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VOLUME:118 No.34, JANUARY 13, 2021

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WE DID OUR BEST - NOW TRUST US

Minnis defends handling of crisis as Dahl-Regis to advise on vaccinations

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis last night defended his government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis - and announced that Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis will chair a consultative committee to advise the Ministry of Health on a vaccination plan.

In a speech highlighting plans and touting how the government has handled the COVID-19 crisis, Dr Minnis said the committee “will report at the appropriate time on the rollout of a vaccine in The Bahamas”.

Some on social media

criticised the address, however, noting the nation’s leader said nothing specific about when COVID-19 restrictions will be further relaxed or the way forward in the pandemic.

While telling a story about a grandmother who said she cannot wait for the pandemic to be over, Dr Minnis also said COVID19 “restrictions will end” at some point, but did not elaborate.

“Thankfully, because there are now successful vaccines for COVID-19, our country, and our economy, are set to reopen more fully in the months ahead,” he said.

SEE PAGE THREE

that the US would allow travellers to get a PCR or antigen test for entry, the latter of which is cheaper and has a quicker turnaround time.

In a statement posted on its website, the CDC noted that air passengers will be required to get a viral test — a test for current infection — within the three days before their flight to the US departs, and provide written documentation of their laboratory test result to the airline or SEE PAGE THREE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A 24-YEAR-OLD Freeport man accused of attempting to abduct two school girls last week in Grand Bahama was arraigned yesterday.

Justin Seymour, of Wrexham Drive, Arden Forest, appeared before Magistrate LaQuay Laing in Freeport on two counts of attempted child stealing.

It is alleged that on Wednesday, January 6, the accused attempted to steal a nine-year-old child at the Walter Parker Primary School.

SEE PAGE SEVEN

IT’S WORK AND IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO IS DOING IT

SEE PAGE EIGHT

US TRIPS WILL NEED NEGATIVE COVID TEST THE US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday it will require all air passengers entering the United States to have a negative COVID-19 test as cases surge in America and a more infectious coronavirus strain spreads around the world.

When contacted last night, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said while the new requirement will no doubt be an added concern for visitors, he “breathed a sigh of relief”

ABDUCTION SUSPECT IS GIVEN BAIL

TWO SHOT AS THEY SAT IN PARKED CAR A MAN and a woman are in hospital after a shooting in New Providence on Monday.

Police said the incident took place shortly after 6pm when the two victims were seated in a vehicle while parked on Palm Beach Street. A gunman approached them and discharged the weapon in their direction. Both occupants received injuries and were taken to hospital in a private vehicle. Their condition is not known at this time.

SEE PAGE FIVE

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis speaking during yesterday’s national address.

‘HOW DID IRAQI GET SENIOR UB ROLE?’

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

MEMBERS of the Union of Tertiary Educators of The Bahamas are up in arms over the appointment of Iraqi-born Professor Sarim Al-Zubaidy to the position of executive vice president of University of The Bahamas.

The appointment was announced last week and

PROF SARIM AL-ZUBAIDY took effect on January 4.

UTEB’s president, Daniel Thompson said he cannot understand how Mr

Al-Zubaidy was appointed when the university owes union members monies from as far back as 2011. He also said senior positions at the premier educational institution should be occupied by qualified Bahamian professionals.

He said while the union was engaged during the search process, executives are unhappy about the appointment.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FOUR

TECHNOLOGY

FIVE TECH SHOW TRENDS TO WATCH SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, January 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

FROM left, Anthony Enelus, Leonard Symonette, Mauricio Webster and Kenneth Cummings outside court yesterday.

Four men face court accused of murders

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

FOUR men were charged in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday with murder in connection with three separate incidents that took place last year and earlier this month.

In the most recent case, Anthony Enelus, 22, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with the shooting death of Carlyle Johnson on January 5.

The prosecution said that on the same day the accused also used a firearm to make another man

fear for his life During the arraignment, Enelus was not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to February 12 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Due to the nature of the offences, he was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until that time.

Meanwhile, Leonard Symonette, 26, and Mauricio Webster, 18, were charged with the December 23, 2020, murder of Bradley Strachan.

Like Enelus, Symonette and Webster were not required to enter a plea to

the murder charge. They return to court on February 12 to be presented with a VBI. In the meantime, both accused were denied bail and remanded into custody.

Finally, Kenneth Cummings, 31, appeared before Magistrate Forbes after he was accused of killing Vincent Knowles Jr on December 8, 2020.

After the charge was read, the case was adjourned to February 12 for service of a VBI. In the interim, Cummings was denied bail and remanded to prison.

All have a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

GIRL, AGE 7, IN HOSPITAL AFTER BEING HIT BY CAR

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A SEVEN-year-old child was taken to hospital yesterday after being struck by a car at Robinson Road.

Death Notice For

Mrs. Melvina Bonamy died on Monday, January 4th, 2021.

She is survived by her children: Kerry, Clover, Kaylene, Candida and Melvin Jr.; grandchildren: Krysten, Haydn and Amare.

Inspector Jerone Thompson, of the Royal Bahamas Police Force traffic division, said: “She ran out of a yard on Robinson Road and a vehicle that was travelling east on Robinson Road would’ve struck her. She would’ve received some injuries to her shoulder and legs – nothing life threatening.”

He said the matter is still under investigation so he couldn’t say if speed or carelessness was a factor.

In January 2020, 46-yearold Geneva Gibson died after being struck by a vehicle. Her son Deangelo Bain told The Tribune his mother went to the store for some pain killers and something to drink for her daughter.

She was hit on her way back.

Later that year, a minor’s life was claimed in a similar situation. A resident of Fox Town, Abaco, 16-yearold Zion Wellington Pratt, was tragically killed by a motorist.

It was reported the teen was thrown several feet into bushes after being hit by a “speeding car” on the S C Bootle Highway – he died at the scene. The vehicle sustained extensive damage.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 13, 2021, PAGE 3

We did our best - now trust us from page one “I say to that grandmother, and to all Bahamians: The end is in sight! Restrictions will end!

We will get back to our way of life! Jobs and the economy are coming back!

“Last month, some hotel workers returned to their jobs. But we still have a few more months to go, especially as the pandemic continues to rage, in countries all around us.”

Dr Minnis cautioned that the crisis is not over.

“It is possible that cases will rise again before vaccines arrive,” he said. “If this happens, as a government and people, we will have to return to some of the measures that worked to beat back previous waves.

“Through our experience during the pandemic year, we now know the formula that works. Tough times do not scare us. Difficult circumstances do not break our resolve.”

Dr Minnis said $177m was spent through the end of October 2020 in response to COVID-19.

“To help support businesses and workers, we offered $44.4m in tax credit/ tax deferrals which funded the payrolls for nearly 7,000 private sector employees.

“To protect nearly 4,500 jobs in the small business sector, $47.3m was made available for small business grants and continuity loans, through the Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre.

“The government provided $45.5m in unemployment

support, administered by the National Insurance Board. This included the extension of NIB’s existing benefit programmes, as well as support for Bahamians in the hospitality sector and self-employed individuals.

This has been the largest distribution of unemployment benefits in Bahamian

history.”

Dr Minnis said between March and October 2020, $17.2m was spent on food support, providing food for about 100,000 people.

He added that in New Providence, $9m has been spent improving Princess Margaret Hospital and areas of Sandilands

Rehabilitation Centre while in Grand Bahama, $21m has been allocated for a phased redevelopment of Rand Memorial Hospital.

Dr Minnis said the government is in the process of buying 5,000 tablets for students in junior high schools.

“All students and teachers on the Family Island communities were provided with devices for the new school year: Mayaguana, Inagua, Acklins, Crooked Island, San Salvador, Rum Cay, Cat Island, and on Andros, for the communities of Congo Town and Mangrove Cay.”

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells yesterday defended the country’s travel protocols after concerns were raised over the number of travellers not complying with fifth day rapid antigen test travel requirement.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, the minister said the low COVID numbers in the country and declining hospitalisations show that the current travel measures are working.

“All I’ll say is the numbers so far are bearing out quite well in regards to adherence and compliance by the Bahamian people to the health protocols,” he said outside of Cabinet when asked to respond to concerns over the issue.

“We have four persons hospitalised as of today, down from the 15 that (were) in hospital on the first of January. I think the health protocols that we have in place are working to the extent that we

would like to see them work.

“Obviously as I said, we had a number of holidays which we’ve gone through and so the government of The Bahamas is going to be looking at those… but at present, from what our numbers are seeing, we do have containment of the virus.”

During a Ministry of Health press conference on Friday, health officials revealed that 46 percent of travellers required to take the rapid antigen test five days after arriving in The Bahamas have not complied with the policy since it was implemented late last year.

According to the ministry’s Senior House Officer Dr Cherita Moxey, the figure represents some 21,000 people.

The revelation has raised concern in some circles, with the Progressive Liberal Party’s COVID-19 task force co-chair Dr Michael Darville calling the situation an “alarming” matter that should “greatly concern” Bahamians.

Senator Darville said better enforcement of the current testing regime is needed especially as the country prepares to potentially face new COVID-19 threats.

“They must put the necessary resources to find the manpower to ensure that that is corrected,” he told The Tribune on Monday.

