06162020 NEWS AND SPORT

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VOLUME:117 No.139, JUNE 16TH, 2020

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SPORT: JYLES MAKES GRADE AS ALL-AMERICAN

ISLANDS TOLD: DRAW UP EVACUATION PLAN

Search for shelters goes on but families may have to leave

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE National Emergency Management Agency says evacuation plans should be considered this hurricane season for Central Abaco, Grand Bahama, Salina Point in Acklins and Spanish Wells in Eleuthera.

The agency revealed this in a list on Sunday that identified hurricane shelters on islands throughout the country but notably none for those four areas.

One hundred and twenty six shelters were identified in total.

On June 6 Bahamas Information Services published a list of shelters and

said that for Central Abaco, Grand Bahama and Spanish Wells facilities were “actively being sought”.

In the revised list published on Sunday the advice for these islands - with the addition of Salina Point - was now that “evacuation plans should be considered”.

The recommendation of evacuation has some questioning the feasibility of this, especially for Grand Bahama and Central Abaco, areas damaged by Hurricane Dorian last year and that are still home to thousands of residents.

Iram Lewis, the Minister of State for Disaster

BOWFLEX BARBIE’S BATTLE OF THE BULGE

MINISTERIAL intervention yesterday overcame “a rocky start” to the tourism industry’s re-opening after Bahamas Customs failed to appear at multiple marinas to clear incoming boats and yachts Peter Maury, the Association of Bahamas Marinas president, said he had to contact both Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest and Tourism Minster Dionisio D’Aguilar to resolve a

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

SEE PAGE EIGHT

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Office of the Attorney General has filed a notice of appeal against Justice Ian Winder’s groundbreaking ruling on citizenship.

Justice Winder ruled last month that children born out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women are citizens at birth and do not have to wait until 18 to apply for citizenship, which is the common interpretation of the Constitution. If the ruling stands, it could affect the status of many people in the country.

SEE PAGE THREE

situation that could have marred tourism’s first day of business following its threemonth lockdown.

“I got several calls from marinas all over The Bahamas - Bimini, Albany, Bay Street - that Customs was not coming into clear the vessels,” Mr Maury said.

“They said they hadn’t got the memo. We had boats here ready to go. The deputy prime minister and minister of tourism sorted it out, and we had boats clearing from 9am.”

FATHER SCOTT DUCKS BULLETS, READS BIBLES

AG LODGES APPEAL ON ‘DAD’ RULING

SEE PAGE FIVE

CHEMISTS’ DEGREES ‘INVALID’

MARINAS REOPEN - BUT NO CUSTOMS IN SIGHT

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FACE-TO-FACE

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net THE Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed the appeal of 13 pharmacists who sought to have their licences renewed by the Bahamas Pharmacy Council, after ruling that doing so would “reduce quality pharmacy care”.

The institution the pharmacists received their degree from is unaccredited under the Pharmacy Act.

FITNESS EXPERT DEKEL QUANT REVEALS HER SECRETS - SEE HEALTH

SEE PAGE THREE

THIS AIN’T ALL RIGHT, DADDI

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO social media personalities and one man were sentenced to three months in prison in two separate incidents after they pleaded guilty to child cruelty in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

In the first incident, video entertainer Jonathan Russell, 38, also known as “Daddi Whites”, and Lionel Hart Sr, 55, appeared

JONATHAN Russell yesterday before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after they were accused of giving

Hart Sr’s two-year-old son an alcoholic beverage on June 13.

The pair were arrested last week after a video went viral on social media showing Russell giving a young boy a sip of what appeared to be a Bud Light beer while he was in his father’s arms. In the video, Russell can be seen holding the bottle to the young boy’s mouth while he takes a sip.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE TWO

PETER YOUNG

NO COUNTRY SHOULD FORGET ABOUT ITS PAST

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Tuesday, June 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

WOMAN JAILED AFTER ADMITTING CHILD CRUELTY

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 23-YEAR-OLD woman was yesterday charged with one count of cruelty to children after she admitted to beating her boyfriend’s son with a belt earlier this month.

When being escorted into the court building by officers, Alesha McNeil, also known as “Car Wash” on social media, took off her face mask and claimed that she could not breathe. At one point, she also stopped at the doors of the building gasping and crying. Before the arraignment, she was taken to a medical facility to be evaluated.

McNeil later appeared before Magistrate Forbes after she was accused of assaulting a seven-yearold boy while he was in her care and custody on June 4. The social media personality pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months at BDCS. McNeil was arrested after a video showing red bruise marks on a child’s back made the rounds on social media.

The court was told that the child’s mother told

police that she went to her ex-boyfriend’s house to collect their child around 1pm that day. It was at that time, that the mother discovered the seven-year-old had injuries on his back and stomach. When she asked the child how he got them, he told her McNeil caused the injuries. As a result of this information, an investigation was launched which led to McNeil’s arrest. In an interview with police, she told them she had beaten the child with a belt. However Prosecutor McKenzie said McNeil told the officers her child’s daddy caused his injuries.

