blessed we were to have missed the ravages of Ivan the Terrible. All the Brac people I know consider ourselves fortunate to live here and are supremely thankful we escaped Ivan's wrath. We here on Cayman Brac count our blessings and keep our fellow islanders on Grand Cayman in our thoughts and prayers. They have been through Hell and back and have much hardship yet to face. Some people from Cayman Brac are flying to Grand Cayman to help in the emergency relief effort, and many here are gathering up clothing and other supplies to donate to the huge need on Grand Cayman.
  Since our little Island depends so much on tourism it compounds our distress over Grand Cayman's plight to read and hear all the headlines indicating that the entire country is a wasteland. The myth that the entire country is devastated could severely and negatively impact Cayman Brac's tourism industry, especially for the coming Winter season as people are making vacation booking decisions now. The truth needs to be proclaimed that Cayman Brac - thank God - faired Ivan well and is just fine, and is still beautiful as ever. Cayman Brac stands ready to welcome those wishing to visit here as soon as airline flight services and reservation services for local resorts normalize - M. K.
  
  
• Jobs
  I have question that may or may not already been dealt with. I am a Caymanian working for a hotel based on Grand Cayman. I am a salaried employee. Is it legal that the hotel does not pay me? Thankfully, the banks have waived loan payments until January. I understand that they lose their revenue for the few months that they are closed, but I also have a life to live. I've had to move off of the island and stay with a friend as I would not be able to afford to live in Grand Cayman right now. 
  I strongly believe that being as they are the bigger/wealthier party that we should be paid. Hurricane Ivan was an act of God, not an act of insolence on my part, why should I be punished? Money makes the world go around, and things are even harder now considering that I have to make my dollar stretch for the next two months. Could you please confirm what the rules are on large employees paying their staff after Hurricane Ivan, or direct me to someone who can?
  And I thank you very much Cayman Net News for showing me what is happening on the island. You are my key to what is going on. Thanks - A VERY Upset Caymanian
  
  
• Eradicate Casuarina trees
  Casuarina trees are harmful to the native ecology in the Cayman Islands. Ground disturbed by Ivan is favorable for their scattered seeds to take root, grow and choke out the native vegetation. When grown, these trees further enhance beach erosion. All seedlings and saplings should be eradicated as they spring up in the coming months, or the island will be overrun by them. For more info see http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/documnts/casuequ.html 
  - Concerned Cayman Homeowner and Horticulturist
  
  
• Ivan's Casualties
  According to current statistics, there are about 2 deaths weekly (just over 100 per year) on this Island. If 13 people died in a period of 2 weeks post Ivan-that would be 9 more than the 4 expected. Yes, these people died of "natural causes" perhaps, but Hurricane Ivan caused conditions which increased the mortality rate dramatically. I feel that all those who died during this period deserve to be called Ivan's victims, and that a fitting memorial statue should be erected in their memory. Perhaps all Caymanians might mark the date of September 12, 2004 as a day of remembrance for many years to come - Heart to Heart

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