“In view of the fact that we have highly contagious strains popping up, we have to do a better job to ensure that visitors as well as residents arriving who are supposed to do follow up testing get those testing done.”

Consultant Physicians Staff Association (CPSA) President Sabriquet Pinder-Butler suggested the country should revisit “some measure of quarantine” until officials can put in place better strategies.

However, Mr Wells did not share the same view yesterday as he only expressed satisfaction with the country’s travel protocols, insisting the measures are working “to the extent”

health officials would like to see it.

He also pointed to the fact that less than one percent of those who submitted to the fifth day rapid antigen testing protocol tested positive for COVID-19.

According to Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan, 70,000 antigen tests have been performed for travel purposes since the country loosened travel restrictions on November 1, 2020, with 113 of those tests producing positive results.

Yesterday, Mr Wells said the low percentage “speaks to the strength of the health protocols.”

“I think what is instructive, more so, is that point one percent of those who tested, point one percent not one percent, point one percent tested positive with the rapid antigen test,” he stressed.

“It speaks to the strength of the health protocols, it speaks to the fact of us requiring that RT-PCR tests five days before you come, that shortened window and so I think the health protocols so far is are bearing

out the way we would like to see it and we’re seeing the results from it in regard to those persons coming in from the country.”

The minister also hit at comments that health officials have dropped the ball with the fifth day testing requirement and that the current travel policies are not working.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating and the numbers say where we’re at so we’ll be looking at the numbers going forward,” he said. “Remember now, these protocols were in place from November the first. We’re almost two and half months down the road from November the first and as we can see, the circumstance in country is still in hand.”

Total COVID-19 cases remained at 8,004 on Monday after no new cases were reported for that day – a situation attributed to fewer laboratories reporting results on the Majority Rule holiday.

“Consequently, the reported number of COVID-19 cases may not

be a true reflection of the burden of the disease,” health officials said.

This comes as officials warn the country to prepare for more infectious variants of COVID-19 as seen abroad that could lead to a potential third wave.

The Bahamas does not currently have the capacity for the genomic sequencing that is necessary to determine if any of the new strains are present in the country.

Yesterday, Mr Wells said the government is looking at ways to secure the tools needed to do so.

“We are looking at that but, in any event,, if we need to we are able to send samples abroad and get the results back very, very quickly,” he said.

“We are testing for COVID-19 (strains) if we see a circumstance that they saw in the UK where the virus was spreading at a particular rate that was unusual in regards to its normal spread then the government of The Bahamas will take normal steps to be able to test.”

WELLS DEFENDS DAY FIVE TESTING SHORTFALL

US TRIPS WILL NEED NEGATIVE COVID TEST from page one provide documentation of having recovered from COVID-19.

Airlines must confirm the negative test result for all passengers or documentation of recovery before they board. If a passenger does not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery, or chooses not to take a test, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger, the CDC said.

The order was signed by CDC Director Robert Redfieldon yesterday and will become effective on January 26.

“Testing does not eliminate all risk,” the CDC director said in the agency’s statement, “but

when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations.”

Last night, the tourism minister said he is thankful The Bahamas had already rolled out antigen testing protocols across the country which will ensure travellers here can meet the new US requirement.

“We’ve been advised that were you to require a test to enter the US, it would be either a PCR or an antigen test, both of which are very easily accessible here,” Mr D’Aguilar said

last night. “Needless to say, it is another concern for a traveller. The traveller who is planning a trip out of the US, going to any Caribbean country, is going to need a PCR test to enter The Bahamas or a Caribbean country and then is going to need a PCR or an antigen test to re-enter the US. “However, thankfully, in our entry protocols, we require anyone in the country to get a rapid antigen test on day five of their visit in the country so we have a network of clinics/testing centres through the length and breadth of the county where travellers can obtain a rapid antigen test very easily.

“My biggest concern was, they couldn’t obtain one

(a PCR test) in the Family Islands and that would significantly restrict travel to the Family Islands, so I’m appeased somewhat that it is a rapid antigen test because travellers can very easily obtain a rapid antigen test throughout The Bahamas.

“In the rollout of the travel visa, we built this network in excess of 60 clinics or testing sites throughout the country so it will be very easy for travellers to obtain this rapid antigen test to return back to the United States. A number of hotels are actually already providing this test on property, so for example Baha Mar tests you when you come in with a rapid antigen test so it’s very easy and

it is a relatively inexpensive test so companies should be able to offer it for between $20 and $30 depending on the type of test you use, so it should be pretty straightforward for travellers to obtain this test.

“I’ve breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t just a PCR test. I breathe this for the Family Islands especially because you cannot get a PCR test. Thank God the government decided to introduce a rapid antigen test on day five of a visit because it caused us to build out a network. It was a judicious decision by the government to introduce a five-day antigen test because we are prepared.”

The CDC’s latest directive expands on an earlier

policy last month which required passengers travelling from the UK to the US to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result before travelling. This came after the UK experienced a surge in new COVID-19 cases due to more contagious strain of the virus.

The new strain is not more deadly, however.

The Bahamas currently requires all travellers to present a negative PCR test taken within five days of travel to enter the country. Those staying more than five days are required to take an antigen test on day five, but last week officials revealed more than 40 percent of travellers in this category have not met this requirement.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, January 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

PENSIONERS gathered outside NIB as they attempted to verify their benefits earlier this month.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

Benefit verifications extended to July 1

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE National Insurance Board yesterday announced a grace period has been approved for longterm benefit verifications.

NIB said the verification date for all people aged 60 and over (for all benefits, including retirement, invalidity and disability) has been extended to July 1, 2021.

Meanwhile, all people under the age of 60 who are in receipt of survivors benefits as well as for all long-term beneficiaries who

reside overseas have until March 31.

The agency also said NIB will no longer perform face to face verifications during the grace period and the needed forms can be picked up or dropped off by another individual (ie other than the beneficiary) or emailed to NIB at verification@nib-bahamas.com.

“Persons who have had a change in circumstance that impacts their continued eligibility for the long-term benefit should continue to notify NIB via email (verification@ nib-bahamas.com) as soon as possible (ie change in

marital status, children no longer enrolled in school, increase in incomes beyond the allowed levels, etc).”

The press statement read: “NIB continues to encourage its customers to utilise the non-face to face mechanisms to complete their pension verification, as follows: a pastor, priest, senior government official, lawyer, magistrate, medical doctors licenced in The Bahamas, or justice of the peace are considered sanctioned authorities for the purpose of confirming that the customer has completed the verification form.

“The form, signed by

the sanctioned authority, can then be dropped off or emailed to NIB without the need to wait; or retirement verifications can be completed online via the Registrant Self-Service portal (RSS).”

NIB also said the designated “sanctioned authority” is not responsible for confirming the “correctness or truthfulness of the statements on the verification form”. The customer/beneficiary remains solely liable for the correctness and truthfulness of the statements on the form.

The Tribune reported earlier this month that

a line of pensioners had crowded outside NIB’s headquarters for pension verification as they tried to get the process completed ahead of the January 15 deadline to avoid interruption in benefit payments.

NIB also said: “NIB had embarked on a process over the last few weeks to ensure that all recipients of long-term benefits (ie retirement, disability, survivors, etc) were in compliance with the National Insurance legislation which mandates verification of continued eligibility of the respective benefit twice per year.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, NIB halted most of its face-to-face operations, including in-person pension verifications, but continued to receive emailed and drop-box verifications. Many customers continued to provide their verifications in this manner and remained in compliance with the National Insurance legislation.

“However, many customers had not verified in 2020, and therefore a special exercise was being conducted to verify those customers to ensure their continued eligibility for their benefits.”

‘HOW DID IRAQI GET SENIOR UB ROLE?’

from page one

Mr Thompson said: “We were a part of the search process... while

we commend the university for engaging (in) a transparent process, we

are surprised that in light of the current pandemic and the severe financial fall out, the government of The Bahamas, through the board of trustees, is prepared to permit the entry into The Bahamas of Professor Sarim Al-Zubaidy.

“He is now here. Faculty is still waiting on promotions and back pay from 2011.

“The university had promised, through the president, that those monies would have been available from October. He promised it again in November and December.

“It is now January and the back pay for people who were promoted from 2011, ten years ago, the university is not in a position to pay that back pay. Not even increments that the university had promised were paid.”

He also questioned if the new hire is receiving a generous salary and associated perks.

Last summer, UB President Dr Rodney Smith was shortlisted along with two other finalists to be West Virginia State University’s 12th president.

He later said he withdrew his candidacy ahead of their decision but also confirmed last year that he will not renew his contract with the university when it expires in 2022.

Yesterday, the union leader speculated if Professor Al-Zubaidy will be called upon to lead the university should Dr Smith leave abruptly.

He continued: “What I suspect the university is doing to protect itself to ensure that should the president get up and get another job offer and leave the university, then they will have someone to head the institution; the bringing Professor Al-Zubaidy in. If that is so, it creates a critical problem.

“You are bringing in someone who was interviewed for an executive vice president position and you are bringing him in as the de facto future president.

So the executive vice president will ultimately become the acting president whom they never interviewed for the position of acting president. This is in case the president does what he did last summer. This is not right because you have persons already at the institution who are qualified to act in that position.”

