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The Tribune

Volume:117 No.43, JANUARY 24TH, 2020

Established 1903

Weekend

WEEKEND: IN A THEME PARK FAR, FAR AWAY

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1 es | history |puzzl

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Weekend

GALAXY’S EDGE Pages 14 & 15

Appetising Adelaide

Avery’s dishes up ‘down hom e’

No respect

Friday, January 24, 2020

fare

page 2

Fernander’s reward after 37 years - ‘Go to Health Ministry’

By SYANN THOMPSON Tribune Staff Reporter sthompson@tribunemedia.net

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander has been deployed to the Ministry of Health on “special assignment” — the second senior officer of the Royal Bahamas Police Force seconded to a government ministry.

After returning from forced vacation leave yesterday, ACP Fernander received a letter informing him of the transfer to the Ministry of Health which takes effect January 27 with an initial period of 12 months.

ACP Fernander’s attorney Wayne Munroe told The Tribune the letter looks like a demotion, but his client will go the Ministry of Health to find out if there is an unprecedented police issue.

“He is currently an assistant commissioner

GUNMEN STORM HOME AND SHOOT MAN DEAD

of police responsible for crime for the entire Commonwealth of The Bahamas, so on the face of it, the letter can look like a demotion for someone in his position to address security concerns at the Ministry of Health,” said Mr Munroe.

For his part, ACP Fernander said he is “disappointed” with how officials have treated senior officers sent on forced leave.

“I am disappointed in the way the whole process was done. Not even to sit you down as a person, have a one-on-one and have a conversation,” said ACP Fernander.

ACP Fernander, who is responsible overall for crime in the RBPF, said that he has given sacrificial service for some 37 years to the police force. He expressed his dismay in how he and other senior officers have been treated.

SEE PAGE THREE

CHINA VIRUS ALERT STAYS IN PLACE AS CASES RISE

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net AS fears mount over a new strain of the deadly coronavirus, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said there is still no travel restriction or extra screening for Chinese travellers to The Bahamas unless individuals have travelled from the impacted areas, have a fever or respiratory symptoms.

This comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO) has decided not to

declare the new coronavirus a global emergency.

Dr Sands explained to The Tribune: “They (WHO) specifically did not declare this to be a public health emergency of international concern, that there is no need for restrictive approaches to travel and/ or commerce. That there is specifically no reason to have masks on, or check temperatures at the border etc, at least not in the Caribbean.”

SEE PAGE TWO

CONNECT THE DOTS OVER MARIJUANA

SEE PAGE EIGHT

GB AIRPORT DEAL NEAR IMMINENT

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A PROPOSAL has been made for the Government to acquire Grand Bahama International Airport by paying its existing owners $1 each then assume responsibility for its multimillion dollar rebuilding.

Well-placed Tribune Business sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, yesterday said confirmation of an agreement with Hutchison Whampoa and the Grand Bahama Port Authority could come as early as next week amid increasing concern over the vital infrastructure asset’s fate.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

BRANVILLE’S UNSURE ON ‘22 ELECTION

A MAN was shot dead by two gunmen who entered a home on Higher Drive in Flamingo Gardens last night. The victim was a man aged between 25 and 29 who was being monitored by police. See page seven for the full story.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

PLANNING GIVING BIRTH IN US? THINK AGAIN WASHINGTON Associated Press

THE Trump administration is imposing new visa rules aimed at restricting “birth tourism”, in which women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can have US citizenship. The regulations, which take effect today, address one of President Donald Trump’s main political priorities.

The regulations seek to chip away at the number of foreigners who take advantage of the constitutional provision granting”birthright citizenship” to anyone born in the

United States, a particular peeve of Trump’s. Under the new rules, pregnant applicants will be denied a tourist visa unless they can prove they must come to the US to give birth for

medical reasons and they have money to pay for it or have another compelling reason — not just because they want their child to have an American passport.

SEE PAGE 11

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

By SYANN THOMPSON Tribune Staff Reporter sthompson@tribunemedia.net

BRANVILLE McCartney’s return to front line politics for the 2022 general election is still “up in the air”.

Since Mr McCartney stepped down as leader of the Democratic National Alliance in 2017, he has been enjoying life as a private citizen.

SEE PAGE SIX

WHEN A MINISTER’S SOFT VOICE SHOUTED IN RAGE

SEE PAGE TEN

PAGE 2, Friday, January 24, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

China virus alert stays in place as cases rise from page one In WHO’s situation report, the organisation noted health officials are working with their “networks of researchers and other experts to coordinate global work on surveillance, epidemiology, modelling, diagnostics, clinical care and treatment, and other ways to identify, manage the disease and limit onward transmission.”

Since the outbreak in Wuhan, China, the virus has killed at least 18 people and sickened nearly 600, according reports. Symptoms of the virus include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. The virus is spread from human to human, and is likely transmitted by coughing or sneezing.

Dr Sands said his ministry is keeping an eye on updates and officials have heightened surveillance for virus symptoms, but “there are far more deadly viruses that are in The Bahamas.”

“While this is something (that) we are paying very close attention to, I want

people to remember that we had 130,000 people (around the world) die from measles last year. You had almost a half a million people die from flu last year and probably that same number will die from flu around the world,” he said previously.

Chinese authorities yesterday moved to lock down at least three cities with a combined population of more than 18 million in an unprecedented effort to contain the deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds of people and spread to other parts of the world during the busy Lunar New Year travel period.

The open-ended lockdowns are unmatched in size, embracing more people than New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago put together.

The train station and airport in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, were shut down, and ferry, subway and bus service was halted. Normally bustling streets, shopping malls, restaurants and other public spaces in the city of 11 million were eerily quiet.

A MILITIA member uses an thermometer gun to take a driver’s temperature at a checkpoint at a highway toll gate in Wuhan yesterday.

China closed off a city of more than 11 million people in an unprecedented effort to try to contain a deadly new viral illness.

Police checked all incoming theatres, internet cafes and to help control the spread of Japan, South Korea and Singapore, vehicles but did not close other entertainment centres the virus. The Forbidden City, Thailand. were also ordered closed. the palace complex in Bei- Vietnam and Hong Kong off the roads.

In the capital, Beijing, offi- jing that is now a museum, reported their first cases Authorities announced similar measures would cials canceled major events announced it will close indefi- yesterday. Fourteen people have been tested in the take effect today in the indefinitely, including tradi- nitely tomorrow.

Other cases have turned United Kingdom but with nearby cities of Huanggang tional temple fairs that are a and Ezhou. In Huanggang, staple of holiday celebrations, up in the United States, no confirmed cases yet.

BTVI SURVEY AIMS TO CLOSE THE SKILLS GAP

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A RECENT skills gap survey completed by the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute has revealed that 46 percent of employers surveyed say they are unable to recruit local employees to meet their needs.

The survey also revealed that 65 percent of its respondents said the country’s workforce is not globally competitive. Meanwhile, 66 percent said there is a lack of available training opportunities in the country.

“The survey that we conducted was kind of based on the 2012 survey… conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank in consultation with the Chamber of Commerce,” said BTVI’s President Dr Robert Robertson.

“Employers who responded to this survey, most of them were CEOs and most of them were from fairly large companies in the Bahamas and again, it came from all islands so it’s not just a

New Providence set of data.

“We sent it to approximately 600 potential respondents and we received a response kind of mid-20 percent.”

According to the survey, challenges highlighted by respective employers when hiring potential employees included having literacy, numeracy and employee soft skills, being a good team player and being able to solve problems.

A lack of qualified candidates was listed as another challenge faced by employers in the survey.

Comparing the 2019 results to that of 2012, Dr Robertson noted that there were not many differences discovered.

“The survey in terms of the comparison to 2012 is kind of similar, but a little worse so that gap didn’t actually narrow in the last eight or nine years. It basically stayed the same or in fact actually gotten worse,” he said.

Also speaking at yesterday’s town meeting on the skills gap survey was Education Minister Jeff Lloyd, who noted the importance of narrowing the country’s

skills gap in this ever evolving era.

“The National Development Plan, in its draft form, identified that this country suffers from a national skills deficit,” he said.

“This Bahamas must change its intellectual and commercial paradigms, it’s mental orientations, it’s educational strategic designs or be relegated to the dust bin of history.

“Therefore, an intentional (and) sustained undistracted pursuit of closing the skill gaps here through trivets and other education enterprises and the expanded social conscious can and will order a beneficial future for this country.”

Jobs found to be in demand both locally and globally, as noted by officials, included software developers, labourers, freight handlers, HVAC installers, maintenance and repair workers and welders.

To this, Director of Labour John Pinder said: “It’s important for us as parents and grandparents to start to steer our kids in the area or the areas where jobs can be available for them...”.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 24, 2020, PAGE 3

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander pictured at the scene of a murder previously.

Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

No respect from page one “We have families, we spent more hours out there fighting crime than with our families and to be treated like this? When you do things of this nature, you do things in dignity and respect, that’s all I wanted,” ACP Fernander said.

Nevertheless, when asked if he had a good working relationship with the national security minister, he said, “Yes, as far as I’m concerned, we have a good relationship. I spoke to him up to early in the morning the day I had to take leave.

As a young man in college, I took him on and took him out on the road, he would come and spend all his summer breaks at CID. We have a good relationship; I know his family and his family knows my family.

I have no problem with him as far as I know.”

ACP Fernander is expected to meet with Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands to discuss the security concerns of that ministry and says he intends to carry out his job.

“We stick with protocol, and we love what we do, we sacrifice for what we do.

As far as I’m concerned, we

have no place else to go, this is our country, this is our home,” he said.

The Tribune spoke with Dr Sands, not directly about ACP Fernander’s secondment but on his ministry’s need for security.

“The Ministry of Health is seeking to strengthen security; we are open 24 hours,” Dr Sands said.

“We have situations in the hospital where if someone comes in who was shot, what is to say that someone would not try to come into the hospital to finish that person off?

“PHA has been attempting to identify a leader for

management security since the death of Mr (Alton) Virgil (former PMH head of security) and we have a very large and complex issue with security. Primarily at PMH, challenges at the various clinics in the communities, it is really a big deal. Doctors and nurses have been accosted in the parking lot. If you go to Blue Hill Road clinic, you would see a gunshot there in the door. How to you make sure people do not bring in weapons at the clinic or hospital? So addressing this and having someone who can deal with present and future concerns

is a necessary investment and the most important resources.”

ACP Fernander is among eight senior police officers who were directed to take vacation in March 2019.

He is the second officer to return to work only to discover that he was assigned elsewhere. ACP Kendal Strachan was advised upon his return from forced vacation leave in December 2019 to report to the Ministry of Social Services for a new role as chief of security at the Willie Mae Pratt and Simpson Penn juvenile detention centres.

ACP Strachan has fought

the move and filed suit against the government.

Last year, Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said his ministry wants to carry out these changes at the RBPF by the Minnis administration with “respect and sensitivity”.

However, Mr Munroe believes the government is being “disingenuous”.

“I think this is foolishness, it’s just more lies and more shenanigans,” he said.

Meantime, Mr Munroe is awaiting a hearing date for ACP Strachan who is reportedly showing up to work daily but given nothing to do.

PINDER DEFENDS PROPOSALS TO REVOKE WORK PERMITS

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

DIRECTOR of Labour John Pinder further defended the department’s understudy/apprenticeship programme yesterday, days after saying he wanted employers’ work permits revoked if they failed to appoint and properly train apprentices. “...It has nothing to do with no Bahamianisation story from 1967,” he said. “...You tell me you have 50 people trained so I want to know how they are being trained. What training programme is in place?

I want to see what they have learned the first week, the second week and the third week,” he said at a BTVI town meeting yesterday.

“Don’t just tell me how the training is. We want to see how the training is going on…So not that I’m trying to set up where only Bahamians are supposed to work in the Bahamas.

“We know we can’t run no country like that. It’s a global market now and we have several Bahamians all over the world with top positions... But, the Department of Labour is responsible for trying to help Bahamians get jobs.

“That’s our responsibility and so if you get a bunch of people on work permits and I don’t know what is he doing so that a Bahamian can’t get a work position — I think you ought to ensure that somebody is being trained.”

His comments came days after Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes told reporters that officials “were tightening” the understudy programme so that Bahamians can be properly trained to replace expatriate work permit holders.

The move, Mr Pinder told The Tribune last week, would give the department teeth and earn it more respect in the eyes of employers who have not ensured Bahamian employees are trained for certain jobs.

“We want to be transparent...Okay, you need to have a master’s degree in five languages (for some job postings) and they need to be able to do all of these things. We want to ensure that that job actually calls for it. I just want to make sure that you’re not trying to pull one over our eyes.

They’re saying that no Bahamians are qualified,” he added.

“We just want to ensure that the reason why you’re

bringing in a foreign worker is because there’s no Bahamians qualified. It’s as simple as that.”

Last year, Mr Pinder said employers requesting work permits will have to provide the Department of Labour with named understudies to expatriate workers and their training programmes to ensure Bahamians can replace them.

According to Mr Pinder, it had been the department’s intention to have this stipulation enforced by this month.

However, he noted to this newspaper that it could be longer before the rule can be officially enforced, saying there needs to be further discussions with the Department of Immigration to ensure labour officials have a functioning plan.

DIRECTOR of Labour John Pinder.

PAGE 4, Friday, January 24, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

Published daily Monday to Friday

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A servant of the nation who deserves respect IT was late at night on April 10, 2013, when a call came into The Tribune newsroom to report not one, but two police officers shot in separate incidents. One was senior officer Clayton Fernander.

Our reporter hurried over to Doctors Hospital where a large number of police officers were gathering – some in shock that then Superintendent Fernander had been a victim of a shooting, some close to tears as they feared for their comrade.

One of his hands was very badly damaged – we would later learn that he had raised it in self-defence when the gunman took aim – and a sombre Commissioner Ellison Greenslade briefed the media, saying “Mr Fernander tried the best he could to survive. Thank God, he did survive.”

It was a long road back for Mr Fernander – including treatment in the United States for his injuries. Upon his return, he spoke to reporters to say that he didn’t think he would survive the attack outside his home with two gunmen firing at him at point blank range.

Survive, he did. Return to the force, he did that too. Gain a promotion to Assistant Commissioner? That too was in the future that Mr Fernander thought he might never have had after that night nearly seven years ago.

What was clear that night from the reactions of his colleagues was the level of respect as a person in which he was held. What became clear afterwards as he was given overall responsibility for dealing with crime is the level of respect for his abilities as an officer.

It is therefore deeply disheartening to hear him speak of the disappointment he feels with the process which saw him and other senior officers sent on forced leave – and for him to return to find his old job taken out of his hands only for him to be despatched to the Ministry of Health on a so-called “special assignment”.

To hear a man who has fought his way back from serious injury to talk of wanting “dignity and respect, that’s all I wanted” is heartbreaking.

Last year, the Minister of National Security, Marvin Dames, talked of handling changes within the police force with “respect and sensitivity”.

According to ACP Fernander, he wasn’t even accorded the courtesy of a one-on-one meeting to talk about his future.

He is not the first to be treated this way – we have heard complaints from other officers who have been brushed aside and ACP Kendal Strachan has filed a lawsuit after returning from leave to discover he was being asked to become chief of security at the Willie Mae Pratt and Simpson Penn juvenile detention centres.

We note that ACP Fernander, despite his disappointment, intends to carry out his duty.

“We stick with protocol,” he said, “and we love what we do, we sacrifice for what we do. As far as I’m concerned, we have no place else to go, this is our country, this is our home.”

These are officers who have devoted long hours over many years to try to ensure the safety of the Bahamian people. They deserve better. They deserve respect.

Make the most of our assets

Stop stripping the nation of its assets.

That’s the message to come out of a workshop hosted by the Bahamas Environment Science and Technology commission yesterday.

The commission’s director, Rochelle Newbold, said that since last March, Cabinet agreed to ban all exports of any biological resources from the country. As she said, “If nobody’s eating it, it can’t leave.”

The reason is to clamp down on people profiteering on products from The Bahamas without the country receiving benefit. One example is sea grass from Bimini which had an algae growing on it that has been patented as a drug to fight cancer. What did The Bahamas get out of that?

Nothing.

She cites sand from our beaches – and even iguana smuggling as things to be clamped down on.

This is a good thing for the country – and we hope that this is just a first step, and that the next step will be to smooth the process so that the country can benefit. After all, cancer drugs are useful for us all – so let the businesses come to us to agree a deal.

Shutting the door is a good plan – working out how to charge those who want to come through it to make money is a better one.

Custodial sentences EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE current debate on decriminalisation of offences involving small quantities of marijuana leads us to a much larger issue which simmers in our country. And that is the jailing of our citizens for minor infractions of the law.

The mindset that created, and perpetuates, these pernicious provisions in the law has its roots in ancient religious practices, slavery, colonialism and the “divine right of kings”, which granted the power to deprive a man of his liberty for even the most frivolous of offences.

It is simply unthinkable that we continue to have laws that allow imprisonment for something like a minor traffic offence.

It is not sufficient that a pecuniary punishment is levied.

No, we hold the threat of prison over the head of our people to humiliate and keep them in check.

The latest example of this is the prison term threatened on top of the heavy fines for violation of the ridiculous provisions on plastic bags.