During the hearing yesterday, McNeil told the magistrate that she was only trying to teach the child how to read and write and claimed the child’s father gave her permission to beat him if he did not comply with the lessons. McNeil said she had the letters of the alphabet and vowels on the wall, but when she tried to teach the child, he told her he “wasn’t on that run.”

She insisted that she never meant to harm the boy and also said that her mother used similar disciplinary

ALESHA McNeil outside court yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

measures on her when she did not want to do her school work.

In response, Magistrate Forbes told McNeil she should have allowed the child’s father to discipline him since she was not his parent or guardian. He also noted that she did not consult the child’s mother who was his primary caregiver. Magistrate Forbes added that McNeil hit the child “hard enough to leave marks,” which suggested she was aware of the severity of the beating. Noting that the father had no authority to give McNeil permission to beat the boy, he stated that the boy’s father should have been charged as well, since he was “equally responsible” for the incident.

As a result, Magistrate Forbes sentenced McNeil to three months in prison.

Still, he said he would allow the defendant to receive medical attention before she was remanded into custody. Magistrate Forbes said the defendant’s conviction would remind people that children were “paramount” and that adults had a responsibility to keep them safe.

Pair sent to prison for giving boy beer from page one When the child recoils, Russell asks him if he wants more before handing the bottle to the child again.

He then tells the boy that the rest of the beer is his and begins singing, “I ain’t worried about no curfew, about to get dead drunk, dead loose, just road.” The video sparked public outrage which ultimately led to the arrest of the defendants.

Prosecutor Lincoln McKenzie said when the men were interviewed by police, Russell told officers that the incident was a misunderstanding because he was recording a film

ABOVE: Jonathan Russell aka “Daddi Whites” and Lionel Hart Sr outside court yesterday.

Left: A video grab of Russell appearing to give beer to the boy.

Main photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff and had actually put soda inside the beer bottle. Sgt McKenzie said Hart Sr also admitted to holding his child while Russell gave

him the alleged alcoholic beverage which he then allowed the child to drink.

Both men were subsequently charged.

During the hearing, Russell said he was an entertainer and was shooting a commercial for Knowles’ Liquor Store. He

said that he had put soda in the beer bottle at the time, and added that he only recorded the incident because he made “crass or edgy videos” that made his clients want to work with him. Russell said after the video got backlash online, he deleted it. He said someone else re-uploaded the video and it kept circulating.

Admitting that it was the worst video he had ever recorded, Russell also said he felt sorry for the boy and his father. Hart Sr told the magistrate that he was wrong to let a man give his son a beer bottle. He also claimed that he did not know what the bottle

contained and said he didn’t even see the video until he was arrested and thought Russell was only taking a photo that day. Hart Sr also asked Magistrate Forbes not to impose a custodial sentence since he was his son’s primary caregiver.

In response, Magistrate Forbes said he was struggling to understand how a father could allow a stranger to give his child what appeared to be an alcoholic beverage. He also reminded both men of the two year maximum penalty for the offence they committed and sentenced them to three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

THE TRIBUNE from page one and Reconstruction, did not respond yesterday to this newspaper’s requests for comment. His discussion of shelters in his budget contribution yesterday was at odds with NEMA’s list––he said shelters have been identified for “all islands”. He added that 95 shelters have been identified in total and that they are in a state of readiness.

“In addition,” he said, “NEMA is currently communicating with other civic and religious organisations, specifically on the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Many have indicated their facilities are available for use as hurricane shelters in the event of a storm.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020, PAGE 3

Islands told to draw up evacuation plans However, some remedial work is required. There is high expectation that the recently identified facilities will be added to the existing shelter list within the next 30 days.”

Asked about the evacuation plans for Grand Bahama and Central Abaco, NEMA director Captain Stephen Russell told The

Tribune the agency is finalising a plan this week that will be sent to the minster and his team.

“The government has implemented mandatory evacuations,” he said. “If it becomes necessary we have to implement it, mobilising air, sea or facilities to accommodate evacuations.

The minister and the permanent secretary for the

MINISTER: Iram Lewis

disaster ministry, once they agree with our plan will further expound on it to the press.

“Absolutely I’m concerned because there is no shelter in Abaco, so in the event of a storm, there really needs to be an option, whether to the north or south or other area to evacuate,” Capt Russell said.

“I’ve not been appraised of details of an evacuation plan. Unlike southern islands where you might have five to six hundred people, here you got several thousand, five to six thousand people that would have to be evacuated. I don’t think it’s an easy exercise or an inexpensive one.”

Editorial View - Page 6

RBDF sinks fishing boat used by poachers

THE Dominican fishing vessel “Digna Rosa 1” has been sunk by members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. The vessel was escorted to its watery grave west of Coral Harbour by HMBS Lignum Vitae, under the command of Lieutenant Owen Sands. A team of engineers from the RBDF engineering department led the way in the sinking. “This vessel was the last

of three Dominican fishing vessels to be apprehended by the RBDF in 2018 for poaching in Bahamian waters,” a statement from the RBDF said. “Another two Dominican vessels were sunk earlier this year by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. On May 4, ‘DFV Paul’ was sunk, and on May 12, ‘Chicky’ was also escorted to be sunk in waters off Coral Harbour.