Prior to his appointment at UB, Professor Al-Zubaidy was employed as president of University of Trinidad and Tobago.

According to a Trinidadian publication, Newsday, he resigned his post there after a tumultuous tenure as president.

UB, in a statement

announcing his new role, hailed Professor AlZubaidy as a registered chartered engineer and chartered environmentalist with over 30 years’ experience in executive, administrative and academic positions in a variety of higher education institutions around the world.

“This is happening while Bahamians are being laid off, and the country is experiencing high unemployment, estimated at 30 percent to 40 percent by the Minister (of) Labour Senator Dion Foulkes in a June 3, 2020 interview,” Mr Thompson said of the appointment. “Further, he said that 55,000 persons have applied for unemployment benefits.

“Yet University of The Bahamas has (asked) the government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to issue a labour certificate and work permit for Professor Sarim AlZubaidy, notwithstanding formal protestations by UTEB. UTEB maintains that UB has internally, several Bahamian professionals, qualified and ready to serve or at least act in the executive vice-president position until a stable economic climate returns to the country.”

Attempts to reach Dr Smith and other school officials for comment were unsuccessful.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 13, 2021, PAGE 5

San Salvador residents fear for future after Club Med closure

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

THE closure of Club Med with the loss of 190 jobs has left many residents of San Salvador uncertain of their financial future.

The all-inclusive resort, sprawled along Bonefish Bay Beach in Salvador, is responsible for most of the employment on the island.

One hundred and seventy-two of those who lost their jobs are members of Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU).

The Tribune spoke with Lynette Storr, a room attendant at the resort and also a chief shop steward of the BHCAWU. She is a bit doubtful of the promised opening in 2021 and said all they can do is pray.

She said: “We don’t have a clue what we are going to do. We are just putting our trust in God and praying and hoping that come December, Club Med lives up to their word and reopens.

“My personal opinion is that I don’t see it opening in December 2021. I see Club

Med open in 2022. I feel that way because they have just paid out a lot of money in severance pay on January 4. If a company pays out that kind of money at the start of the year, I don’t see them coming back and opening in December. Anything is possible but I don’t see it.

CLUB MED IN SAN SALVADOR “We are just hoping that this virus is contained so that guests can travel. We don’t want it to be a situation where they open and no guests are travelling.

That is what we are hearing is happening to Atlantis and Baha Mar. Club Med’s guests primarily come from France where COVID is

spiking. As much as we want the hotel to open, we prefer for them to wait to see if the vaccine works and the virus is contained.”

Ms Storr said employees at the resort would not want the property to open earlier and then have to shut right back down due to lack of guests.

She continued: “Some persons who are not from this island have to return.

They had to pack up and leave. Club Med is the main income here and some government jobs. Some people will start selling food on the side to try to make an income but persons are not spending like that because you can’t just spend off the money you got for severance. We are not sure what we are going to do, but we can just hope for the best.”

Ms Storr said the severance pay-outs were satisfactory to line staff, but claimed there are issues with the amount of money paid out to supervisors.

She said: “The line staff got what we were supposed to get. If you are here for 12 years or more, you get 24 weeks of your salary. That is law. But according to the law, the supervisors didn’t get what they were supposed to get.

I think the union is working on that with Club Med to see how best the supervisors can get the rest of their money.”

Hanzell Moss, who also speaks French, has worked at several Club Med properties around the world and

is now retired as an actual staffer, but takes photos of guests at the resort daily and also has a bicycle rental business connected to the resort.

Mr Moss said: “San Salvador’s Club Med has the sweetest deal out of any resort in the area. For instance, most of the maids go home with $550 a week.

The least they go home with is $400. Also there are a lot of benefits like getting money on your birthday and after knocking off from work and going home, you are allowed to come back to the resort to eat dinner.

Lots of benefits.

“Club Med is the main employment on the island.

Guests are hitting me up on Facebook asking me when we are going to open back up. The closure affects the island directly because even if you don’t work for Club Med, you have some spin off business that is connected to Club Med. “Some people might make it because they might have a wife or husband who has a government job here.

They should be fine. It’s going to be rough, so I hope everyone takes care of the severance that they got.”

30 YEARS OF HELPING TO OVERCOME SUBSTANCE ABUSE

THE Bahamas Association for Social Health (BASH), a non-profit civil society organisation, marked its 30th anniversary on January 10.

For 30 years, the organisation has helped clients and their families with substance use disorder receive treatment and rehabilitation.

BASH was founded by Terry K Miller to provide safe access

to community detox and recovery services.

Mr Miller led the first ten clients to the rustic, long abandoned home on the hill overlooking Three Island Dock and the waters between North Eleuthera and Harbour Island, which they called Discovery Hill, on January 10, 1991.

Since then, thousands of

substance abusers and their families have received help and more than three hundred men ranging in age from 20 to 70 have successfully graduated from the six to 24-month programme.

The programme, now located in Nassau on Recovery Way and Columbus Drive, helps people referred by the courts, other treatment programmes, Department of Social Services,

employers, and families, with issues ranging from drug possession, driving under the influence, and working under the influence among others.

Mr Miller said: “After 30 years, I am proud of the peaceful and nurturing culture that we have been able to create, the number of families we have been able to help repair the wounds of addiction, and the

TWO SHOT AS THEY SAT IN PARKED CAR from page one Police also said a man and woman were arrested around 1am on Monday for drug possession.

The arrests came after officers from the Operations Unit, armed with a search warrant, went to a residence on St Vincent Road.

While there, a man and a woman said they were the occupants of the residence.

A search of the house was conducted and as a result, the officers discovered a quantity of suspected marijuana.

Both occupants were arrested and taken into custody.

Investigations into both matters continue.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

YOUR

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

love and appreciation expressed by our supporters, who have had a significant impact on our survival. We have also increased our numbers from 16 beds in North Eleuthera to 28 beds at our present Recovery Way site”.

The group aims to expand its services - and will continue its anniversary celebrations throughout this month.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, January 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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No change for now, says Dr Minnis FOR a national address, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis did not have a great deal to say last night.

There was, for example, no word on any change in COVID-19 restrictions.

There was no definitive plan laid out for how vaccinations will be rolled out – rather just an announcement that Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis will lead a committee to advise on such a plan.

This stands in contrast to comments from the Health Minister, Renward Wells, previously, who said in early December that the ministry had already drafted a “fully functional, laid out vaccination plan” which had been developed over the previous two months.

Quite what the new committee means to that plan we’re not sure.

Mr Wells was also in the news again yesterday, in response to concerns that 46 percent of travellers had not taken the rapid antigen test on the fifth day of their visit as required. He said that the number of cases we have in the country show that “the health protocols that we have in place are working to the extent that we would like to see them work”.

So he’d like to see around half of all travellers fail to follow the rules then?

Come on, Mr Wells, either these tests are necessary or they aren’t – don’t try and pull the wool over our eyes. If they’re not of any use, scrap them. If they are of use, enforce them. And in the meantime, explain why they haven’t been carried out in the first place.

As Mr Wells was dancing this dance, Dr Minnis was defending his government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, pointing to the reduction in cases and detailing how much money the government had spent in response to COVID-19.

Dr Minnis was upbeat, saying that “the end is in sight” while also cautioning against the prospect of a third wave of the virus before the vaccines arrive.

In short, for most of us, nothing changed as a result of this speech. It was a chance for Dr Minnis to make his case about what the government has done

so far – without detailing what the government will do next other than buying more tablet devices for high school students, a sign that remote learning isn’t going away in a hurry.

The curfews remain. The other emergency powers measures remain. Dr Minnis said that the “restrictions will end” but declined to specify when.

So it’s as you were for now, after a national address that didn’t address much of anything at all.

US test requirement In a change that will affect a significant number of Bahamians, the US is to introduce a requirement that all air passengers arriving there will have to have a negative COVID-19 test.

This of course mirrors the requirement we have here – although Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar offered some reassurance that an antigen test will be sufficient rather than a PCR test.

There’s a big difference between the two – the chief one for travellers being cost. A PCR test costs a lot more than the antigen test, although it is regarded as far more accurate.

For visitors going either way, that requirement could add substantially to the journey’s cost, so the ability to use an antigen test reduces that a huge amount – otherwise it could bring travel grinding to a halt again.

Indeed, some tourist markets are ahead of the game – with guests at Baha Mar being given free COVID-19 tests already as part of the cost of their stay.

That kind of thinking by tourist destinations is to be encouraged, rather than seeing travellers put off by all the extra costs to their bill.

As it happens, looking back to that day five rapid antigen requirement, that will suffice for re-entry to the United States for visitors from there.

All the more reason to make sure that everyone is taking it.

Georgia win for Warnock EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS A black Bahamian male, I should be euphoric over the Rev Dr Raphael Warnock’s historic victory for the Senate seat in the State of Georgia, over the Republican incumbent billionaire Kelly Loeffler.

Georgia is a redneck state, having been one of eleven states of the Confederacy under Jefferson Davis, prior to the Civil War between 1861 - 1865.

Georgia is a bastion of the Ku Klux Klan, where in certain counties it is unsafe for wandering African Americans at night.

It was in the State of Georgia where Ahmaud Arberry was allegedly gunned down by white racists in February of 2020.