The anger pulsing in our population related to constant threat to our bodies and souls lies at

the heart of so many problems confronting the society.

We must sweep these punitive provisions from all of our laws, and replace them with appropriate remedies aimed at restoration and rehabilitation.

Those leaders who hold on to the old mindset have no place in a modern society, which must be about cultivating the very best in all of our citizens, so that they may make a positive contribution to the country.

SHAYNE DAVIS Nassau, January 23, 2020.

Abortion brings Haitianisation of The Bahamas EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Bahamian champion and liberal advocate of women’s reproductive healthcare and Nassau Tribune columnist, Alicia Wallace, by calling for the decriminalisation of abortion, reminds the writer of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.

According to Jewish conservative writer Arthur Goldberg, Sanger openly spoke of her desire to “exterminate the Negro population” via abortion.

Based on this troubling statement, it would appear that racism was the motivating factor in Planned Parenthood’s attempts at population control within the African American community – a phenomenon which has been called “institutionalised racism” by pro-life activists.

This can explain why 62 percent of Planned Parenthood abortion mills are within walking distance of African American neighbourhoods.

With the availability of such facilities in the US, nearly half of all pregnancies among black women end in abortion, compared to only 16 percent among white women, according to the Centres for Disease Control.

In New York, for every 1,000 live births there are 1,180 abortions among black women. And according to the liberal think tank the Guttmacher Institute, black women are more than five times as likely as white

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net women to have an abortion.

Small wonder American clergyman Walter Hoye opined that African Americans will be an endangered species if this disturbing trend continues.

With an astounding 62 percent of African Americans supporting legal abortion, that racial demographic will continue playing the role of ethnic minority in the US in the foreseeable future.

As with our American counterparts, the issue of ethnicity will undoubtedly be a factor in The Bahamas if abortion is ever given the green light by lawmakers.

Moreover, with an average of 100 murders committed in The Bahamas each year, legalised abortion would only reinforce the perception that ours is a culture of death.

Hiding behind the subterfuges of reproductive healthcare and socioeconomics, Wallace and other pro-choice activists are attempting to undermine our traditional moral values handed down to us by the Judeo-Christian worldview that teaches us that infanticide is wrong, by lobbying for legalised abortion in The Bahamas.

As it relates to human sexuality among Bahamians, Wallace seems to be unwittingly calling for the implementation of Friedrich Nietzsche’s nihilism.

This dangerous and irresponsible mindset gave Americans the sex revolution, Hustler, Penthouse, AIDS, and other STDS – a testament of the abject failure of the kind of sex education Wallace is clamoring for to be taught to Bahamians.

Nihilism has also led to the deconstruction of the nuclear family, most especially within the African American community, where only 37 percent of black women have ever been married.

In the event Wallace gets her wish and abortion is legalised in The Bahamas, with a population of only 400,000, the ratio of Bahamians to Haitians, be they legal or illegal, will experienced a precipitous decline.

To be sure, Haitian women will not be lining up at the abortion mills to terminate the lives of their babies. Such a phenomenon would inevitably lead to the radical altering of the Bahamian social fabric, much like what has occurred in Sweden due to its reckless, free-for-all immigration policy. It will bring about the Haitianisation of The Bahamas. As an evangelical Christian who believes in the intrinsic value of the life of unborn babies, I utterly reject Wallace’s irresponsible calls for the legalisation of abortions for convenience.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama January 22, 2020.

Confidentiality EDITOR, The Tribune.

CAN a senior Government official or a past one confirm that communications to a Minister are always accepted as being confidential and contents may not be publicly disclosed without the sender’s prior agreement or approval?

Surely it is unacceptable for Ministers to talk confidential business of potential investors

without their approval?

Another issue Ministers accepting to meet with clearly potential bidders to a Government RFP-Tender prior to the publication of the RFP-Tender worse sometimes meeting then discussion takes place as to format acceptable to the investor prior to the RFPTender being published giving rise to the criticism that the RFP-Tender was drafted to suit that party

who met the Minister months prior to.

Confidentiality of communications must be guaranteed secrecy not only of content but very much of who, the proposer named.

Foreign and local Investors expect - must be guaranteed that of a Minister.

P MURPHY Nassau, January 21, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 24, 2020, PAGE 5

Lawyer accuses police of ‘fakery’ over car in shooting

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A DEFENCE attorney yesterday accused a crime scene investigator of engaging in “pretty, childish fakery” to convince jurors that the car he processed was the one three men used to execute the 2013 Fox Hill mass shooting.

Geoffrey Farquharson accused Detective Corporal Navar Neely of “misleading” the jury by suggesting that the silver Honda Accord he processed was the one from which three men fatally shot four people and injured six others.

Mr Farquharson asserted that another police officer who “does the same thing” as D/Cpl Neely, wrote a report sometime after the incident stating that the car used in the shooting was actually brown.

Additionally, Mr Farquharson asserted that the silver car’s owner has said there was no damage to her vehicle, despite the D/Cpl Neely’s saying the ignition switch was damaged and parts of it were found in another part of the car.

Additionally, Mr Farquharson asserted that when police discovered the vehicle in question moments after the shooting, it was still “running on the street”, and the key was still in the ignition.

Thus, Mr Farquharson said D/Cpl Neely’s evidence was “obvious fakery”, because although he was merely acting on instructions from a senior officer, his evidence still had a misleading effect on the jury.

When D/Cpl Neely said he couldn’t have possibly known any details about which car was used in the incident, Mr Farquharson asserted that the officer perhaps took photographs of the wrong vehicle, unbeknownst to him.

Mr Farquharson’s assertions came during the second day of trial before Justice Deborah Fraser concerning the Freedom Park mass shooting on December 17, 2013.

Peter Rolle, Justin Williams, and Jermaine Curry are the accused. However, a fourth man was also in the vehicle, according to Crown prosecutor Zoe Gibson, and that man is expected to give evidence against the three others.

It is alleged that the trio murdered four people - Claudezino Davis, Shaquille Demeritte, Eric Morrison and Shenique Sands. They are also charged with the attempted murder of Chino Davis, Janet Davis, John Davis, Samuel Ferguson, Jermaine Pratt and Leroy Taylor.

According to initial reports, around 6pm on the date in question, occupants of a small, dark vehicle opened fire “with a variety of weapons” in the area just behind the basketball court where several people were gathered awaiting Junkanoo results.

Davis was pronounced dead at the scene while ten others were taken to hospital in private vehicles and an ambulance. Demeritte, Morrison and Sands later died in hospital of their injuries.

During the first day of trial, D/Cpl Neely said at about 9.30am on December 28, 2013, and while on duty, he spoke to one of his superiors who gave him certain information and instructions concerning a Honda vehicle.

As a result, the senior officer led him to the parking lot at CDU, where he observed a silver coloured, four-door Honda Accord registered to Maxwell and Eric Culmer Curry. The vehicle was a right-hand drive, D/Cpl Neely said.

D/Cpl Neely said he made checks of the vehicle and observed the ignition switch appeared to be damaged. Various parts of the ignition switch were also observed in a compartment on the driver’s door.

The officer said he also observed a screwdriver on the back seat, and that several sunglasses as well as a number of fired casings of different calibres were scattered about the car.

According to the officer, he said he observed 9mm and .223 cartridge casings, the latter of which Mr Farquharson said are fired from AK-47 assault rifles or “similar weapons”. D/ Cpl Neely said he found out the calibres of the casings by looking at the numbers at the bottom of the cartridges.

D/Cpl Neely said he also observed “bullet fragments” in the vehicle.

The officer said he photographed the vehicle in situ and upon completion, the various items were collected and packaged. Then, using fingerprint powder, D/ Cpl Neely said he processed and consequently obtained 17 latent fingerprints from various parts of the vehicle.

The areas he obtained fingerprints from were the right rear glass; the front right glass; the front, left fender; the interior handles; the rear view mirror as well as a side-view mirror; as well as one of the sunglasses.

D/Cpl Neely said he did athe vehicle’s exterior door handles. He also said he did not process any of the casings for fingerprints out of concern he may have inadvertently compromised any

THE THREE accused: Left, Jermaine Curry and, behind him, Justin Williams. Right: Peter Rolle.

Photos: Terrel W Carry Sr/ Tribune Staff ballistic value the casings would have had.

Yesterday, Mr Farquharson interrogated D/Cpl Neely about the .223 casings he had found on the floor of the driver’s seat under the steering wheel. He said that was an “absolutely, ridiculous, stupid thing” to suggest, as it meant the driver was also shooting.

And if so, it would mean that the person sitting next to him in the passenger seat would have gotten shot in the process, as the park was to the left of the vehicle.