COURT OF APPEAL DECIDES CHEMISTS’ DEGREES ARE INVALID

from page one

Phillipa Finlayson and 12 other students received bachelor’s degrees in pharmacy from McHari Institute between 2006 and 2011.

All but one of the appellants also obtained a master’s degree in clinical pharmacy from the institution between 2009 and 2014.

In 2009, the responsibility for registering pharmacists and pharmacy technicians moved from the Health Professions Council to the Bahamas Pharmacy Council after the Pharmacy Act was passed. After the Department of Public Service made an enquiry into McHari’s accreditation and correspondence, the Bahamas Pharmacy Council determined that McHari was not an accredited institution for the purposes of licensing professionals under the Pharmacy Act. According to a judgment posted on the Court of Appeal’s website, in their extraordinary meeting in 2017, the council concluded that the graduates would have to have their degrees evaluated by an evaluation agency to “determine whether the degrees they received were equivalent to the degrees of an accredited university.”

“The appellants would be granted provisional licenses while they awaited the report from the evaluation agency,” the court documents read. “If their

degrees were equivalent their licenses would be renewed; if the degrees were not equivalent they would be given provisional licenses to be renewed every three months for a period of two years on the condition that during this time they would sit and pass the Council’s Registration Examination and the Bahamas Pharmacy Law Examination and for those that did not pass the exams they would be placed on the register of licensed pharmacy technicians after successful completion of that exam.”

The McHari graduates filed their appeal on the grounds that the trial judge erred when she concluded that the McHari Institute was not an “accredited university” in 2010, as outlined in section nine of the Pharmacy Act. They further argued that the trial judge made a mistake when she failed to conclude that the Bahamas Pharmacy Council acted illegally when it determined that it had “acted ultra vires when it granted a provisional license to the appellant in 2010.”

Still, Justices Jon Isaacs, Milton Evans and Roy Jones yesterday ruled that the trial judge “was entitled to find that McHari was not accredited,” since Parliament could not have intended ‘accredited’ to have the same meaning as ‘registration’ since it could have “chosen to use that language in the Act.”

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They also noted that while the Act does not give a definition of accreditation, a description of the word can be found in the National Accreditation and Equivalency Council of The Bahamas Act which was passed in 2007.

“We agree with the respondent that there is an overriding public interest in the health and safety of the public in the dispensing of medicine to its members,” the justices noted.

“The duty of the (Pharmacy) Council is to

register persons who meet the educational requirements. The failure of registered pharmacists to meet these competencies and educational requirements may expose the public to a reduction in quality pharmacy care

and increase the possibility of medication errors.

The appellants also fail on this issue. For all these reasons, we dismiss the appeal and order that the appellants pay the respondent’s costs, to be taxed if not agreed.”

PAGE 4, Tuesday, June 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Health chiefs concerned by crowding at Arawak Cay

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net CONCERNED health officials say they found the behaviour of Arawak Cay patrons toward COVID-19 requirements on Saturday “disturbing”.

In phase four of the country’s plan to re-open, stalls at the popular eating spot were allowed to open for outdoor dining on Friday with certain requirements to include social distancing and masks. However, patrons were seen, in many pictures and videos which circulated online, crowded together at Arawak Cay and not wearing masks.

When contacted, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen expressed concern.

“Yes, we’re concerned,” Dr Brennen said. “We are hoping that our law enforcement officers will assist in helping our citizens to comply with the public health measures such as social distancing and wearing of face masks.”

Frisco Jolly was one of the patrons who visited Arawak Cay this past

ARAWAK Cay was busy last Friday weekend. It was the first weekend in months that a lockdown was not in effect.

He said he wanted to relax and enjoy his freedom, adding he thinks the risks for COVID-19 infection are low in the country.

“I was at Fish Fry getting my freedom back,” Mr Jolly said. “This government had us locked down for three whole months. The town opened back up and I went on Fish Fry to eat and have fun with my friends. I cannot eat or drink with a mask on. That’s stupid to think I am wearing a mask when I gone there to eat and drink, aye? I ain’t on that run (sic).

“These people don’t understand that having people locked up in the house have you thinking all kind of things. I did a lot of reading on this virus and we are doing good here in The Bahamas based on what I’ve been reading. There is no need to wear a mask and breathe in the air you breathing out. It makes no sense.”

Margeaux Pierre, who also went to Arawak Cay on Saturday, says she feels it is safe to go without a mask as COVID-19 numbers are low in the country.

“I don’t think this is as serious as they make it out to be,” Ms Pierre said. “I

watch the stats whenever they send them out. No one here catching corona like that. If they locking us down for some other reason, then they should just say so. Yes, I was at Arawak Cay on Saturday. I saw people who I hadn’t seen in forever and we had a lot of fun. I had a mask in my bag but I never put it on. It was good being out there in the sunshine.

“Only a handful of people wore a mask, but no one looked sick. Truth is I am tired of being locked up like a prisoner in my house.