Few American politicos envisaged an African American or any other ethnic minority being a Senator from the State of Georgia. Warnock overcame insurmountable hurdles, especially given the fact that his Republican challenger, Kelly Loeffler, was backed by powerful forces within her political organisation.

In this regard, the Warnock campaign was tantamount to a David versus

Goliath scenario, in which, humanly speaking, the odds were stacked against him.

With Warnock winning in Georgia coupled with Barack Obama becoming the first black president of the United States, the dream of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr has become a reality for African Americans.

In this regard, I am happy for Warnock. However, as an evangelical Christian, I have my misgivings about Warnock in Congress.

In fact, I will list five: Firstly, Warnock is pro-choice, which is a euphemistic way of saying he is pro-abortion.

According to the Bible, abortion is cold-blooded murder.

Secondly, Warnock is pro-homosexual, which means that he is at odds with the Bible that condemn homosexuality.

Thirdly, Warnock supports the Marxist Democratic Party and its liberal platform, which is subversive to Western civilisation, which was built on the Judeo-Christian worldview.

Fourthly, Warnock, despite pastoring the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, is very liberal theologically, in the tradition

of Dr Jeremiah Wright and Dr Otis Moss III of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois.

Even King was an outright liberal when it came to the Bible, having been influenced by the likes of Paul Tillich, Walter Rauschenbusch and Howard Thurman.

And fifthly, Warnock, based on 1 Timothy 3:1-7, is spiritually and theologically unqualified to be shepherding God’s flock, notwithstanding his impressive academic qualifications.

My main concern about Warnock is that he will carry his dangerous liberal world view to Washington, where he will shape policies as a powerful legislator.

As Ebenezer Baptist Church pastor, his sphere of influence was limited to thousands. Ebenezer currently has a membership of six thousand.

As senator, however, Warnock will now be able to influence untold millions of Americans. For what it’s worth, Warnock’s theological liberalism is a sad indictment on the African American church.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama.

January 11, 2021.

Campaign money bill EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE noose tightens and the country is nearer to a dictatorship than we realise.

The Prime Minister says that all decisions are taken to Cabinet, but still insists on being the “Competent Authority”. This, I assume, gives him the right, without consulting with Cabinet, license to make all sorts of decisions.

Has anyone checked lately on the mining in Andros? Has the Government given the proposed Andros mining project permission to go ahead with their plan, or have they successfully gotten the public’s eye off the ball by condoning the oil drilling?

And now election fever is in the air. The ground for the FNM is shaky. They must control the vote. So they’re presenting the country some honey that, in my view, is lined with poison.

They say it is too late to deliver on their campaign promise of limiting the position of PM to two terms.

But apparently it is not too late to introduce and pass a “Campaign Money Bill”.

Well, well, well. For some reason it seems the fish is stinking somewhere.

The Attorney General, Carl Bethell, claims that the FNM is going to craft

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net legislation, and introduce to Parliament a Bill, which will, by law, force the disclosure of names of donors contributing to an individual or party, and adds that the names of the donors would still be kept private and would be forwarded to a “special commission”.

Sounds good, eh? Who would appoint the “special commission”? Donors kept private did you say?

That was the honey. Yes, it sounds sweet. Now here is the poison. Armed with the names of the donors in the hands of the “special commission” appointed by Government (in this case the FNM) does this suggest that anyone making a donation to the opposing party can be strong-armed, threatened with discrimination of his/her business or whatever?

Is the Government doing the country a favour? Or is this just tightening the noose?

There is already a Public Disclosure Bill. When I was in Parliament, if you were a week late presenting your Public Disclosure, you got a letter giving you a week before it was sent to the

Speaker of the House who would take strict action against the member.

I understand that today, many members of the House can’t be bothered and don’t present disclosures.

There is a Public Accounts Committee, which is supposed to have oversight of the country’s money. The Leader of the Opposition is Head of that committee. They have the right to ask for information on how the country’s money is being spent, and the Government is obliged by law to hand the requested information over to the Committee.

I understand that the present Public Accounts Committee has repeatedly asked for information, which they are entitled to, and the FNM Government refuses to produce it.

Are we now supposed to trust them appointing a “special commission” to investigate or collect confidential financial information about a person making a donation to a Party or an individual?

Does this Government, or some members of it, really think that the Bahamian people are stupid?

PIERRE V L DUPUCH January 12, 2021

Entry regulations EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS part-time residents of Nassau we are hoping that your difficult entry rules will soon be changed. We have been attempting to come to our Bahamas property for months but there is so much red tape and difficult, expensive and time consuming measures to complete.

Your story today with comments by The Tourism Minister about the 95% decline in arrivals must not only be frightening to read but not unexpected. We live far away from a health clinic who will actually give us, as healthy persons, a COVID-19 test. It is not only expensive but they are not guaranteeing the results quickly. So we can never fulfill the requirement of being in Nassau by the fifth day

after our test. Yet, according to our travel agent, if we were to go to most other Caribbean or Mexican locations we would be there already. They are steering clients away from The Bahamas and advising us to go elsewhere, but owning property ties us down to The Bahamas.

We are also concerned at the attitude of your health professionals who seem to believe that most overseas visitors are carriers of the virus and must be clamped down on. We have little COVID-19 here and are conscious to keep our local health advisories. The great majority of people are healthy. Surely the hoteliers and business people must be taken into consideration. How long can your economy sustain itself without a good

increase in tourism? The Minister has given the arrival numbers and talked about the virus affecting tourism. However, he always fails to admit that the current entry rules are deterring visitors. Rosy predictions about a tourism revival will never be achieved until the complex rules are eased and the health visa scrapped. Why is it not possible just to bring test results when we travel?

There must be a proper balance between health and business concerns. We are missing our Bahamian friends and the nice mild weather which makes stays so pleasant in your wonderful country.

RUSSELL JEFFERSON Augusta Maine, USA January 7, 2021.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 13, 2021, PAGE 7

Schoolgirl abduction suspect is given bail from page one It is also alleged that on Thursday, January 7, Seymour attempted to steal an eight-year-old child at the Maurice Moore Primary School.

Wendell Smith represented Seymour. He was not required to enter a plea to the charges. The matters

will proceed by way of a voluntary bill of indictment.

There was no objection to a monetary bail, however, the prosecutor, Inspector Anthony Sawyer, requested that Seymour be fitted with an electronic monitoring device and be required to sign in three times a week at Central Police Station.

The prosecutor said: “Based on the egregious

nature of the offences and the concerns of the community, we need to monitor him.”

Mr Smith did not object to the electronic monitoring device, but felt that having his client sign in three times a week was “extremely severe,” and noted the reason for cash bail is to ensure he appears in court on the adjourned

MIDNIGHT PROWLER LOOKING FOR MONEY IS GIVEN $750 FINE

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 37-YEAR-OLD who claimed he knocked on a woman’s house door and windows after midnight because he wanted money that she owed him was yesterday fined $750.

Antonio Tynes appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after police found him walking the street with a housebreaking instrument after curfew hours on January 7.

The court was told that the complainant, who resides in Yellow Elder Gardens, told police an

unknown man was at her residence around midnight knocking on her door and windows.

When officers responded to the complaint, they saw Tynes walking in the vicinity.

When they searched him, they found a screwdriver in his jacket pocket.

He was subsequently arrested for carrying housebreaking instruments at night and violating the curfew.

During the hearing, Tynes pleaded guilty to both offences. He also told the magistrate he only knocked on the woman’s door because he had fixed

her gas tank earlier and she had promised to pay him when she got “some change”. Tynes claimed he only visited the complainant’s house that night after he noticed her car was in the yard. He insisted he was not aware of the time.

In response, Magistrate Forbes told Tynes people are usually sleeping around midnight. He also said he was not inclined to believe his explanation because no logical thinking person would visit someone’s house at that hour of the morning and expect them to open their door. As a result, he fined Tynes $750 or two months in prison.

date. He also asked the judge to extend “reasonable cash bail,” as his client was unemployed.

“We are aware of the economic reality of most individuals, right now,” he told the court. “Mr Seymour nor his mother nor relatives are able to provide land papers and the court is minded to grant bail in reasonable cash bail.

“We are sensitive to the matters and we are aware of the public outcry, but he (Seymour) has rights and is innocent until proven guilty; he is entitled to bail within a reasonable sum,” Mr Smith insisted.

Magistrate Laing granted $20,000 cash bail on each count. The judge also ordered that the accused be fitted with an

ankle monitoring device, and to sign in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between 6am and 6pm at the Central Police Station.

The judge also ordered the accused not to have contact with the complainants and to stay away from all school grounds.

The case was adjourned to May 13.

WHACKER THIEF GETS COMMUNITY SERVICE

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A TEENAGER who stole a weed whacker from a man was yesterday ordered to complete 50 hours of community service.

Police arrested Mario Davis, 18, after he stole a weed whacker worth $339 from Rudy Miller on January 9. He pleaded guilty to one count each of stealing and conspiracy to commit stealing during a hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate

Andrew Forbes yesterday.