To substantiate his assertion, Mr Farquharson suggested the police had previously stated that the vehicle used to execute the shooting was travelling from east to west at the time of the incident. The attorney also suggested that the car was said to have been on the north side of the park, shooting towards the south.

Thus, he said, had the driver been shooting, he

21-YEAR-OLD ON MURDER CHARGE

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A 21-YEAR-OLD man was charged yesterday with murdering another man in the Carmichael Road area last week.

Jermaine Griffin was charged before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt with murdering Jacquelin Francois on January 13.

According to police, shortly after 7pm on the date in question, Mr Francois and a group of men were standing on the side of Montgomery Avenue off Carmichael Road, when the occupants of a black Toyota Passo pulled up and opened fire in their direction, injuring one man before speeding away.

Paramedics were called to the scene; however, the victim was pronounced dead

on scene. No one else was injured during that incident.

Griffin was not required to enter a plea to the charges and the matter was adjourned to a later date for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim. He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

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would have shot the front passenger “right to pieces” in the process – due to his previous assertions that .223 bullets are used in AK-47 assault rifles or similar weapons – and thus meaning that there would have been blood “all over the front passenger seat”.

Mr Farquharson then asked the officer if he had tested the roof for gunpowder residue, to which the officer said no. Mr Farquharson then said that was because no one apparently told D/Cpl Neely that some of the occupants of the vehicle were said to have been seated in the window of the vehicle and shooting over the roof at the park.

Thus, Mr Farquharson said, the Honda Accord he processed at the CDU compound was a “staged scene”.

Mr Farquharson asserted that the owner of the Honda Accord, a woman, said police took her to see her car at some point, and when

she saw the vehicle she could see “no real damage” on it. And if so, Mr Farquharson said everything D/ Cpl Neely produced as evidence in court “is a bunch of fakery”.

Mr Farquharson then asked D/Cpl Neely if the senior officer who instructed him to photograph and process the silver coloured Honda Accord told him that officers found that vehicle running on the street moments after the incident. And that officers found the keys in the ignition while it was running.

When D/Cpl Neely said he was not told those things, Mr Farquharson said such an answer was expected, because if he knew he “wouldn’t have put that foolishness” in his official report.

“It’s fakery. And it’s pretty, childish, obvious fakery,” Mr Farquharson charged.

When D/Cpl Neely replied by stating that he

did not do what Mr Farquharson had claimed, the attorney responded by saying: “Did you not do it, sir, or did you not do it deliberately?”

D/Cpl Neely’s answer remained the same.

Mr Farquharson asserted that a police officer who performs the same functions as D/Cpl Neely, said in a report that the vehicle in question was brown, while D/Cpl Neely has pictures of a silver/gray vehicle.

“How did you get a gray car?” Mr Farquharson asked, noting that D/ Cpl Neely was never on the crime scene and didn’t know anything about the vehicle.

“Whoever it was that told you to take a picture of this car, caused you to mislead this court,” Mr Farquharson charged, adding that it is “obvious” that the Honda Accord he processed was not the vehicle used at the crime scene.

The case continues.

PAGE 6, Friday, January 24, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Branville’s unsure on ’22 election from page one After Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis launched the Free National Movement’s campaign for the 2022 election on Wednesday night, Mr McCartney was asked if he will be back in frontline politics.

“At this stage I haven’t put my mind to what’s going to happen at that time, in terms of 2022 election, you never say never,” said Mr McCartney.

The attorney, who has been approached by the leading parties, said that he had friendly talks on both sides.

“I’ve been approached

FORMER DNA leader Branville McCartney

by PLP and FNM and saw something that said I had a drink with the prime minister and there was talk about that. But several months

ago, I had an impromptu drink with Brave Davis, and we had a good lunch together, but no cameras were there, and it was in a more private setting,” said Mr McCartney.

At this point, the former Bamboo Town MP wants to see the old ways of political culture thrown out so that the country can advance.

He talked about what would be the determining factor to push him back into front line politics.

“The leaders, whoever they may be, have a genuine determination that the leaders can get this country back on track from the position of dealing with our economy, crime, the illegal

immigration concerns, the education system and the enhancement of that and building up health care facilities and improving our healthcare system, and certainly the person who would look after the elderly and those who cannot help themselves. Then there’s someone who’s serious, because we can’t have the same ole’ same ole’ because that’s what we’ve been having for the last 15 to 20 years,” said Mr McCartney.

Regardless of who is in power and gets the work done, Mr McCartney said the country is at a critical stage and needs to move in the right direction. “I want to see this country advanced,

and if you have the FNM in power I would want to see them do what is necessary for the advancement of this country and the advancement of the Bahamian people and that is what is important to me. If the PLP is in or comes in, I would hope they do the same thing, same thing with the DNA. If the DNA gets in, I hope they would move toward the advancement of this country,” said Mr McCartney.

The last 20 years the country has not advanced significantly according to Mr McCartney, who said The Bahamas tends to forget the advantage of its location.

“It’s frustrating, when you travel around the world

and you see other countries advancing and moving forward knowing that we can do the same thing,” he said.

He continued, “I hope the country gets back on track, certainly there’s something amiss. We have too many people in this country that are suffering trying to make ends meet and the business community has taken a blow, especially with the increase in VAT and, of course, now with this other indirect tax with the power company. We are still in a recession from 2008. We can be much more advanced in this country than where we are, just our location only is an industry and we are not using it. It’s been frustrating to say the least.”

‘FNM PAID FOR MEETING TO LAUNCH RE-ELECTION’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE event billed as a town-hall meeting that launched the Free National Movement’s 2022 re-election campaign on Wednesday night was funded by the party, Chairman Carl Culmer told The Tribune.

The event was criticised

by Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis, who contended he had zero confidence that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis had the decency to ensure it was paid for with party funds.

Mr Davis went on to accuse Dr Minnis of being intoxicated with abusing power.

Mr Culmer defended the event, describing it as the party finding new and innovative ways to share information with supporters and Bahamians at large.

“The party paid for it. It wasn’t government funds,” Mr Culmer said when he was contacted yesterday. “They paid for it. I am not going to say how much it cost but the party paid for whatever the expenses were.”

He also said: “I don’t see what the false pretences were. The PM called a meeting. It was a meeting for the essential zones.

We have four zones in our party: the central, east, west and south and we continue to have meetings in all those zones to inform our persons of what is going on.

“It’s a way of communicating what the government is doing. A lot of people are saying that we aren’t saying what we aren’t doing. So we are finding different forums to inform the different

persons what the government is going and we are going to the Family Islands as well.

“This is information sharing on what the government is doing and to give persons an opportunity to say what they’re doing in their constituency.”

Dr Minnis declared the event as the launch of the FNM’s “victory” train.

Asked if he thought it was too early to begin campaigning for 2022, Mr Culmer disagreed.

“The PM likes to taunt the Progressive Liberal Party. They will pick up on everything,” he said.

“The PLP have been campaigning from day one, even through the Hurricane (Dorian) they were campaigning while persons were trying to do good and trying to assist the victims of the hurricane.

“Mr Davis was out in Pinewood in a yellow jacket and PLP flag truck instead of going to save people. I see it as an opportunity to share information. If they want to call it campaigning then that’s up to them, but we need to find ways to improve communication so persons can understand what the government is doing rather than hearing one sided things coming from the PLP.” The event was held on the grounds of the Edmund Moxey Youth and Community Centre. Elected representatives from the Bain and Grants Town, Mount Moriah, Fort Charlotte and St Barnabas constituencies spoke and attendees were intermittently entertained by Junkanoo groups.

No question and answer period was allowed.

However, Dr Minnis used his time addressing those gathered to castigate

the PLP on its “politically expedient” position on marijuana decriminalisation and for its push-back on the single-use plastics ban.

Dr Minnis also said the PLP wanted to be re-elected to empty the treasury.

Yesterday in the latter of two press releases released by the former governing party, Mr Davis hit back saying PLP internal polls expressed “universal disdain” and condemnation for what transpired at the event.

He said: “Our internal polls reveal universal disdain and condemnation for what transpired with the prime minister last night. “...The prime minister admitted that the meeting was the launch of his reelection political campaign.

“That meeting last night therefore must be paid for by the FNM party, not the Bahamian tax payer. We however have zero confidence that the prime minister has the decency or integrity to do so.

“His intoxication with and abuse of power coupled with his despotic mindset know no bounds and Bahamians everywhere now fully understand that they must remove him from office with the power of the ballot to bring an end to this madness.”

He continued: “As for the prime minister’s charge that the PLP wants to return to power to clean out the treasury, Bahamians everywhere could see that the FNM has already done that.

Pray tell, what will be left when the PLP gets there?