I doubt it very strongly that numbers are going to rise because we were out there on Saturday with no mask.”

The Tribune also spoke with COVID-19 task force coordinator Dr Merceline Dahl-Regis, who found the behaviour of the patrons “disturbing”, but said she would rather let Prime Minister and Minister of Health Dr Hubert Minnis comment on the matter.

“Yes we are concerned, but you will hear from the Prime Minister about this on Wednesday,” said Dr Dahl-Regis. “He said he will speak to it on Wednesday. I would not offer an opinion on it at this time.

It is disturbing, yes, but I would not offer an opinion on it at this time.”

Previously, Dr Minnis

had encouraged residents to wear non-medical masks to help prevent carriers who were not showing symptoms from unknowingly spreading the disease.

The US Centers for Disease Control have also advised people to wear masks to slow the spread of the virus - while the WHO this month also updated its advice, recommending people wear masks in public, particularly in crowded environments.

Up to press time, the country’s COVID-19 rate stood at 104, after a new case was reported on Sunday. It was the first case reported in just over a week.

DETENTION CENTRE ON INAGUA STILL GOVT PLAN

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

DELGADO Rolle outside court yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

TEENAGE PAIR CHARGED WITH ARMED ROBBERY

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO teenagers appeared in court yesterday to be charged with armed robbery.

Delgado Rolle, 18, and a 16-year-old boy appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with one count of armed robbery after they were accused of stealing a $100 Alcatel cell phone and a wallet containing $1,525 of cash from Jerome Young on June 5.

The boys appeared in court days after another man, 24-year-old Antonio Murray, was arraigned for the same crime last week.

According to initial police reports, shortly after 9pm on the night in question, a male in the area of Anderson Street was accosted by six masked men.

Police said one of the men was armed with a cutlass while another was armed with what appeared to be a handgun. The male was robbed of a sum of cash and other personal items.

During the hearing, the teens were not required to enter a plea and the matter was adjourned to October 14 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Bail was denied and Rolle was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, while the 16-year-old was sent to the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys until trial.

Both defendants have a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

MAN AGREES TO COUNSELLING AFTER DISCHARGE

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 24-YEAR-OLD man who was charged with marijuana possession was given a conditional discharge yesterday after agreeing to take drug counselling classes.

Lawrence Tynes appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after officers found him on Iguana Way around 9.15pm on June 13. When officers searched him that night, they also found three clear plastic bags containing a quantity of Indian hemp.

Prosecutor Lincoln McKenzie told the court on the night

in question, officers on mobile patrol near Iguana Way stopped a red Toyota Passo. Sgt McKenzie said when the officers questioned the driver, he did not give them a reason to explain why he was outdoors while the curfew was in effect. He was subsequently arrested and taken to the Carmichael Road Police Station. There, officers discovered three clear plastic bags containing suspected marijuana on him.

During the hearing, Tynes’ attorney noted that his client was employed and a “contributing member of society.” He also said that Tynes was very young and

noted that a conviction would affect his employment.

After pleading guilty to drug possession and violating the national curfew, Tynes was conditionally discharged for 12 months on the agreement that he would attend drug counselling classes at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre. If he fails to comply with conditions, Tynes will spend six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

He was also placed on six months’ probation for the curfew violation.

Magistrate Forbes warned Tynes that if he violated any other laws, he would be fined $500.

IMMIGRATION Minister Elsworth Johnson said the government still plans to construct a new detention centre on Inagua, however it will not come in the upcoming fiscal period.

He also said the Immigration Department hopes to hire between 60-100 new recruits in the third or fourth quarter of 2020/2021 fiscal period.

During the 2020/2021 budget debate yesterday, the minister laid out the key immigration initiatives for the coming year.

While a new detention centre in not on the cards in the near future, he said the future construction would give Inagua an economic boost.

“The construction of a detention centre in Inagua will serve as an economic stimulus to the island and could quite possibly serve as a temporary hurricane shelter, in hurricane season,” he said.

“Such an undertaking shall reduce expenses and risk of transporting and processing detainees from illegal landings from the south, to the benefit of all stakeholders. This item remains on our ministry’s agenda.”

Mr Johnson noted there were 133 migrants detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre as of June 1. Last week, 75 Haitian migrants were repatriated – leaving 58 migrants. The repatriation exercise comes after Haitians started a hunger strike

earlier this month to return home.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force reported that the matter was de-escalated by marines, but a fight broke out between two Haitians later. Some detainees then escaped their dormitories and destroyed several fences and minor infrastructure.

Mr Johnson stated the Department of Immigration has lost a number of experienced staff over three years due to retirement, resignation, or transfers and more immigration officers are needed to replace these officers.

Furthermore, officers are needed for five additional islands and locations that are currently unmanned hence the aspiration for hiring 60-100 new recruits.

He said a promotional exercise has not happened in the department for over five years, and expressed a commitment for promotions to happen as soon as possible.

“The exercise, shall be merit based, with a view to ratifying all existed in the agency, in particular for trainee immigration officers many of whom, for years now are still not confirmed in appointment,” the minister said.

