Editorial
A StatesmanPasses On Time for Reasoning
The middle Sister Island of Cayman Bracis again in the news, this time with the sad passing of the lateCapt. Mabry Kirkconnell, OBE, who served for 20 years as the FirstElected Member for the sixth Electoral District and five as thesecond Caymanian to be elected by his peers to be the Speakerof the Legislative Assembly.
Undoubtedly, quite a lot will be said ofCapt. Mabry at his funeral service, which will be held on theBrac on Saturday, 24 March. Not sufficient though could be echoedabout his quiet strength as a master mariner, legislator, Speakerin control of the House, a businessman and devoted husband. Thosewho have been fortunate to know him well are today richer withthe memories made through sincere dialogue and the good orderof the businesslike manner in which he always conducted himself.
Many will miss Capt. Mabry, including Caymaniansof all walks, new and indigenous. He will be remembered and cherishedfor having made the meaning of being welcome to his beloved CaymanBrac and the Cayman Islands on the whole, a sincere salutationwith meaning.
The late Capt. Mabry was a stalwart pioneerof business development on the Brac. One of his ventures, KIDCOwas among the first enterprises developed in the Cayman Islandswith family values in mind. He championed causes to bring to theBrac development, which could be boasted as the most affluentin the region because of its smallness and perhaps the world.
What other municipality with a mere 1500or so population could boast of an airport facility capable ofcommercial passenger jets; a potable city water system; at onetime two retail banks (Cayman National is now the only one operatingfollowing the departure of Barclays); a dock facility capableof receiving roll on / roll off cargo; a modern civic centre whichdoubles as a hurricane shelter; state of the art telecommunicationsand television service; daily air service; its soon to be launchedown radio station; a government administration facility with aself-sufficient budget; a well run electricity service; hospital;tourism support plant; and so much more?
The infrastructure in place on Cayman Braccould well service a community five or more times its presentpopulation.
It is therefore then with some regret thatthe opportunity was not grasped to merge the three primary schools- which cater to an infinitesimal 129 students - into one centralfacility. This would have allowed for plans to proceed convertingone of the buildings that would have become available to accommodatea technical training facility.
The net result if this plan was allowedto proceed, would have seen a desired increase in the populationand a stem of the departure of young adults traveling to GrandCayman to pursue studies and jobs in the capital. Instead, therecould have been a reversal of this trend because many would havetraveled to the Brac instead to be trained particularlythose, young and old who are pining for the fast becoming preferenceof tranquility and serenity of the Grand Cayman in the past, butstill a standard in the Sister Islands.
It is hoped that there could be an opportunityto revisit with the proposal, which was proffered by the Ministerof Education, the Hon. Roy Bodden, because his suggestion, whichwas first developed by his predecessors makes a tremendous amountof economic sense. This would certainly put Cayman Brac furtherin its ever-amazing story of how to succeed ahead of its biggerSister of Grand Cayman.
We should now ask; how would dear Capt.Mabry have handled this issue? His counsel and steady resolvewill be surely missed.