“By their own admission, there is no money in the public treasury and the constant and unsustainable borrowings prove this. The treasury is already clean so the PLP already knows we

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis rushing with the Saxon Superstars at the Free National Movement’s meeting at Edmund Moxey Park.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff will meet no money in the public coffers.”

Mr Davis said unlike the FNM, the PLP will implement initiatives to improve government revenue performance and use that revenue to bring relief and to uplift the lives of all Bahamians.

CULMER: STILL TIME FOR RECALL SYSTEM

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer has said the governing party has more than two years remaining to fulfil goals set in its 2017 manifesto, suggesting yesterday a non-performing MP recall system could still be possible.

Mr Culmer’s optimism over the campaign promise appears to collide with Attorney General Carl Bethel’s position earlier this month that the administration had no plans to implement the recall system.

At the time, Mr Bethel told a local daily it was not something the government had committed to, as far as he was aware, adding it was not a workable system in the parliamentary context.

Yesterday, Mr Culmer struck a different tone on behalf of the FNM, saying the government and the party must work together to fulfil the promises outlined to the electorate.

“There are (still) two and a half years to make decisions and I know we will justify all of our actions one way or another,” the chairman said yesterday when he was asked about the system.

“Don’t count us out as yet.

Bahamians gave us five years to govern. Give us an opportunity and see what we have done.

“We have our manifesto and a checklist of what

has been completed as we speak.”

Asked to clarify whether he was of the view that the system could still be implemented, he said: “The recall system hasn’t come to the party as yet.

“We operate on a party manifesto and government and the party must work together to fulfil those promises that we made to our brothers and sisters.”

Meanwhile despite Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis officially launching the FNM’s election campaign on Wednesday night, Mr Culmer said the party had not begun any groundwork toward selecting viable candidates for the 2022 general election.

“That is something we haven’t done as yet but there is a process. The party’s candidates committee will continue to look at those things,” Mr Culmer said.

“We haven’t made any final decision, but at the end of the day we are looking at constituencies and seeing what is best, what has been done and we will continue to improve and give Bahamians the best of their sons and daughters to represent them.”

A candidate recall system was outlined in the government’s Speech from the Throne among other goals including a referendum to get consent from Bahamians of an independent electoral commission and boundaries commission and the introduction of term limits for prime ministers.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 24, 2020, PAGE 7

‘My mother was killed like a dog in the street’

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net THE son of the female pedestrian who lost her life after being hit by a car wants the person responsible for his mother’s death to be jailed.

Deangelo Bain, 29, told The Tribune he is “deeply saddened” to know that his mother, 46-year-old Geneva Gibson, was “killed like a dog in the street”.

Police reported the incident happened shortly after 8pm on Tuesday in New Providence when a man driving a silver coloured Honda Fit south on Farrington Road lost control of the vehicle, hitting Ms Gibson who was walking.

She was taken to hospital where she later died.

Mr Bain is currently studying in the United States, but was informed by his elder brother of his

GENEVA GIBSON mother’s death. He said he However police said the was extremely confused driver remained on scene and in disbelief by the news. and was helping officers Compounding his grief, with the investigation. he said, he saw a video The victim’s son has quesof the incident, allegedly tioned whether alcohol or showing the driver trying drugs might have played to run away from the scene. a part on the night of the

traffic collision.

“I’ve (watched) the video of her when she was hit and I’m shock to see how she was killed,” he told The Tribune.

“In the video it shows how the guy came from the left hand side of the road straight to the right and hit her from behind.”

He claimed that the driver “came out the car very disoriented and scared. The neighbours in the area ran towards him hoping that he was okay.

“The guy seemed okay and he tried to leave until someone had discovered my mother gasping for oxygen on the ground. He told the neighbours he didn’t hit anyone and then try to take off. The good neighbours made sure he didn’t leave the (scene) until cops arrived even though he was desperately trying to,” her son claimed.

On the night of the

collision, he explained that his mother was at his sister’s place looking after the children as his sister was trying to recover from surgery. Ms Gibson went to the store for some painkillers and something for her daughter to drink. On her way back, she was hit by the vehicle, he said.

Mr Bain said the family is devastated, including his grandmother who had previously lost another child.

His older brother is dealing with the financial burden of his mother’s death, Mr Bain said. “…Everything has fallen back on him and it’s kind of unfair because I can’t help him now…he (is) feeling that burden which nobody is supposed to feel.

If somebody took somebody’s life, they should be able to accommodate them by paying for the funeral as well.”

He described his

mother as a “nice lady with a big heart”, the type of person that “always gave her last without question”, who believed in forgiveness.

The two spoke everyday; the last time was on Monday morning, he said.

Her son added: “I felt it, ‘cause that was like my best friend and I always is tell the rest of my siblings ‘Hey, go give my mother a call ‘cause you know that y’all haven’t talked to her in awhile, so you need to go call.’”

Mr Bain has decided to forgive the driver and hopes this educates others that are driving recklessly or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Ms Bain was a single mother who leaves behind four children. Police have not said whether they suspect the driver might have been under the influence of any substance.

GUNMEN STORM HOME AND SHOOT MAN DEAD A MAN was shot dead in a home last night after two gunmen burst in and opened fire.

The victim was a man aged between 25 and 29 and police said last night that he was known to them and was being monitored.

The shooting took place shortly before 9pm.

Speaking at the scene, Superintendent Shanta Knowles said: “Police were called to this home on Higher Drive after receiving reports that gunshots were fired and that someone had been injured.

“The information we have so far is that around 9pm or shortly before 9pm two men entered this home on Hire Drive, two armed men, opened fire on a young man who was inside, fatally

wounding him, before getting into a silver vehicle and speeding away.”

The victim was in the front portion of the house, and at least two other people were in the home but were uninjured.

Officers asked anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers on 328-8477 or CDU on 502-2991/2.

• A man is in hospital after he was shot during a drive-by yesterday, police said.

The shooting took place shortly before 4pm. Police said a man was sitting in his vehicle on Watlins Street, off Andros Avenue, when he was approached by two men, who were occupants of another vehicle. They shot him before speeding away. The injured

man was taken to hospital where he is listed in serious condition.

New Providence police are also looking for the men responsible for an armed robbery and home invasion.

In the first incident, shortly after 11pm Wednesday, a man was at Eneas Avenue, Stapledon Gardens when he was approached by an armed man who robbed him of two cell phones, before running away.

In the second incident, shortly before 5am Thursday, two armed men forced their way into a home on Poplar Street, Pinewood Gardens, and robbed residents of cash and personal items. The thieves escaped in a black Ford Taurus, licence # AG1540.

‘SAVE OUR RESOURCES’

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Environment Science and Technology Commission (BEST) yesterday hosted a biodiversity workshop for law enforcement officials as part of its Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) project, an initiative geared towards ensuring the country benefits from scientific discoveries made using local resources.

BEST Commission Acting Director Rochelle Newbold said the goal of the event was to “capture the attention” of the country’s national law enforcement agencies and inform them of the “emerging changes relative to biodiversity management, environmental laws and regulations.”

“Through the (ABS) project we are intending by November of this year to put forth legislation that will deal with the genetic resources that are being exported from the country under the issue of research…(or) that are being taken out of the country by virtue of smuggling,” Ms Newbold said.

“This is a significant problem...people are coming in, they’re getting our information and our resources, they’re making money and they’re going. They’re not sharing any of that with us even though it’s our stuff.”

Ms Newbold said since March of last year, Cabinet has agreed to ban all exports of any biological resources from the country.

“If nobody’s eating it, it can’t leave,” she said. “That is to allow us to put in place

the necessary legislation that will allow the government to be able to enact on anybody who may smuggle, take, (or) accidentally carry our stuff out of the country to do whatever research on it, develop some sort of chemical and then send it out to market.”

Ms Newbold said although the first “marketable substance” from the marine environment came from The Bahamas, the country did not receive any benefits.

“The sea grass in Bimini has an algae that grew on it,” she added. “That has been patented as a cancer curing drug, but we in The Bahamas are not benefiting from something that has been found in our waters.”

Ms Newbold said despite the fact that it came from the country, local cancer patients still have to pay the same market price or use some sort of generic drug.

“We’ve asked people to come in and to identify for us the things that we may not have the technology… to investigate,” she added.

“But while we are a very giving and open people, what we have been remiss in doing is being diligent in the stewardship responsibility that comes with such precious resources.”

Ms Newbold said she believes the current permitting process needs a “major overhaul” because of the gaps in the system.

She also said law enforcement agencies must work together to help address the discrepancies.

“We need to stop working in silos and we have to be (more) interconnected,” she said.

“In our permitting

system, people who may have come in and have disrespected us in one way ...and have been banned as far as an agency or department is concerned...are still being given the rubber stamp of approval by entry agencies to come in and do whatever they want to do because they are not aware of what the other agencies may be aware of.”