He also said during the July 1, 2019 – May 2020 period, the department accumulated $57,465,076.24 in revenue – a decrease in initial projections. In the 2019/2020 fiscal period, repatriations cost the government $906,171.00, excluding the most recent exercise.

TWO HURT IN CAR CRASH

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

TWO men were injured after a car accident outside of Sandy Point, Abaco. One of them is in critical but stable condition and was airlifted to Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau.

Chief Superintendent Wendell Smith, officer in charge of the Abaco division, said the accident happened on Sunday sometime around 7.25pm on Ernest Dean Highway. He said the incident involved a single vehicle — a grey four-door Suzuki that apparently lost control and flipped over.

“Information was that there were two persons inside of the

car,” he said. “Police responded along with EMS personnel. One of the males was conscious and speaking. He was a 36-yearold male from Dundas Town, Abaco.

“The other male, who is believed to be the driver is a 32-year-old male, also from Dundas Town, Abaco, who was taken to the Marsh Harbour Clinic in an unconscious state.

“He was subsequently airlifted into New Providence. He was in critical condition but stable at the time of his departure from Abaco.”

He said the 36-year-old was discharged and the driver was still alive based on the last information received.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, June 16, 2020, PAGE 5

from page one

Attorney General lodges appeal on ‘dad’ ruling

Justice Winder’s ruling focused on whether a reference to “father� in Article 14 (1) of the Constitution is applicable when interpreting Article 6 of the document.

Article 6 says: “Every person born in The Bahamas after 9th July 1973 shall become a citizen of The Bahamas at the date of his birth if at that date either of his parents is a citizen of The Bahamas.�

Article 14 (1) says: “Any reference in this chapter to the father of a person shall, in relation to any person born out of wedlock other than a person legitimated before 10th July 1973, be construed as a reference to the mother of that person.�

The judge concluded

that that if drafters of the Constitution wanted Article 14 (1) to apply to Article 6, they would have used the words “either father or mother�, not “parents� in Article 6.

In an application filed on June 10, government lawyers have asked for his judgment to be set aside.

Their grounds of appeal include: “That the learned judge erred and misdirected himself in law holding at

paragraph 34 (of his ruling) that the only interpretation, having regard to the language used and giving effect to the provisions of the Bahamian Constitution dealing with the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, is to preclude any reference to Article 14 (1) by indirect reference to Article 6. “That the learned judge erred and misdirected himself in law in holding

at paragraph 34 that the interpretation of parents in Article 6 is the only interpretation suitable to the character and spirit of the Constitution. “That the learned judge erred and misdirected himself in law when he concluded at paragraph 35 that the legal position must be that every person born in The Bahamas after the 9th of July, 1973 shall become a citizen of The Bahamas at

the date of his birth if at that date either of his parents is a citizen of The Bahamas, irrespective of the marital status of the parents at the time of birth.�

The question of whether Bahamian fathers of children born out of wedlock to non-Bahamian mothers could automatically pass citizenship on to their children was one of four raised in the constitutional referendum in 2016. All four

of those questions were rejected by Bahamians.

Justice Winder’s ruling sprung from an ongoing case brought by attorney Wayne Munroe, QC. The applicants in that case include children said to be fathered by Bahamian men out of wedlock to Jamaican and Haitian women. The case has been adjourned to July to consider proof that the fathers of the children are indeed Bahamian men.

ABACO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ‘CONCERN OVER CORRUPTION’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FOUNDATION MAKES TWO MORE $25,000 DONATIONS

MEETING their $200,000 pledge to support local non-profit organisations providing food assistance to communities hit hardest by the impacts of COVID-19, Lyford Cay Foundations has made two more $25,000 donations to Lend a Hand Bahamas and Hands for Hunger.

With thousands of new requests for food assistance, Hands for Hunger not only need to take on purchasing perishable items themselves but the NGO has launched a food voucher programme through the digital wallet application Kanoo which to date has assisted more than 1,500 families. “As a team we have been trying to figure

out new and creative ways to address food insecurity issues because at the end of the day it is still our mantra that no one goes hungry,� says Hands for Hunger multimedia manager Aarone Sargent. “This donation from Lyford Cay Foundations helps to strengthen our operations sso we can continue to do our work.�

Lend a Hand Bahamas, which primarily offers educational programming to socioeconomic disadvantaged Bahamians in Grant’s Town, has shifted operations as social distancing prevented gathering at the community centre and the appeal for food assistance during the pandemic increased from residents and donors alike.

In two months, the group has expanded its reach to provide weekly food support to over 2,000 individuals in the Adelaide, Grant’s Town, Gambier, and Mt. Pleasant areas. “Food is seen as a critical need now because it’s very hard to talk to families about how to enhance their lives or think long-term when they can’t feed themselves to survive, says Lucas Metropulos, chairman of the board for Lend a Hand Bahamas. “For us it’s a piece of the plan to build resilience into these communities we serve— we are trying to find, for people affected by this pandemic, how they can get back to where they were but even better.�

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THE Abaco Chamber of Commerce is sounding the alarm about corruption among a small number of government employees.

