‘About time’ for Sunday trading

By: Laura Buttigieg | lbuttigieg@pinnaclemedialtd.com

11 September, 2014


Residents who attended a Bodden Town community meeting this week to discuss Sunday trading expressed no objections to changes to the law.

About 10 residents met Wednesday night with Commerce Minister Wayne Panton to discuss amending the Sunday Trading Law 2003, as part of a public consultation period that runs until Sept. 30.

Residents said they believe allowing trade on Sundays would not have an impact on the religious character of the Cayman Islands but would enhance equality.

The group agreed Sunday trading should be introduced, but with limited hours of business operation.

Twyla Vargas, a Bodden Town resident, said she believes people should have the option to decide what activities they participate in on a Sunday.

She said any business that wanted to extend trading should be able to cater to personal choice.

“Where the law is concerned, I think it’s up to the individual person as to what they feel like doing,” Ms. Vargas said. “You personally have to know where you stand.  If you read the Bible, you will know what to do on a Sunday. I will be at church. Sunday is a day of rest and must be kept holy.”

George Town resident Cal Powery said he thought it was about time Cayman welcomed Sunday trading.

“I personally think it’s time, but I like the idea of limiting the number of [business] hours to keep Sunday different than the rest of the week,” he said.

“Everything has to happen on a Saturday, so we end up splitting up and there goes Saturday. It would be great to have the option, and I also think it would have a huge impact on traffic on a Saturday.

“It would help bring my family together,” he added.

Mr. Powery noted Cayman is a multicultural society and the new law would enable equality.

Mr. Panton said government does not have a preferred outcome on the issue but would focus on regulating businesses that currently trade on Sundays in breach of the current law.

“Whether we go beyond that, that is entirely up to what the community wants. We simply want to reflect the wishes of the community,” Mr. Panton said.

“A lot of people agree we could still consider some liberalization of Sunday trading while still maintaining a Christian character as a nation. There are a lot of potential positives to it, and at the end of the day it’s going to open up choices to customers.”

Mr. Panton said Sunday trading would also create more jobs for those who are unable to work during the week due to educational commitments and to those who wished to work part-time.

A second public consultation meeting will be held at the Town Hall in George Town on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Any legislative changes are expected to come into effect at the end of the year.

Visit www.dci.gov.ky.

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Seventh-day church accepts guns for amnesty

Posted on Thu, 06/03/2010 - 11:22 in Local News

(CNS): With only one week to go until the RCIPS gun amnesty ends, Pastors from the local mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church have joined forces with the service for the final push and said they are willing to accept illegal weapons from people afraid to go to the police. The Pastors will then in turn hand the weapons over to the RCIPS as part of the ‘no questions asked’ amnesty. Hoping to encourage those who are still reluctant, for whatever reason, to hand over illegal, unlicensed or unwanted, guns and ammunition at a police station, the pastors have said people can come to the church instead.

Pastors have also volunteered to work with RCIPS Area Commanders throughout the Cayman Islands to tell their congregations and communities how they can help cut gun crime in Cayman by taking part in the last few days of the amnesty.

“We are delighted to welcome the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a key partner in the gun amnesty,” said Detective Superintendent Marlon Bodden. “While we have always made it clear that the main drop off locations for surrendering guns and ammunition are the four main police stations on the islands, we want people to feel that they have choices. We have urged them to contact teachers, pastors, doctors, in fact anyone they trust to ask their help in surrendering the guns.”

The senior cop said the poice wanted to use every means possible to get guns off the streets and cut gun crime in the Cayman Islands. “That’s why we are grateful to the church for this very public display of support,” DS Bodden added.

Police officers have been working with the Pastors to ensure that the health and safety issues associated with handling firearms have been addressed.

“Of course it’s important to us that the Pastors feel comfortable accepting the guns – that’s why officers from our Uniform Support Group have provided advice about the safe handling of weapons,” DS Bodden explained. “The Pastors will merely take possession of the guns and immediately contact the police. Our officers will then make the guns safe before transporting them back to the station as part of the amnesty.”

Pastor Al Powell, of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, said the clergy’s goal was to help in the fight against crime. “All of our Pastors in the Seventh-day Adventist Church have discussed and agreed to help with this vital and important task – helping our community to be a safer place. Our overall objective is to assist in any way we can to reduce and fight crime - keeping our island as safe as possible,” he said.

“While we recognize the awesome responsibility, we will in no way act, or be police; we are simply facilitators in this process and are available to help those within the community that know or have developed trust in our ministers. Ingrained in our teaching is to be good law abiding citizens.”

The pastor said the church would be praying that the effort will be successful.

“We have at least one church/office in every district so please use the telephone directory to contact us. Anyone requiring additional information should call the central office at 9492647 or 9498167 and ask to speak with a Pastor. We are committed that anyone who chooses to use this option will remain anonymous. We congratulate the Police Commissioner, Detective Superintendent Marlon Bodden and their team for this noble endeavour,” Pastor Powell added.

The month long gun amnesty began on 10 May and will conclude on 10 June 2010. The amnesty operates 7 days a week from 7.00 a.m. until 7.00 p.m. Anyone with information about gun crime should contact their local police station, call the RCIPS confidential tip-line 949-7777, or call Crime Stoppers 800-8477 (TIPS).

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Source: http://www.caymannewsservice.com/local-news/2010/06/03/seventh-day-church-accepts-guns-amnesty

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Note: Bolds and Highlights added.

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P.S. Just had to add this correct comment from the article...

Dont need to have church in
Submitted by Twyla Vargas (not verified) on Sun, 06/06/2010 - 13:53.

Dont need to have church in doors every Sunday Night; What about having OPEN AIR CHURCH revival services on Sunday Nights (or Saturday mornings) in suspected areas where suspected criminals hangout, with an alter (Altar) call for "GUNS" Jesus is calling, Those who are weary come home. We never can tell, someone may hear thIs call.

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Cayman Islands Earthquake Shakes Region Still Further

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The Cayman Islands were hit by 5.8-magnitude earthquake which struck Tuesday at 9:23 AM EST. The quake's epicenter was 40 miles form the capital, George Town at a depth of 6.2 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The Cayman Islands earthquake is just the latest in the Caribbean Region, which is still recovering from the Haiti earthquake of a week ago.

On Monday, a 6.0 earthquake hit Guatemala and parts of El Salvador. In that earthquake, however, no damage was reported. At this time there have been no reports of more than minor damage or any injuries in the Cayman Island earthquake event.

The Cayman Islands are a three-island chain in the Caribbean. George Town is on the western shore of Grand Cayman Island. The other islands are Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, and they are located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica.

A tsunami alert was briefly issued and then canceled after the Cayman Islands earthquake struck. Prior to this one, the last earthquake to hit the Caymans was on December 14, 2004.

That was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake just three months after the Cayman Islands were devastated by Hurricane Ivan. The 2004 quake itself did little damage, however.

All of these recent quakes have struck on or near the fault which lies between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. The Cayman Islands earthquake was at the approximate depth as the Haiti quake. However, the fault which affected Haiti runs right through the island. The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory.

Written by Michael Santo

HULIQ.com

Source:http://www.huliq.com/3257/90606/cayman-islands-earthquake-shakes-region-still-further

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