Ms Newbold said she wants law officials to understand that nothing can leave the country without proper permits.

She insisted that something as common as the sand found on local beaches has a variety of microbes on it that have the potential to contribute to cancer, hypertension and diabetic medication.

“We have suffered smuggling for particularly our iguanas for years,” she added. “Our iguanas are unique to us and when this population crashes there will be no more of these iguanas in the world.

“We need law enforcement to understand that that is a crime. It’s a crime internationally and it’s a crime nationally because those things are protected.”

Ms Newbold also said the workshop will be followed by a national campaign to address the public.

“We already have scheduled the Parliament, Senate and Cabinet. Everybody needs to understand this is a serious thing… and nothing can leave this country unless it has a proper permit that gives them a special exemption for export.”

The workshop, held at Breezes resort, continues today.

THE BODY of last night’s shooting victim is taken from the scene in Higher Drive.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Connect the dots on marijuana legislation

PAGE 8, Friday, January 24, 2020

PRIME Minister Minnis seems to be in the zone these days, in regards to legalising and decriminalising marijuana, both medicinally and recreationally here in the Bahamas.

So much so, it often makes me wonder, Is ‘Doc’ really ‘down’ with the legalisation and decriminalisation of marijuana for the reasons he’s openly stated, far and wide through out the length and breadth of The Bahamas.

It seemed to be this past November, when PM Minnis offered these comments on the legalisation and decriminalisation: “Our laws regarding the possession of small amounts of marijuana have unfortunately led to the arrest, prosecution, conviction and punishment of many Bahamians.

“Some of these people have been burdened with criminal records, making travel and finding work more difficult. Reforming our marijuana laws and changing how we treat people with small possession convictions is a matter of social justice.”

Or does it have to do with his most recent comments regarding re-election, made at a rally last night held on the grounds of the Edmund Moxey Youth and Community Centre.

Elected representatives from the Bain and Grants Town, Mount Moriah, Fort

THE TRIBUNE

A Comic’s View

By INIGO ‘NAUGHTY’ ZENICAZELAYA

Charlotte and St Barnabas constituencies spoke and attendees were entertained

by Junkanoo groups.

Here’s what “Doc” had to say at the rally: “Tonight we start the launch of our victory train. We start here in our central zone and we will continue to our destiny.

Government House will be the final spot in 2022. But as we move through the community we will be taking on more passengers.”

Connect the dots, people, persons who benefit from the legalisation and decriminalisation, especially those freed from incarceration along with their records being expunged are highly more likely to vote for their ‘deliverer’ (PM Minnis) than anybody else, despite their criticism of the Minnis administration.

Definitely something to ponder, Bahamas!

Anyhow, if Dr Minnis’ statements are genuine, I can’t believe I’m going to pen this next part, but nonetheless, here I go.

“Doc” may want to keep a keen eye on West Virginia. (Alleged generations of inbreeding and all).

Nonetheless, West Virginia, is doing a remarkable job in regards to the legalisation and decriminalisation of marijuana.

Their model offers several components that could be beneficial in our quest for the legalisation and decriminalisation of marijuana in The Bahamas.

West Virginia could be the latest state to relax its marijuana laws. Democratic lawmakers there are sending signals that they are ready.

One such legislator, state delegate Sammi Brown, said that she intends to reintroduce a version of a bill she offered up in last year’s session that aims to “normalize” cannabis.

“What if we had something that put a big green light out there, no pun intended, that said come on home, and this might be it,” Brown said, on WOWK. According to the station, the new bill “will focus on criminal justice reforms and de-stigmatizing cannabis by expunging certain possession charges and work towards non-criminal adult use,” with Brown’s ultimate

BAHAMAS Marijuana Commission co-chairs Quinn McCartney and Bishop Simeon Hall.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff hope of luring people to West Virginia.

Brown’s Bill the “Normalisation of Cannabis Act,” would have, among other things, allowed adults aged 21 and older to “use, grow, possess, transport, and give away cannabis and homemade cannabis products,” so long as it was strictly for personal use.

It is unclear whether Brown’s new legislation will retain all of the same provisions as last year’s proposal.

What is clear is that the forthcoming bill will face opposition in West Virginia’s legislature, where both chambers are controlled by Republicans.

GOP delegate Tom Fast told WOWK that “to just simply say something is no longer going to be illegal I think is very imprudent, if we were going to take that route, why wouldn’t we just decriminalise heroin and any other drug”.

West Virginia legalised

medical cannabis in 2017, though the law’s rollout was beset by a number of regulatory delays.

States throughout the country have turned toward decriminalisation and outright legalisation of marijuana.

This year, a number of states — from South Dakota to New York, will consider whether to become the latest to legalise recreational pot use.

In West Virginia, some Democrats like Brown are amenable to moving in that direction, as well.

Democrat Tim Miley, the minority leader in West Virginia’s House of Delegates, said this week that he has called on state Commerce Secretary Ed Gaunch, a Republican, to study the potential economic impact of legal weed.

“We don’t know so why wouldn’t we want to know that number and that data to drive our

decision-making,” Miley Metro news a local news organisation in West Virginia. “Number 2, clearly, other states are getting on board with that.”

Eleven states, most recently Illinois, have lifted the prohibition on recreational pot use—a dramatic shift that began in 2012, when voters in Colorado and Washington approved legalisation proposals at the ballot box.

Numerous other island nations in our hemisphere, have already legalised or are in the process of legalising and decriminalising marijuana.

Not to mention Eleven states, most recently Illinois, have lifted the prohibition on recreational marijuana use—a dramatic shift that began in 2012, when voters in Colorado and Washington approved legalisation proposals at the ballot box.

Until next week, stay awake!

ALL ABOARD THE VICTORY TRAIN? READERS HAVE THEIR SAY AFTER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said he was launching the Free National Movement’s “victory train” at a party rally on Wednesday night, readers gave their reactions on tribune242.com.

OriginalBey had this to say: “I subscribe to positive thinking as well but this electorate is dynamic and demands responsiveness in the moment. Don’t just tell them the good you are doing. Show them how you are answering their cries.

Otherwise, all the hard work means nothing and will not be rewarded with the coveted vote in the next general election.”

Proudloudandfnm didn’t think the party would be re-elected: “You will not win Grand Bahama and Abaco will probably not even go to the polls... I have no doubt most out islands will not re-elect the FNM. All ya eggs in Nassau. High crime Nassau. No electricity Nassau. I wouldn’t bet a penny on the FNM in next election. Not one penny...”

Sheeprunner12 said: “There should be a Coalition of Independents next election. No party allegiance, just working for the best interest of the country...

A third force. They will be far more attractive than these political bigots that we have in the FNM and PLP.” Bahamianbychoice posted this comment: “Sounding like the present FNM has disengaged the professional community ...

there seems to be a theme emerging that professionals that voted FNM last election are not planning to vote. I keep hearing the comment ‘well at least Brave listens while Minnis just tries to destroy you... FNM or not’.

Many professionals have left the country; people are quite negative about Minnis and the bold arrogance of this administration.

“I wonder if the FNM machinery will allow the same slate to run again . . . it’s like the FNM is handing the next election to the PLP. It really is time for something different from the same FNM/PLP . . .”

And there was this from John: “Reality is that Minnis knows the FNM has lost support and the numbers continue to decline. So what does Minnis and the FNM do? Continue government business as usual and hope for a turnaround or hit the campaign trail and try to drum up support.

Obviously the premature campaigning and rallying is suspect and has hit a brick wall. In fact, it has brought Minnis’s credibility and level of desperation even more into question.”

• Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 24, 2020, PAGE 9

QUARTER OF THE WAY TO POTABLE WATER ACROSS GB

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Grand Bahama Utility Company has repaired a portion of the wells that were impacted

by Dorian and expects to achieve island-wide water potability over the next ten weeks.

During an update this week on the current state of water quality, company officials indicated plans to invest in new potable wells and implement technology that will assist in restoration efforts.

Philcher Grant, director of group corporate affairs, said that the company’s target requires 85 percent

of the wells to be potable in order to achieve islandwide potable water.

“To date, we are 25 percent towards that target, and we have a two-fold plan on how we plan on achieving the remaining 75 percent,” she said.

She said in addition to new potable wells, company officials will conduct

intentional and systematic flushing of existing wells.

In early September, water quality was significantly reduced when seawater flooded the well fields and compromised the island’s freshwater supply.

Dorian, a Category Five storm, had affected well fields one, three and six; a total of 220 wells

were impacted. The flooding also destroyed the company’s entire vertical infrastructure, including utility poles, wires, electrical components, control, and motoring systems.

Ms Grant estimates complete water potability by May. She stated that the company has sought an independent lab that is EPA

certified that will verify and validate its findings.