Abaco Chamber of Commerce president Ken Hutton said yesterday there were three incidents reported in the last two weeks of government employees asking residents for personal payments in order to fulfil their duties.

The organisation published a statement on Facebook which said: “The Abaco Chamber of Commerce is deeply concerned about recent reports of (a) small number of government employees demanding personal payments in order to execute their paid responsibilities. This is a tiny minority of the Bahamas government service employees; the vast majority of whom serve with honour and dignity. “Be advised that demanding personal payment is not acceptable conduct and no government employee is allowed to solicit payment for duties they are required to perform as part of their government service. We would request anyone receiving such a demand confidentially notify the Abaco Chamber of Commerce of the date, time and government employee involved and we will ensure the incident is brought forward to authorities. “Please contact the Abaco Chamber (of Commerce) at info@ abacochamber.org.

Please only respond with first-hand experience if it has happened to you personally. All information will be kept confidential unless otherwise authorised.�

Mr Hutton told The Tribune the Chamber of Commerce has not yet involved police in the matter but that it was important to get the message out. “When we get the information and people want to go forward with it, it will go to the authority,� he said.

He could not say how much money the employees were allegedly demanding.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, June 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Leave no island behind WHEN Iram Lewis spoke in Parliament during his Budget contribution, his words would have been reassuring.

With hurricane season now upon us, the Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness said that shelters have been identified for “all islands”.

Not so, according to the National Emergency Management Agency’s own list of shelters.

If you live in some parts of The Bahamas, you may be all out of luck if you go looking for a shelter.

The first list of shelters issued on June 6 said that shelters were “actively being sought” in Central Abaco, Grand Bahama and Spanish Wells – while the update on Sunday added a new twist for those locations, plus Salina Point.

“Evacuation plans should be considered,” warns the list.

Mr Lewis may not have returned our request for comment yesterday, but NEMA director Captain Stephen Russell made clear there is a problem.

“There is no shelter in Abaco, so in the event of a storm, there really needs to be an option, whether to the north or south or other area to evacuate,” he said.

Now we are under no illusions about the damage suffered during Hurricane Dorian – Abaco particularly suffered.

Tribune staff witnessed first hand the devastation as the storm struck the island.

That said, Hurricane Dorian was in

September and we are now in mid-June – at what point did the active search begin for shelters. Surely it was fairly obvious what buildings might be suitable as shelters, and a swift examination would have been able to determine whether they were strong enough to survive another storm. That could surely have been concluded months ago. Could a shelter have been built between the passing of Dorian and now?

Those who survived Hurricane Dorian are frustrated enough with the slow pace of reconstruction – being left with nowhere to shelter is hardly likely to make them feel less like second-class citizens.

And what do we do with evacuees if the worst comes to pass? Captain Russell estimates that would be up to 6,000 people having to be housed – and as Dorian has shown us, we do not know for how long that might be.

So don’t tell us everything is fine when it is not, Mr Lewis, and don’t tell us there are shelters for all islands when thousands of Bahamians are left out in the cold.

NEMA is apparently finalising a plan this week to be sent to the minister regarding evacuation plans. Thank goodness we haven’t needed it already, given we are several week into hurricane season already.

This is the very definition of too little, too late.

9pm makes no sense now BUSINESSES are back in operation.

Restaurants are serving diners. People are back in offices, and back seeing families.

So why on earth is there still a 9pm curfew? We quite understand that the government put it in place during the lockdown period to stop the spread of the virus, but the number of cases has dropped to a trickle – the last confirmed case was a patient with a history of travel.

But now that we are out and about, should the emphasis not be on doing so safely rather than having to scurry home before 9pm?

We’re not entirely sure of the reasoning. Is it because it helps to clamp down on crime – in which case it’s not being used for the emergency it was introduced for? Is it the same reasoning that

saw liquor stores kept closed, making people feel the government was telling them that nanny knows best.

Some of us need to do better too – such as the people out on Arawak Cay without masks and saying no one looked sick. Well, that’s the point of masks. If you’re sick, stay home, but you can carry the virus without looking sick so put your mask on for the sake of others.

But it seems that the time for this curfew has gone now. Certainly, we can’t imagine tourists arriving in a couple of weeks and being told that they have to be back in their hotels by 9pm.

If people can be in an office space through the day, we suspect they can be in an open air seating area without having to scurry home like Cinderella.

Time to lift this curfew.

Car trade caught out READERS have been posting their views on the stories making the news on tribune242.com.

New car sales plunged more than 90 percent during the COVID-19 lockdown’s peak – with many dealerships “not selling a single vehicle” for April.

That prompted this comment from John: “Car lots seem to have gotten caught off guard as they are all loaded with new vehicles . . . Hopefully, the pandemic will end soon and spur new sales.”

Birdiestrachan said: “The insurance companies reported that claims for cars lost in the hurricane were very high, perhaps the people who lost their cars decided not to buy cars, or they bought second hand from overseas.”