The court was told that Mr Miller was doing yard work on the side of the street and rested his weed whacker against a lamppost 20 yards away. The prosecution said shortly afterwards he saw a red vehicle slow down near his weed whacker. A man got out of the car and grabbed the tool before hopping back into his vehicle and driving off. Mr Miller chased the car and tried knocking its rear glass to stop the thief, but he was not successful.

Yesterday, Davis told the magistrate he took the weed whacker because he did not see someone cleaning with it at the time.

Magistrate Forbes told the accused even if he did not know the tool was being used, he should not have moved it since it did not belong to him. He placed Davis on a year’s probation and ordered him to complete 50 hours of community service, and warned him if he did not comply, he would be sentenced to three months behind bars.

Private Funeral Service For Angela Rosemary Laramore, 67

a resident of Cockburn Town, San Salvador formerly of New Providence, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 14th, 2021 at Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road. Officiating will be Fr. Glen C. Nixon.

Angela is survived by her stepmother: Elizabeth Mosses; children: Wayde, Beverley and Rudiann Laramore; adopted children: Andra Turnquest, Renate Farquharson, Lelia Smith, Daissel Castillo-Rodriquez of Miami, Fl., Darlene Bowleg, Sandy Carroll, Terricita Fox, John Walkes Demarco Knowles and Villius Derosea; grandchildren: Jaheim, Nahijah, Jahzara, Jahnya and Jahvya Laramore, Laneaka Storr, Cierra, Celine, and Cianna Farquharson, Shawndre Wilson, Ashley and Allison Rodriquez (Miami, Fl.) and Brianna Carroll, Sean and Ramon Smith; great grandchildren: Travanya McPhee and Skye Wilmott; daughter-in-law: Claudette Munnings; sons-in-law: Luis Rodriquez (Miami, Fl.), Joseph Carroll and Lloyd Fox; sisters: Pamela Taylor, Ingrid Suazo, Ruth Knowles and Deborah Pyfrom; brothers: Douglas (Patricia) Pyfrom, Edgar (Orie) Fernander, Charles Fernander, Ian (Dr. Kathiann) Antonio, Rudolph Pyfrom II, Herman Pyfrom Sr., Wesley St. John (Sharon) Pyfrom, and Capt. Patrick (Tanesha) Pyfrom and Allan (Lanna) Fernander; sister-in-law: Eloise Jones; brothers-in-law: Robert and Matthew Laramore; nieces: Talista Taylor, Erica, Ednecia, and Angela Fernander, Latoya Grant, Melissa Pyfrom, Brittany Knowles, D’Arcy and Cara Ellis, Renee, Deniqua, Denisha, and Krystynia Pyfrom, Latitia Lockhart, Nadja (Javan) Miller, Kimberley(Jermaine) Morley, Tia, and Macy Suazo, Ashli Pyfrom, Trevonica Rolle, Caline Johnson, Gaynell Collie, Monique Pyfrom, Tiffany Thompson (New Jersey), Tammy, Sandy and Daphne Johnson, Timeka ( Stanford) Pinder, Reba, Rihanna, Robyn, and Andrea Laramore, Sasha Williams, Claynella and Audrenique Martin; nephews: Machale Taylor, Edvardo, Kenneth, and Travis Fernander, Duriel (Tomminique), and Brent Antonio, Rudolph III, Herman Jr., Carlos, Michael, Andrew, Douglas Jr., Johann (Tekoya), Sean, Eric, and Jeremy Pyfrom, William, Lavardo and Darren Johnson, Quinton Higgs, Roberto (Ashley) Laramore, Keno Finley, and Clayton Martin Junior; numerous grand nieces and nephews; best friends and sisters: Dr. Amanda Lundy-Ferguson, Geneva Moree, Inez Johnson, Kimberley Williams, Hattie Moncur, Margret Albury, Agnes (Will) Saintilius and Pearlene (Glenroy) Burrows, Pinewood Gardens Family and friends especially the Fox, Moree, Wright, Martin, Thompson, Johnson and Neely families, Cat Island Family and friends especially the Laramore, Pratt, Stubbs, Armbrister, Deans, King, Russell, Hopkins, Davis, Thurston, Campbell, Issacs, Seymour, Gaitor, Hepburn, Oliver, Gilbert, McKinney, Rolle, Turner, Johnson, Moss, Fernander, and Rahming families, the staff and Students of United Estates Primary School, Stephen Dillet Primary and Arthur’s Town Primary Schools, Belinda Wilson and The Bahamas Union of Teachers, Dr. Nicholas Fox and the Medi Center staff, Holy Savior/ Holy Cross Catholic Parish, Deacon Gregory and Ivy Taylor, Deborah Fernander, Wellington and Malinda Fernander, Clifford and Audrey Fernander, Karen Fernander, Chelera Walker, Nachea Smith, Rosemarie Hunt, Carriemae and Janice Hunt, Iris Fernander, Charmaine, Cecile, Van, and Trevor Knowles, Pamela Storr, Diane Nairn, Blossom Black, Lily Romer, Philip Sands, Keva Edgecombe, Brennel and Alton Poitier, The Nairn Family and numerous others; Close relatives and friends including: Deborah Claridge, Wendy and Eric Storr, Rebecca and Dencil Burrows, Nadia and Richard Butler, Nicole Lightfoot, Eunice Lightfoot, Kimberly Farah, Crestwill Farah, Latheria King, Chavez Black, The Benson Hill family especially: Arlene, Pandora, Nicola, Dale, Humphrey, Tanya, Nita, Ruth, Manerva, Garnell, Denise and Family, Mr Benjamin Thomas, Hansel Moss, Matilda Williams, Bethseda Jones, Elva Neely, Winston Bonaby, Eureka Knowles, Luden and Judieth Gibson, Bert Deveaux, Vandella and Niesha Storr, Marilyn, Charles and Kenny Jones, Allsworth Rolle, Father Rodney Burrows, Iva Williams, Chantel Pinder, Ruby Jones, Michelle and Terrence Storr, Faith Jones, Paulette Jones, Denise and Schrette Deveaux, Theresa Williams, Kevin and Dynell Williams, Astrid Jones, Wenzalee and Floyd Dorsette, Helen Russell, Saralee Gibson, Renard Storr, Pastor Mavis Major, Aldra (Nadia) Russell, Drucilla Malcom, Paul Turnquest, Cathy Cartwright of Long Island, Tim Smith of Tampa Florida. Grace,Channah & Chelsea Toote, Clifford and William Bill Carey, Gaye Bowe and the Darling Family, Vonetta Flowers, Kenneth Rolle, Buddy Collie, Micheal Thompson, Gregory and Nelson Laramore, Patricia Morley, Mr Cooper, Amber Lightfoot, Dr Roberto Savio of Italy, Esterline Baptiste, Christine Brown, Quincy Poitier, Yvonne Harris, Cynthia Polehums, Mr and Mrs Louis Allan, Herman and Zoe Bastian, Mr and Mrs Natathial Walker, Mr Granville Walker and Family, The Cancer Society of the Bahamas, San Salvador Local Government and other San Salvador Family and friends especially the Fernanders, Jones, Benson, Williams, Walker, Bastian, Mackey, Butler, Edgecombe, Lightfoot, Hunt, Nairn, Major, Forbes, Storr, Ferguson, and Knowles families, and many more too numerous to mention.

Relatives and friends may pay their respects at Cedar Crest Funeral Home and Crematorium Ltd, Robinson and Baillou Hill Roads on (TODAY) Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, January 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

It’s work and it doesn’t matter who is doing it

By Alicia Wallace

LAST week, I observed their perceived status.

In praise of housekeepers an online conversation about the suitability of they’d had before, people migrant and Bahamian shared anecdotes that cenworkers for domestic work. tred specific characteristics Someone was looking for a and behaviours. She wore a domestic worker and specif- uniform. She called us Mr. ically noted they were not and Mrs. She took care of interested in a Bahamian us, then took care of our employee and listed specific children. She called us on characteristics they did not our birthdays for years.

These employers are want.

Some people were obvi- not satisfied with respect. ously offended by the They want complete deferspecifications and the preju- ence. They want, not only dices they revealed. In the to feel superior, but for comments on the second their employees to feel and post, most people came to behave as though they are the defence of the poster, inferior to the employer. saying she was correct in The employer thinks they her assertions about specific are doing the employee a types of people, namely favour rather than engaging in a transaction in which Bahamians.

I found the entire con- money is exchanged for a versation both upsetting service. In their minds, the and indicative of a long- domestic service includes standing issue: Bahamians an ego boost. Employees are uninterested in hiring are expected to make themBahamians because they selves small and childlike, see them as uncontrollable express gratitude and count and Bahamians continue to themselves lucky to have the opportunity to serve. undervalue domestic work.

Someone said: “Gone are The argument being made in the post and the the days when Bahamian housekeepers comments was were proud of that Bahami- ‘Gone are the their work and ans are not days when became a part of well-suited to the family.” domestic work. Bahamian We like to Apparently, we housekeepers think of ourare too lazy, too were proud of selves of entitled and too benevolent. highly groomed. their work and Look at us, According to became a part being so good to them – also of the family.’ domestic workBahamians – we ers! We give the are too disrespectful. Bahamians, it landscaper a cup of water would appear, demand on a sweltering day and too much money. We also the housekeeper can eat work too slow or too fast. some of the food she preIt is better, then, to hire a pares for us. This is, oddly and embarrassingly, seen migrant worker.