Ms Grant said that the water “is safe for most uses”, except for drinking.

She said that salt intrusion is the proper term, rather than “salt contamination”, which gives a false impression to the public about the condition of the water.

‘We will solve issues at Fishing Hole Road’

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE government is committed to fixing the structural issues at Fishing Hole Road in Freeport, according to a Minnis administration official.

Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson made the comments at a press conference on Wednesday, after Fishing Hole Road was underwater that morning, causing long traffic delays for commuters from West Grand Bahama to Freeport.

Motorists were stuck and could not pass as rising sea water from Hawksbill Creek overflowed onto the causeway during inclement weather and rough sea conditions.

Mr Thompson said the Fishing Hole Road bridge has been in the process of construction since 2015, and was actually completed in September 2019 before Hurricane Dorian.

He said that prior to the storm, the government was planning on opening the FHR causeway, but after the storm it had to

be assessed by structural engineers.

According to Mr Thompson, engineers had determined that the structure was in pretty good shape with no structural damage, however, the approach to the bridge had suffered severe damage when the asphalt to the approach was washed away during the storm.

“We know there has been a delay in the repair, but one of the things we have to do is when we look at repairing facilities we have to look at repairing them to be more resilient as further storms come,” he explained.

Mr Thompson stated that the Ministry of Works did not just want to replace what was there, but rather wanted to use the opportunity to assess it and see what the most resilient process would be, and then make a determination on how to move forward.

“The (Ministry of Works) has made a determination on what can be done to make that approach more resilient to storms and the government has already approved the process to

FLOODING on Fishing Hole Road. make that approach far more resilient. So relief is on the way for persons who have to traverse the FHR bridge.

“We did not want to just rebuild what was there, but

Funeral Service For Ivan Robert Kelly, 62 of Dundas Town, Abaco will be held on Saturday, January 25th, 2020, 11:00 A.M. at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, New Hope Drive, Joan’s Heights West. Officiating will be Rev. Rochell Vilma assisted by Rev. Elmond King.

Interment will follow in Western Cemetery, Nassau Street.

Ivan is survived bynis wife: Sheila Martin-Kelly; children: Lakeisha Roberts (Toriano); Lance, Darius and Erin Kelly; Stepchildren: Cory Johnson, George Martin Jr., Shelton Martin and Tremeice Martin; Grandchildren: Keishon Bethel, Nesthea Taylor, Lazaih Brice, Nekashia Kemp; Tanez, Tanae, Tiara, Royalty and Dariah Kelly; Brothers: Vincent Rolle and Craig Lewis; Sisters: Antoinette Moss and Barbara Farrington; Granduncle: David Ferguson of Whyms Bight, Eleuthera; Aunts: Laura Rolle and Gracie Ferguson; Mother-in-law: Evelyn Smith of Glinton’s Long Island; Brothers-in-law: Rev. Franklyn H. Moss; Eulys (Francis), Douglas, John, Neiln and Hensley Smith; Nieces and Nephews: Patricia Bastian, Sandokan Dean Sr., Natassia Cartwright (Robert); Vernette and Vanessa Rolle; Nicole, Craig Jr. and Dylon Lewis; Katis Brown-Butler and Kayo Brown; Felicia and Franz Moss; Samuel Sylvain; Demetrius Brown and Aneska Farrington; Grand nieces and nephews: Chaniqua Bastian Davis (Delvin); Raymond Bastian (Janae); Tajahinique, Robert Jr. and Eden Cartwright; Kavanna Whyms, Savannah, Kayla and Sandokan Dean Jr.; Great grand nieces and nephews: Raynell, Raymond Jr., Rashawn and Evlyn Bastian; Cousins: Peggy Garcia-Mercier of Miami, Florida Lisa Armbrister, Marina Glinton of Long Island, Mario Rolle of Los Angelos, California; Rudolph and Shawn Rolle; Christine Cummings, Anthony and Gary Moss; Paulamae Ferguson-Bain; Paul and Patricia Ferguson; Donell Daxon and Family; Josephine Bowleg and family; Donna, Lynn, Christopher and Derry Lewis; Vidal and Lincoln Garcia; Kolamae Pedican and family; Numerous other relatives, friends, colleagues, and neighbors including, but not limited to: Pastor Rev. Carlton K. Dorsette and the members of Trumpet Assemblies International, Dundas Town, Abaco; Pastor Rochell Vilma and family; Custom Officer Jessel Cash and family; Mr. Miller and family; Mr. Rod Hall and family; Dr. Keith Lewis and family of U.S.A.; Marina Rolle, Hyliah Johnson-Kelly, Barbara Kelly, Pastor, Rev. Elmond R. King and the members of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church; The staff or Civil Aviation and The Airport Authority at Lynden Pindling International Airport; The community of Dundas Town, Abaco; the staff of Marsh Harbor Airport; The community of Dean Street; the community of Lemon Street, Yellow Elder Gardens; The regular followers of softball at the Southern Recreation Ground, Baillou Hill Road The family of the late Ivan Robert Kelly sincerely apologizes if your name was inadvertently omitted from his obituary. We acknowledge your friendship and thank you for your prayerful support during our time of bereavement.

Viewing will be held in the Serenity Suite at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Roads on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and at the church on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until service time.

having had the ultimate test of Dorian, we can look back and see what can be done to improve on what was there before,” Mr Thompson said.

The government, he said,

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn has approved the repair and the adjustments to ensure the bridge is more resilient to storms.

“The process is moving ahead quickly and the Ministry of Works has

presented proposals and a contractor has been chosen and the project approved.

The next step is to mobilise the project, and we expect repair to start quickly,” he said.

PAGE 10, Friday, January 24, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

When a minister’s soft voice shouted in rage

REV Dr Colin B Archer and, below, his book Wrap Up

By Diane Phillips

WHEN a Methodist minister writes a tell-all book about his life, you aren’t too surprised to hear him wax eloquently about the one woman he loved for half a century, or the fact that he never lost faith, no matter how many challenges he faced.

So most of Rev Dr Colin B Archer’s book, Wrap Up, is predictable, encouraging, spiritual and uplifting – all served with a heavy helping of God is good and life

is about service. But there is one subject and one chapter in the book when a different side of the softly-spoken Colin Archer emerges and the man whose voice, under normal circumstances, could rock a crying baby to sleep emerges as a rebel and fighter.

The object of his activism as a young minister was the dumping of 67 tons of deadly nerve gas by the US military off the coast of Abaco in August

1970. Archer’s description of the events leading up to the decision to dump off the shores of The Bahamas, the bitter fight to stop it, the campaign that drew

world attention and the creation of the UN-based committee The Peaceful Uses of the Seabed makes for a bonechilling read and a part of history everyone in The Bahamas should remember.

Archer writes: “Stored in the bowels of the rusting freighter were 418 concrete and steel vaults containing a total of 125,400 rockets of obsolete nerve gas. There was also one coffin containing a land mine of highly toxic VX gas. The army said the nerve gas was already leaking in small amounts within its coffin.”

At 28, Archer joined the protest, carrying a placard “If it’s safe, you keep it.” Protests and echoes of horror and disbelief were heard around the world with the shouts still in the air when the ship carrying the payload of poison was scuttled and poisonous gas began to leak even as the old warship was sinking to its

grave 16,000 feet below the surface of the waters off Abaco. It would be the last time any ocean was used for dumping of poisonous gas.

The reader may have a new view of Dr Colin B Archer, that voice that reassures us on morning radio, that all will be right with the world if you just believe. Also fascinating to note other protestors who stepped up and spoke out including Sean McWeeney, Allyson Maynard, Peter

Maynard and Campbell Cleare. Interesting, too, that they all became lawyers and leaders.

If you do not want to read about Dr Colin Archer’s love for his wife and family because it is just so ideal or his battle to bring Methodists together or his time in Jamaica or the birth of his children, then read Wrap Up simply for its account of that shameful chapter in US history - when it dumped on The Bahamas.

EVERY now and then you discover a little place that is like your secret favourite new restaurant, or shop or service provider and you don’t know whether to shout it or keep it to yourself for fear widespread discovery will somehow spoil the find.

Over the holidays, my husband and I discovered just such a place for breakfast, brunch or lunch that is too good not to share.

Run by the husband and wife team of Daniel and Sam (short for Samantha) Newman, it seats at most 50 people, largely stacked along a long wall with bench seats on one side, tables and chairs opposite, plus a few

independent tables.

This unlikely conglomeration of restaurant seating is tucked into what was once an alleyway between two buildings, protected from the weather, so to speak, by a canopy of overlapping umbrellas.