After director of labour John Pinder projected that various “anchor projects” will return The Bahamas’ jobless rate to “single digit” levels by the end of 2022, Moncurcool had this to say: “When we begin as a county to do

unemployment numbers on a weekly or monthly basis, then we can take seriously the unemployment numbers that come out.”

And after Minister of Tourism and Aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar said last week requiring visitors to take a COVID-19 test before they enter The Bahamas is “a non-starter”, while warning that the tourism industry’s July 1 re-opening will “inevitably” increase cases, John posted this: “Why do you think the cruise lines have gone deafeningly silent on their start up dates? Many will not open before next year. The risk factors are too great and so are the variables for the potential of a ship becoming infected. Other Caribbean countries will not let these cruise ships in just now, especially Jamaica

that has been threatened by one of the cruise lines for not allowing in one of its ships that had corona infected passengers.”

Hoda said: “Bahamians all about online, on the news, screaming for the country to be opened up. If you been out today a lot of people were out and about wearing their masks, a lot were not. Everyone is not going to be pleased.”

There was this comment from Mandela said: “The Bahamas COVID-19 pandemic is all but gone away, that means that at this stage we can only be newly infected by persons coming in from somewhere abroad. The USA continues to see new cases in the 1000s daily. If our borders are opened up on July 1st and tourists are allowed to enter WITHOUT testing negative before entering the country and they are allowed to bring in COVID-19 to infect us all, all over again, then all parties responsible for such an act allowing entry should be punished for treason.”

People seem to kill at the drop of a hat EDITOR, The Tribune THE good old fashioned system of values which my late father (Reverend Dr. Ortland H. Bodie Sr.) and my late beloved mother (Annie Hepburn Deveaux) instilled in me and my siblings growing up back in the day has stood the test of time. Those values included a love and respect for The Lord Jesus Christ; taking responsibility for one’s behaviour and choices; self reliance; hard work; thrift and honesty.

Not for one minute would I dare suggest that as I matured into adulthood that I would have faithfully observed all of them but, by and large, if I may say so, they stood me well. I have done my level best to attempt to instil the same in my own children. Values are extremely important if a society is to evolve into all it can be for as many as possible. Permit me to offer my rationale on this.

Back in the day it was regarded as unusual to see and hear about children having children as we now see all over the place. These children that are being produced are illegitimate or being raised in a so-called single parent home, usually the mother. 65% of all live Bahamian births are out of wedlock.

Our inner city areas here in New Providence and Grand Bahama are filled with people who have not been able to motivate themselves to take advantage of available educational opportunities, with a bunch of drug users and addicts and a growing and expanding dependency on the central government of the day. Some will make it out of the ghetto, but many others will go on from generation to generation in the same never ending quagmire.

When a family fails society at large fails also and fails big time with repercussions which are felt long into the future. The bulk of our younger Bahamians

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net are GONE and they would appear not to care less. The powers that be come and they go but they hardly ever concentrate on the causes much less the solutions to this vexing and debilitating scenario.

The leading cause of death among our younger Bahamians today is homicide or murder. There appears to be no respect or value for life. A person appears to be willing to kill at the drop of a hat or less. Some social scientists suggest that one cannot legislate morals but I beg to differ. Our criminal justice system is based on morals that condemn certain types of behaviour within society.

If you breach them you will be expected to pay a price, ie incarceration; fines and/or execution in the worst cases. Today, the death penalty has gone the way of the extinct Dodo.

We mouth that we are a Christian nation but most of you would not recognize a real Christian even if He were to come down, again, off the cross. We need to renew our commitment to our Judeo-Christian values in our churches; our houses of worship; our communities and in public life.

‘Thou Shall Not Lie or bear False Witness’ is one of the classical 10 Commandments. In The Bahamas many of us, especially the politicians pay lip service to that one listed and the majority if not all of the rest. Case in point: During the 2017 electoral campaign, Minnis and crew made all sorts of bogus promises which he/they must have known were lies.

Not a single one of those myriad of promises has been enacted or fulfilled so far, save and except that educational costs are being borne by the government.

Our religious (not spiritual) leaders have now

become steadfast secular allies of the politicians, especially those in power de jour. They clamour for a seat at the head table. A few of them seek governmental positions as if they would gain entry into the Celestial Kingdom by such means. They have ceased to preach: ‘Thus Saith The Lord’ but now ask: ‘What would the PM think?’

One year after Minnis and crew would have been in office the scales fell from my eyes. Yes, there are one or two ministries which are ticking and performing like clock work despite the overall challenges. The Ministry of Tourism & Aviation along with the Ministry of Social Development are doing yeomen’s jobs in challenging circumstances.

The other ministries, by and large in my opinion are simply there to ensure a job and/or an income for cabinet level personnel.

Two years ago, after the humongous scales fell off, I warned the people of this wonderful nation that the PM et al did not know what the hell they were/are doing. I can now say without fear of contradiction: ‘See I Told You So’. They said that it was the people’s time and by damned you all got shafted big time with a jagged piece of stick.

No Accountability and Fiscal Responsibility Act; no Freedom of Information Act; Where is Local Government for New Providence; what about the long overdue infrastructural work: reduction in a long bloated civil service and affordable housing or the freeing up of Crown Land for commercial and residential purposes? Promises made BUT promises not kept.