Migrant workers are as a great kindness. On the more humble. They appre- other side, some domesciate the low pay. They call tic workers are made to their employers by title believe they are familyand last name. They do not adjacent. This can be a form complain. They know their of manipulation, leading place. Migrant workers employees to develop a know they are beneath the sense of responsibility for rest of us and, because of the employers that is not that, they are better suited consistent with their duties compensation.

The to work for Bahamians who or want to be reminded of same phenomenon exists

TAKING YOUR MIND OFF THINGS 1. Frankie Drake Mysteries. This Canadian television show, pictured, about a “lady detective” is billed as drama, but it’s very light and easy to watch (or not watch if that’s your thing). It is just the sort of show to turn on while doing the laundry or clearing out your email inbox.

Set in 1920s Toronto, it includes pop-ups from historical figures including Ernest Hemingway and Marcus Garvey. Not without its issues, it is definitely a show to spark conversation.

2. Terrible, Thanks for Asking.

This podcast by Nora McInerny is in many small businesses and nongovernmental organizations that blur the lines between colleagues and friends, co-workers and families, duties and favours. When employers start referring to employees as family, it is a red flag.

We do not talk about it often, but there needs to be more attention on domestic work and the issues facing domestic workers.

Domestic work is severely underpaid. The standard

A Private Graveside Service for

William Frederick Pomeroy Fountain, 54 of Blackbeard Terrace, will be held on Thursday, 14th January, 2021 at the Eastern Cemetery, Dowdeswell Street. Officiating will be Rev. Fr. Dwight Bowe.

Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, attendance is limited to ten (10) persons.

The service will be Live Streamed, commencing at 10:00 a.m. via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fEuVcBqK0k&feature=youtu.be

Left to mourn him are Wife: Janet; Daughter: Emily; Parents: Sir Cyril Fountain & Alicia Lady Fountain; Siblings: Julian Fountain and his wife Anita Fountain and Cecile Fountain Heron; Nieces: Ahlya Fountain, Anneliese Heron; Nephews: Jacob Fountain and Alexander Heron; In-laws: Vernon and Maxine Ritchie, Joye Ritchie, Julie Bingham (Robert), Roger Ritchie (Gwendolyn) and Robert Ritchie; Rebecca Bingham, Hannah Ritchie and Elena Greene; Cash Fountain: Roselande Sime, and Shandika Parks-Knowles; Other loving relatives: The families of the late Alfred, Gene, Bert, Harold and Charles Fountain, The family of the late Eva Lightbourn, The family of the late Lillia Mitchell, The family of the late Althea Huyler, The families of the late Robert (Bob), Samuel (Sammy) and Irrington (Rinky) Isaacs The “Up East Crew”; Friends: Quint Knowles and Jamie Knowles and Jacob and Jaden; Drs. David O’Brien and Philippa Pratt and Kathleen and Joshua; Kenneth Lightbourne and Patrellia Lowrey and family; Michael Maroney, Sima Gandhi, Pam Fossen, Jillian (Gnu) Matte; Denise Lewis Johnson and family; Numerous other personal friends and clients who while may not be named are all beloved.

May His Soul Rest in Peace!

Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44 Nassau Street on Wednesday, January 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

all about the complications of grief.

Each episode is the story of one person’s loss and how they get, not over it, but beyond it. It is well written and edited, so it doesn’t even feel like an hour of sadness. Each story brings fresh perspective, hope, and a new beginning.

3. Re-reading a favourite book.

At the end of 2020, all I wanted was a form of entertainment that was easy. After looking at the options, I realized I wanted something fairly familiar, so I decided to reread a book I enjoyed in 2019 and watch a few episodes of television shows

pay seems to be in the area of $250 per week for a housekeeper who is responsible for more than just cleaning. They are often expected to cook and take care of children. On occasion, they must supervise other household activities like the repair of appliances or renovations. Some are expected to do the grocery shopping and help children with homework. Many employers believe that, because they are paying a worker for a day or week of work, they are entitled to fill that time with any tasks of their choosing. It is easier to get away with this when the employee is vulnerable, and migrant workers—not to be confused with those we call “expats” — are typically more vulnerable than Bahamians.

Work within the home has long been considered women’s work. It is also viewed as unskilled labour.

Both of these (incorrect) assumptions have resulted in the low rate of pay for domestic workers. There is a need to properly assess the value of domestic work as it is directly related to economic production.

Without household tasks being completed, people would not be able to work.

We need to eat and wear clean clothes every day in order to participate in the economy. If people are not paid to do the domestic work that supports our economic production, some of us — usually women — have to work a second shift.

That domestic labour, then, is unpaid.

I enjoyed years ago. It was a great way to enjoy something without too much investment. Many of us are (nearly) tapped out emotionally and mentally, and a visit to something known and loved may just be the thing.

4. Turn off notifications. If you don’t need to know every time an email lands in your inbox, turn off the notification. If your Class of 1995 WhatsApp group is active at all hours of the day, mute it. Give yourself some space. Stop your phone from demanding your attention every 15 minutes.

Because we have failed to assess and communicate the value of cleaning, cooking, laundering clothing and caregiving, domestic work is seen to have no value when it is done by someone living in the home and low value when it is done by someone from outside of the home who must be paid.

Due to the nature of domestic work and compensation in The Bahamas, it is generally not a first choice for Bahamians. This has less to do with laziness and more to do with the unrealistic expectations of employers which have been shaped by the plight of economic migrants and decades of experience in subjugating vulnerable people. We now have a warped understanding of domestic work, the domestic worker, and the relationships between the work, the worker, and the employer. Yard work and housework when not undertaken by the homeowner are looked down upon, not because the work itself is dishonourable, but because it is associated with a certain type of treatment, rate of pay, and standard of living.

For many Bahamians, to accept domestic work is an exercise in humility. To wear a uniform, to “Yes, Mrs So-and-so,” and “No, Mr So-an-so,” and to go about their work with as much attention to detail as possible without appearing too interested in someone else’s belongings is to inhabit a reality much

different from the one we are taught to expect. Yes, many Bahamians do the same in hotels, but it is a very different environment.

It is much easier to suspend personhood at a particular site for the benefit of people you will never see again, like a part in a play, than to be that robot every day in the same home with the same people who are like you, but refuse to see it.

It is fascinating to see the ease with which people admit that they want to be seen and treated as better than others. They want to be in charge of someone else, and for that person to acknowledge the difference in their positions. They want to reserve the right to deem a person (they consider beneath them) worthy of greater proximity to them, able to attend birthday parties and holiday dinners. More than domestic help, many Bahamians are looking for power and control.

Can we say we need to stop migrants from entering the country while complaining Bahamians are not good enough to work in our homes? Many are quick to say there are too many migrant people here and not enough jobs for Bahamians, but it is obviously far more complicated than that.

There is nothing wrong with migration or migrant workers. There is nothing wrong with domestic work.

The issue is the way we value certain kinds of work and the people doing it.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 13, 2021, PAGE 9

TECHTALK FRENCH WINE, VINES ARE HEADED HOME AFTER YEAR IN SPACE

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer

PEOPLE look at a 145 inch Ultra Large UHD display in the LG booth at last year’s CES tech show in Las Vegas. The annual gadget show that showcases the buzziest and brightest tech, looks different this year — less Vegas glitz, more internet efficiency. With no physical conference in Las Vegas due to the pandemic, 1,800 companies are instead taking to streaming video to show off new products and technology to 150,000 CES attendees across the globe.

(AP Photo/ JOHN LOCHER, File)

FIVE CES TECH SHOW TRENDS TO WATCH

By MAE ANDERSON AP Technology Writer

CES, the annual gadget show that showcases the buzziest and brightest tech, looks different this year — less Vegas glitz, more internet efficiency. With no physical conference in Las Vegas due to the pandemic, 1,800 companies are instead taking to streaming video to show off new products and technology to 150,000 attendees across the globe.

Trends to watch reflect the tumultuous year that preceded it. These include COVID-related robots and gadgets, products that make it easier to work from home, more uses for 5G technology, AI infused in everything, and TVs that can bend or even become transparent.

• COVID TECH Technology to battle the coronavirus will be big on the virtual show floor this year. Several companies are showcasing disinfecting robots. LG is introducing an autonomous UV-C light robot designed to irradiate viruses on heavily touched

surfaces. (Largely unmentioned is the fact that COVID is largely transmitted by airborne vapour droplets, not viral smears on surfaces.)

To that end, LG is promoting a wearable air purifier and a portable air purifier that you can use to purify air in a car or office.

They both have fans and HEPA filters. A smaller company called AirPop debuted the Active+ Smart Mask, which monitors your breathing and the quality of the air around you.

Meanwhile several companies are offering “touchless” appliances and fixtures. Kohler and Toto are showcasing touchless sinks and toilets that automatically turn on and off or open and flush by waving your hand in front of a sensor or using a voice assistant.