Seating is outdoors only and what interior space there is is reserved for a galley-like kitchen with everyone reaching over and around each other to prepare some of the tastiest food ever produced on a total of four burners, two ovens and one grill. Not a microwave or other restaurant shortcut method in sight.

Every morsel of the soft, warm baked brie with

pecans is worth the extra inch around the waistline.

Delicious omelettes, lemon crepes, waiters who take special pride in what they do, all probably studying at a nearby college.

Ok, so the reason I can share the name – Over the Bridge Café – is because it’s a flight away, near the Intracoastal on famed Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, Florida, where it’s rumoured the café is the only mom and pop restaurant left on the avenue known for its history and charm and where today most of those tiny outdoor cafes are actually owned by large corporations. If you’re ever nearby, drop in.

WITH A WILL AND A WAY

LOOKING FOR ONE GOOD DRIVER FOR ONE-TIME ATLANTA TO MIAMI TRIP WE keep reminding ourselves that recovering from Dorian is a marathon not a sprint but as the months go by, getting assistance is getting tougher. We have received an offer of some assistance but to get it here we need someone who will drive from Atlanta to

Miami (for a reasonable fee) to deliver the donated pet supplies to a container headed to Nassau. The supplies – food, medications, bandages and more – were donated to Dr Tia Bain, a Bahamian who practices veterinary medicine in Atlanta.

The Nassau chapter of LINKS has offered to consolidate the pet supplies destined for Humane Societies in Nassau and Grand Bahama with its next shipment of donations.

One driver, please…you can e-mail me at diane@ dpa-media.com.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 24, 2020, PAGE 11

PLANNING GIVING BIRTH IN US? THINK AGAIN from page one

Officials said that consular officers will not be asking all female visa applicants of child-bearing age whether they are pregnant or intend to get pregnant.

Rather, they said consular officers would ask the question only if they had reason to believe the applicant is pregnant and likely or planning to give birth in the US. Visual cues such as appearing to be pregnant or listing “medical treatment” as a reason for wanting to

travel to the United States might trigger such questioning, the officials said.

Even if a woman is found to be pregnant and likely to deliver her child in the United States, she could still be granted a visa if she was able to demonstrate a valid reason for the travel such a visiting an ailing relative or attending a business meeting or conference, they said.

Officials said the rule will not apply to foreign travelers coming from any of the 39 mainly European and Asian countries

enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of those countries to come the US without a visa for temporary stays.

The rule will only apply to applicants for so-called “B” class visas that permit short-term stays for business or pleasure.

“Closing this glaring immigration loophole will combat these endemic abuses and ultimately protect the United States from the national security risks created by this practice,” White House press secretary Stephanie

Grisham said in a statement. “It will also defend American taxpayers from having their hard-earned dollars siphoned away to finance the direct and downstream costs associated with birth tourism.

The integrity of American citizenship must be protected.”

The practice of traveling to the US to give birth is fundamentally legal, although there are scattered cases of authorities arresting operators of birth tourism agencies for visa fraud or tax evasion. And

women are often honest about their intentions when applying for visas and even show signed contracts with doctors and hospitals.

The State Department “does not believe that visiting the United States for the primary purpose of obtaining US citizenship for a child, by giving birth in the United States — an activity commonly referred to as ‘birth tourism’ — is a legitimate activity for pleasure or of a recreational nature”, according to the new rules, which were published yesterday.

Father reunited with son after separation by border agents DAVID XOL-CHOLOM, of Guatemala, hugs his son Byron at Los Angeles International Airport as they reunite after being separated about one and half years ago during the Trump administration’s wide-scale separation of immigrant families.

Photo: Ringo HW Chiu/AP LOS ANGELES Associated Press AS his long-lost son walked toward him in an airport terminal, a sobbing David Xol stretched out his arms, fell to one knee and embraced the boy for about three minutes, crying into his shoulder.

He had not held the child since May 2018, when border agents pulled thenseven-year-old Byron away inside a detention facility.

They were separated under President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance policy — the father deported to Guatemala, the son placed in a series of government facilities before ending up with a host family in Texas.

Xol was one of nine parents who won the exceedingly rare chance to return to the US after being deported under family separation. They arrived Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport to be reunited with children they hadn’t seen in a year and a half or longer under the order of a federal judge who found the US government had unlawfully prevented them from seeking asylum.

After embracing, David stood and patted Byron, now 9, on the head. “He was small,” the father said.

“He grew a lot.”

The reunion was a powerful reminder of the lasting effects of Trump’s separation policy, even as attention and outrage has faded amid impeachment proceedings and tensions with Iran. But it also underscored the fact that hundreds, potentially thousands, of other parents and children are still apart nearly two years after the zero-tolerance policy on unauthorised border crossings took effect.

“They all kind of hit the lottery,” said Linda DakinGrimm, an attorney who represents one of the parents returning to the US. “There are so many people out there who have been traumatised by the family separation policy whose pain is not going to be redressed.”

More than 4,000 children are known to have been separated from their parents before and during the

official start of zero tolerance in spring 2018. Under the policy, border agents charged parents en masse with illegally crossing the US-Mexico border, then placed their children in government facilities. The policy drew condemnation from around the world as stories emerged almost daily about screaming children, some as young as babies, forcibly taken away from parents.

In June 2018, US District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered the government to stop separating families and reunite parents and children.

The US has acknowledged that agents separated families long before they enforced zero tolerance across the entire southern border, its agencies did not properly record separations, and some detention centers were overcrowded and undersupplied, with families denied food, water or medical care.

At least 470 parents were deported without their children, in many cases because they were told to sign paperwork they couldn’t read or understand. Some of the kids were held in US government facilities and ultimately placed with sponsors, usually family members. Others were deported to their home countries.

The US Department of Homeland Security referred a request for comment to the Justice Department, which did not respond.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the original family separation lawsuit before Sabraw, asked the judge to order the return of a small group of parents whose children remained in the US. In September, Sabraw required the US to allow 11 parents to come back and denied relief to seven others.

Byron anxiously waited for his father to clear immigration authorities and emerge in the terminal so they could be back together for the first time since that fateful day on the border.

The mother who has taken Byron in and escorted him to the airport for the reunion tried to calm his nerves: “They’re almost here, you’re doing great,” Holly Sewell said. “Count

to 1,000.”

“999,” Byron responded.

Esvin Fernando Arredondo was also on the plane. The father from Guatemala was separated from one of his daughters, Andrea Arredondo — then 12 years old and now 13, after they turned themselves in on May 16, 2018, at a Texas crossing and sought asylum legally, according to his lawyer. Sabraw found that Arredondo had been deported after his order to the US government not to remove any more parents separated from his children.

Andrea was separated from all family for about a month, living in a shelter as the government struggled to connect children with their parents because they lacked adequate tracking systems. She was finally reunited with her mother, who had turned herself in at the Texas crossing with the other two daughters four days earlier than her husband, on May 12, 2018.

She and her two daughters passed the initial screening interview for asylum, unlike her husband, even though they were fleeing for the same reason. Their son Marco, 17, was shot and killed by suspected gang members in Guatemala City.

Arredondo eventually emerged with the other parents. He hugged his three daughters. One of the girls, wearing a pink sweatshirt with Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters, held onto his chest as he spoke to reporters through his tears.

“To live the way I lived was very difficult,” he said.

His wife, Cleivi Jerez, 41, arrived at LAX less than an hour before the flight landed with their three daughters in tow.

She planned to stay up late catching up with her husband before he has to report to an ICE office Friday in San Diego. Alison Arredondo, 7, said she missed going to the park with her father and she wanted to go to one with him in LA. Holly Sewell said she was thrilled Byron could see his dad again but sharply criticised the US government’s treatment of asylum-seekers.

BREXIT BILL BECOMES LAW

BRITAIN’S delayed and disputed Brexit bill became law yesterday, removing the last UK obstacle to the country leaving the European Union in just over a week.

The UK is finally leaving the 28-nation bloc more than 3 1/2 years after voters narrowly opted to do so in a June 2016 referendum — and after interminable rounds of political wrangling.

Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans announced in the House of Commons that the Withdrawal Agreement Act had received royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II, the final formality in its legislative journey.

An identical announcement was made by the speaker of Parliament’s upper House of Lords.

SAUDI LINK TO PHONE HACK THE cellphone of Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos was hacked in what appeared to be an attempt

by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince to “influence, if not silence” the newspaper’s reporting on the kingdom, two UN human rights experts said on Wednesday.

The UN experts called for an “immediate investigation” by the United States into a report commissioned

by Bezos that showed the billionaire technology mogul’s phone was likely hacked after he received an MP4 video file sent from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s WhatsApp account after the two men exchanged phone numbers during a dinner in Los Angeles in 2018.

The video file was sent to Bezos’ phone five months before Saudi critic and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by Saudi government agents inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey in October.