• FUTURE TV Each year, big TV makers display the dazzling technology that could eventually come to your home TV set, though generally not soon. In addition to the yearly crop of ever-bigger, brighter and sharper TVs,

LG Display will show off a “smart bed” that includes a 55-inch transparent TV that rises from the bed frame. Another version of the transparent TV is designed for restaurants, so customers could browse the menu and watch a chef prepare food behind it at the same time. LG has also announced a bendable version of a 48-inch display that can curve on demand — a feature designed for gamers.

• 5G REDUX After years of telecom companies promising new superfast 5G wireless networks, 5G will actually be here in 2021. Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg delivered the CES 2021 kickoff keynote all about 5G and what it can offer for telemedicine, distance learning, and other uses.

He gave examples of projects Verizon has been working on, including virtual tours of Smithsonian exhibits, virtual reality science lessons for students, and drone deliveries by a UPS pilot programme of medicine and other

deliveries, all powered by Verizon’s 5G network. On the last day of CES, Samsung will debut its new 5G enabled iteration of its Samsung Galaxy phone — an event that isn’t affiliated with CES but still likely to draw buzz.

In between, expect plenty of demos and panels about uses for 5G in phones and beyond, such as in cars and smart cities.

• FUTURE OF WORK Many of us have now had almost a year of experience adjusting our home office setup and are painfully aware what works and what doesn’t. Companies will be touting devices and accessories to improve working from home and help make people more productive.

For example, Dell is offering a video-conferencing friendly monitor that is easy to adjust and swivel to get the optimum angle for video calls, complete with a high resolution webcam.

A company called Shure is promoting a microphone for the home office designed to enhance speech audio quality for video conferencing. And

Targus is offering a suite of products for remote or hybrid work: a UV-C LED light that sits on your desk to disinfect electronics, an antimicrobial backpack to carry around work tablets and laptops, a tablet cradle workstation and a universal phone dock.

• SMARTER CARS CES will be a major showcase for the newest in electric cars and autonomous vehicles. GM CEO Mary Barra delivered a keynote Tuesday on the future of its car brands and electric vehicles. Mercedes-Benz will show off its AI-infused “Hyperscreen,” a display that extends across the entire width of the dashboard.

It can be voice activated and lets the driver and front seat passenger do everything from make calls to activate a seat massage.

Fiat-Chrysler will offer interactive, three-dimensional virtual tours of its cars and technology. It also worked with Google to create an augmented reality model of its Jeep Wrangler 4xe hybrid you can see on your phone.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station bid adieu Tuesday to 12 bottles of French Bordeaux wine and hundreds of snippets of grapevines that spent a year orbiting the world in the name of science.

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule undocked with the wine and vines — and thousands of pounds of other gear and research, including mice — and aimed for a splashdown Wednesday night in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa.

The Atlantic had been targetted, but poor weather shifted the arrival to Florida’s other side. SpaceX’s supply ships previously parachuted into the Pacific.

The carefully packed wine — each bottle nestled inside a steel cylinder to prevent breakage — remained corked aboard the orbiting lab. Space Cargo Unlimited, a Luxembourg startup behind the experiments, wanted the wine to age for an entire year up there.

None of the bottles will be opened until the end of February. That’s when the company will pop open a bottle or two for an out-of-this-world wine tasting in Bordeaux by some of France’s top connoisseurs and experts. Months of chemical testing will follow. Researchers are eager to see how space altered the sedimentation and bubbles.

Agricultural science is the primary objective, stresses Nicolas Gaume, the company’s CEO and co-founder, although he admits it will be fun to sample the wine. He’ll be among the lucky few taking a sip.

“Our goal is to tackle the solution of how we’re going to have an agriculture tomorrow that is both organic and healthy and able to feed humanity, and we think space has the key,” Gaume said from Bordeaux.

With climate change, Gaume said agricultural products like grapes will need to adapt to harsher conditions.

Through a series of space experiments, Space Cargo Unlimited hopes to take what’s learned by stressing the plants in weightlessness and turn that into more robust and resilient plants on Earth.

GM CHARGES UP NEW UNIT TO SELL ELECTRIC DELIVERY VANS, GEAR

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) — The market for battery-powered delivery vehicles and equipment has so much potential that General Motors is forming a new business unit to serve it, a move that lifted the automaker’s stock to a multiyear high.

The first product for the new venture called BrightDrop will be an electric-powered wheeled pallet that will take goods from the warehouse to trucks and from trucks to destinations. Then GM will roll out a clean electric delivery van.

The pallet, named EP1, will go on sale early this year, with the EV600 van on the roads late in the year with 500 going to FedEx, the company’s first customer.

BrightDrop also will offer

THE EP1 electric pallet. General Motors is forming a new business unit to tap the market for delivery vehicles and equipment powered by electricity.

The new venture is called BrightDrop, and its first product will be a batterypowered wheeled pallet that will take goods from the warehouse to trucks and from trucks to destinations. (General Motors via AP) software and operational sup- into the delivery business, said port for delivery businesses such Pamela Fletcher, GM’s vice presias location services, battery status dent of global innovation. “One and remote unlocking. thing we are not is a logistics comBut GM doesn’t intend to get pany,” she said, adding that GM is

working with many companies with experience in the field.

Since late 2018, Fletcher, has been in charge of monetising GM technology by turning ideas into businesses. “We really need to leverage our electrification expertise to other industries,” she said.

Showing Wall Street’s fascination with electric vehicles, GM shares rose to their highest intraday price since the company left bankruptcy protection in 2010. Shares were up 4.9% to $47.23 in midday trading Tuesday after trading as high as $48.95. Fletcher wouldn’t comment on whether BrightDrop products would be sold through existing GM dealerships or directly by the company. But spokesman Stuart Fowle the company is working with its independent dealers on a separate BrightDrop sales network, with details to come later.

On a webcast, Fletcher said the EP1 pallet can travel up to three mph, carrying up to 23 cubic feet of cargo weighing up to 200 pounds.

The pallets can reduce the strain on workers but would not operate autonomously, at least to start.

They’re already being tested with FedEx, allowing workers to transport 25% more packages per day, GM said in a statement.

The EV600 van will have a range of up to 250 miles when fully charged, Fletcher said.

As BrightDrop evolves, it will offer more electric-powered products including a medium-distance vehicle that can carry multiple pallets, the company said.

GM CEO Mary Barra announced BrightDrop in a keynote address address as part of the virtual CES gadget show on Tuesday.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, January 13, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

TRUMP’S REPUBLICAN WALL IS ERODING

REPUBLICANS offered only modest reproach when President Donald Trump said there were “very fine people” on both sides of a white supremacist rally.

They stayed in line when Trump was caught pressuring a foreign leader and later defended his handling of a deadly pandemic.

But with a sudden force, the wall of Republican support that has enabled Trump to weather a seemingly endless series of crises is beginning to erode.

Trump’s weakened standing among his own party will come into sharper focus on Wednesday when the House is expected to impeach the president for inciting a riot at the US Capitol last week. A handful of Republicans have already said they’ll join the effort, a number that could grow as the vote nears.

The choice facing Republicans isn’t just about the immediate fate of Trump, who has just seven days left in his presidency. It’s about whether the party’s elected leaders are ready to move on from Trump, who remains popular with the GOP but is now toxic in much of Washington.

How they proceed could determine whether the party remains viable in upcoming elections or splinters in a way that could limit their relevance.

“We’re at the moment now where we’re seeing a fracturing, a breaking, because of the unprecedented situation — the sedition, the violence, the death,” said Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategy who left the party because of Trump.

The stunning nature of the deadly insurrection — and Trump’s role in fueling it — has shaken many lawmakers. Rep Liz Cheney, the No 3 Republican in the House, gave rank-and-file conservatives the green light to abandon Trump in a scathing statement Tuesday evening.

“There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” she charged.

While stunning, the fastmoving developments do not ensure Trump will be forced from office before Democrat Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration. The timing of a Senate trial is unclear and could spill into Biden’s

presidency.

But for the first time, there are real signs that a significant faction of Republicans want to purge Trump from their party.

Already, three Trump Cabinet members have resigned in protest. Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who left the White House less than a month ago, accused his former boss of a “betrayal of his office”.

It took almost a week for Vice President Mike Pence, whose relationship with Trump has soured considerably since he and his family were forced into hiding during the Capitol siege, to publicly declare he would not to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to remove Trump from office.

The president still enjoys some level of Republican support. Rep Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a top Trump ally just honored this week at the White House, refused on Tuesday to concede that President-elect Joe Biden won the election outright, the same demonstrable falsehood that sparked the riot.

Trump emerged from his White House fortress

for the first time since the riots for a trip to the wall his administration built along the Texas border. As he left Washington, he was careful to insist “we want no violence,” but denied any responsibility for the insurrection.

Once he reached the border, his remarks to a small crowd were fairly muted. In the end, he spoke for just 21 minutes and spent less than 45 minutes on the ground in what was expected to be the final trip of his presidency.

Before leaving, he offered an ominous warning to Democrats leading the charge to remove him from office: “Be careful what you wish for.”

That veiled threat came as the nation — and members of Congress — braced for the potential of more violence ahead of Biden’s inauguration. The FBI warned this week of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington.

Capitol security officials made the extraordinary decision to require members of Congress to pass through metal detectors to enter the House chamber

beginning on Tuesday, although some Republicans resisted the new rule.

It’s unclear whether the chaos in Washington represents an existential threat to the party, but it almost certainly threatens to undermine the GOP’s short-term political goals.

Several major corporations, many of them reliably Republican donors, have promised to stop sending political donations to any of the 147 Republicans who perpetuated Trump’s false claims of election fraud by voting to reject Biden’s victory last week.

The fundraising challenge comes at a bad time for the GOP. History suggests that the Republican Party, as the minority party in Washington, should regain control of the House or Senate in 2022.

At the same time, a collection of ambitious Republicans are trying to position themselves to run for the White House in 2024. They are also contending with Trump’s legacy.

One of them, Maryland Gov Larry Hogan, reminded reporters on Tuesday that he’s

condemned the Trump presidency from the very beginning.

“I’ve been in the same place I’ve been for the whole four years. A lot of people have just changed their position,” Hogan said, while vowing not to leave the GOP. “I don’t want to leave the party and let these people who did a hostile takeover four years ago take over.”

Despite Hogan’s confidence, a significant portion of the Republican Party’s political base remains deeply loyal to the president, and has already shown a willingness to attack anyone — especially Republicans — who is not.

That helps explain why two other 2024 prospects, Sens.

Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, voted to reject Biden’s victory last week, even after the uprising.

“Republican leaders do not know how to move forward,” Republican pollster Frank Luntz said. “Everybody’s afraid that Donald Trump will tell people to come after them, but they also realise they’re losing the centre of America.

They’re trapped.”

EU REGULATOR CONSIDERING OXFORD-ASTRAZENECA VACCINE LONDON Associated Press THE European Medicines Agency said yesrterday that AstraZeneca and Oxford University have submitted an application for their COVID-19 vaccine to be licensed across the European Union.

The EU regulator said it received a request for the vaccine to be greenlighted under an expedited process and that it could be approved by Jan 29 “provided that the data submitted on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine are sufficiently robust and complete”.

The EMA, the drugs agency for the 27-nation EU, has already approved two other coronavirus vaccines, one made by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech and another made

by US biotechnology company Moderna. Switzerland approved the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday and plans to immunise about four percent of its population using that and the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.

Britain gave its approval to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine last month and has been using it. India

approved it this month.

As part of its strategy to obtain as many different COVID-19 vaccines as possible for Europeans, the EU said it concluded talks with French biotech company Valneva to secure up to 60 million doses of vaccine.

Valneva previously signed a deal with Britain to provide tens of millions of doses of its shot, which is developed using similar technology to that used to make flu vaccines. The EU has sealed six vaccine contracts for up to two billion doses, many more than are necessary to cover its population of approximately 450 million.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be a key vaccine for many countries because of its low cost, availability and ease of use. It can be kept in refrigerators rather than the ultra-cold storage that the Pfizer vaccine requires. The company has said it will sell it for $2.50 a dose and plans to make up to three billion doses by the end of 2021.

Researchers claim the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine protected against disease in 62% of those given two full doses and in 90 percent of those initially given a half dose because

of a manufacturing error.

However, the second group included only 2,741 people — too few to be conclusive.

Questions also remain about how well the vaccine protects older people. Only 12 percent of study participants were over 55 and they were enrolled later, so there hasn’t been enough time to see whether they develop infections at a lower rate than those not given the vaccine.

The US Food and Drug Administration says it won’t consider approving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine until data are available from late state research testing the shot in about 30,000 people.

The World Health Organization is also examining a request from AstraZeneca and Oxford for an emergency use listing for its vaccine. The UN health agency does not licence or regulate vaccines itself, but typically evaluates vaccines once they have been approved by an agency such as the UK regulator or the European Medicines Agency. WHO experts conduct their own evaluation of whether or not the risks of a vaccine outweigh its benefits and then make a recommendation.

A HEALTHCARE worker fills a syringe with the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the UK. Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA via AP

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SPORTS PAGE 16

NBA, PAGE 14

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2021

Butters named Player of the Week

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

G

rand Bahamian Shackeel Butters of Williams Baptist in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, has been named the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.

The former St George’s Jaguars forward led the Eagles to a pair of victories January 4-10.

The Eagles were able to snap a four-game losing streak to push their record to 4-4. Their two victories last week were their first two games played this season in the AMC. Their first victory came on Thursday in a close 76-67 nipping of the William Woods Owls as Butters came through with 16 points and nine rebounds. He came back on Saturday and produced his third double-double of the season with 20 points and 10

rebounds in their 78-64 triumph over Hannibal-LaGrange Trojans.

For the week, Butters shot 44.8 percent, shooting 13-for-29 from the field and 80 percent or 8-for10 from the free throw line.

The Eagles’ pair of victories kicked off the new year on the right track after they closed out 2020 with a 76-67 loss to the Philander Smith Panthers on December 12 as Butters netted 10 points with 11 rebounds, two steals and an assist with four personal fouls.

In eight games so far this year, Butters has played a total of 1,540 minutes, an average of 29.2 minutes. He has scored 611 points for an average of 11.5 points per game as he connected on 253-for436 or 58 percent from the field, 1-for-6 or 16.7 percent from the three-point arc and 104-for-167 or 62.3 percent from the free throw line.

The 6-foot, 6-inch forward has also pulled down 52 rebounds

SHACKEEL BUTTERS or 8.7 percent, blocked 31 shots, stole 38 balls, dished out 39 assists and turned the ball over 73 times.

He has committed 123 personal fouls, picked up a technical foul and has been ejected twice.

In their last game against the Trojans, Butters played 31 minutes, connecting on 7-for-13 from the field, 1-for-2 from the threepoint arc and 5-for-6 from the

free throw line. Nine of his 10 rebounds came from the defensive end.

The Eagles opened the game with a 12-0 spurt and continued their high energy play to take a 19-point margin at the half. The Trojans managed to cut the deficit to 41-36 in the second half, but the Eagles’ defence stampeded any further comeback as they coasted down the stretch.

In his freshman year, Butters played in 20 games, averaging 3.15 points and 2.15 rebounds per game. He shot 60 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line.

In his sophomore year, Butters received honourable mention AllAmerican and made the second team All-AMC. He led the NAIA with 358 total rebounds, which was a Williams school record. He was named AMC Player of the Week twice and finished with 15 double-doubles (points-rebounds). While

he started and played in all 30 games the Eagles played, Butters averaged 11.9 rebounds and 11.7 points per game as he shot 60 percent from the field.

Last year as his junior season got cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic, Butters played in all 14 games, averaging 27.7 minutes as he went 70-for-126 (55.6 percent) from the field and was 34-for-48 (78.0 percent) from the charity stripe.

As he scored 174 points or an average of 12.4 points per game, Butters also had a total of 91 rebounds, 11 steals, 14 assists with 20 turnovers and 22 personal fouls.

Butters and the Eagles were scheduled to host Missouri Baptist in the Southerland-Mabee Center last night, but no results were available up to press time. Their next game is set for Friday against Harris-Stowe State University.

Their regular season will wrap up on February 20th.

UB MINGOES ATHLETICS PICK UP 3 WINS TO OPEN SEASON THE University of The Bahamas Athletics team picked up three wins to open the season at the T-Bird Flyers Track Classic at The Thomas A Robinson National Stadium over the weekend.

Donya Roberts won the open men’s 400m, Romica Josey won the open women’s 400m, and Gabrielle Shannon took the top spot in the open women’s 400m hurdles.

“We had some good performances to start the season,” head coach Ednal Rolle said.

“We can see the offseason work paying off and know where we can improve as the season progresses.”

Roberts won the open men’s 400m in a time 50.75 seconds and bested the field by almost a second anda-half. Joel Forbes from Quick Step Athletics placed second in 52.05.

“It was pretty cold so I’m glad that I got the win with no injuries,” he said.

“My plan was to get out to the first hundred as fast as I could and try to relax on the back stretch and then hammer it on the final stretch. It was pretty good for a season opener.”

DONYA ROBERTS

KEIANNO ROLLE

Josey won the open women’s 400m with a time of 1:09.82.

“I felt like I could have done better,” she said.

“Being the first meet of the season, I take it for what it is and will build off of it and learn from the mistakes I made and work on not repeating them,” she added.

Shannon won the open women’s 400m hurdles in a time of 1:11.55.

“I’m getting back into hurdling so I didn’t expect greatness,” she said. “I was really anxious to experience it all again and now I know what areas I need to focus on in practice.”

Keianno Rolle finished third in the open men’s long

TYLER GARDINER (niddle) jump with a best leap of 6.70 metres (21 feet – 11 7/8 inches).

Miah Bethel placed second in the open women’s 100m in 12.38 and Brittany Lundy took fourth in 13.27.

Tyler Gardiner was in the lead for the first 400 metres of the open men’s 800m event but got boxed in during the last 200 metres

of the home stretch and could not break out for the finish. He finished third in a time of 2:01.97.

Paige Stuart had the best performance in the under20 girls’ 100m with a time of 12.86.

She finished 6th in that division. She is still eligible for the CARIFTA Track

and Field Championships set for this year.

“I felt good about my start out of the blocks,” she said.

“I just need to work more on my drive phase and finish stronger.”

Sierra Sears placed 15th in the under-20 girls’ 400m in a time of 1:09.96.