See I told you so! To God then, Who always keeps His promises, come hell or high water, in all things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H. BODIE, Jr. Nassau, June 14, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net MORE than $4 million in school reconstruction contracts have been awarded to get public schools in Grand Bahama ready for reopening in September, Education Minister Jeffrey Lloyd announced in Grand Bahama.

Major reconstruction is needed to get government schools in line with COVID-19 requirements, and hurricane-ready to serve as shelters, according to government officials during the contract announcement this week at the Office of the Prime Minister in Grand Bahama.

Minister Lloyd said that the government has committed some $4.5 million for the reconstruction of 15 schools in Grand Bahama.

“These contracts represent the largest reinvestment in terms of school reconstruction this year in GB,” Minister of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction Iram Lewis said.

Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson also highlighted that importance of the contracts that will provide employment and help restore the GB economy, which has suffered due to Dorian and the COVID-19 shutdown.

The Ministry of Education schools, particularly in GB and Abaco, sustained “serious” damage during Hurricane Dorian, said Minister Lloyd.

“We are quite aware of the significant and unprecedented damage that our plants have suffered…, he said. The damage has been very serious, particularly in the most critical segments of the edifice - its roof,” Mr Lloyd said.

The minister stressed that the repair of schools is critical and must begin immediately, with some adjustments to be made as a result of COVID-19.

Mr Lloyd indicated that there needs to be additional hygienic outposts, spigots, and bathroom adjustments.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020, PAGE 7

$4m school repair contracts signed

MINISTER for Education Jeff Lloyd oversaw the signings “We need to ensure our students maintain hygienic standards required to ensure that at least from an educational standpoint the spread of the coronavirus is not facilitated,” he explained.

Additionally, the education minister acknowledged the contribution of many international and local NGOs who came to their rescue, repairing schools in the immediate aftermath of Dorian.

“They greatly facilitated

the ability of schools to resume their normal operations and enabled us to carry on the important work of training and developing, and advancing the interests of our young people,” he said.

He is confident that the GB contractors selected will be able to have school construction completed “well in advance” of September.

“In addition to Hurricane Dorian, other difficult circumstances of the world like to come to

visit The Bahamas known as COVID-19. So, we have been set back as a country and certainly as an education system, especially in continuing with the work of training our young people. We believe we have done a remarkable job in responding to that when last year we instituted our virtual school, which was the first of its kind in the Caribbean, and of course, a unique creation in the Bahamas.”

Minister Lloyd

commended students and said teachers and administrators rose to the occasion by utilizing all the various education platforms available to them, including the MOE’s virtual platform.

“We are excited about the reopening of school.

It is going to be different.

You know that we have to observe as health authorities have prescribed all various protocols that are required necessary and we will. And that is why the reparation of our physical

structure is so important,” he stressed.

Minister Lewis noted that weaknesses exposed in the construction of the public schools during Dorian will be corrected by contractors under the strict supervision of School Repair Programme Consultant Burton Miller.

“We selected a GB team we know will live up to the expectations. These schools are so important; COVID changed how we live, and initially, gymnasiums were our focus for hurricane preparedness and shelters, however, we are now shifting to the classrooms to ensure they are done in a timely manner, not only for reopening but in terms of hurricane preparations, putting our people in a position where lives can be saved,” he said.

State Minister for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson stressed that “hurricane preparedness is a huge issue in GB,” and said that contracts will create many jobs in Grand Bahama.

“I want to say three words - jobs, jobs, and jobs.

That has been the focus of the OPM in GB because what this represents today is over $4m worth of contracts, work, and jobs for GB. It is absolutely necessary that post-Dorian and while we come out of this COVID experience that we continue to rebuild the economy of GB, and these contractors could not come at a better time here in GB,” he said.

According to Mr Kwasi Thompson, more than 150 people would be immediately put to work at schools.

Mass of Christian Burial For LaGloria Rosella Darville “née Knowles” of Petty’s Long Island, The Bahamas who passed away on June 9, 2020, will be held on Friday June 19, 2020 at 10 am at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, Hamiltons, Long Island.

THE GRAND Lucayan Hotel

RENOVATION ON GRAND LUCAYAN TO BEGIN ‘WITHIN BUDGET YEAR’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of State for Grand Bahama Senator Kwasi Thompson said the government expects renovation and construction to begin at the Grand Lucayan hotel “within this budget year”.

“We had recent conversation with the developers…

RCL and ITM and we are very pleased they have reaffirmed their commitment to move ahead with the hotel development project and cruise port project,” said Mr Thompson.

“Because of COVID they made some adjustment to the timeline and we expect that very shortly they will begin the process of redevelopment of the hotel and committing to

an environmental impact assessment with the new cruise port.”

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and ITM Group signed a Heads of Agreement for the purchase of the Grand Lucayan property and the redevelopment of Freeport Harbour at an investment of some $250 million. It is expected to create 3,000 direct and indirect jobs in Grand Bahama.

In the meantime, Senator Thompson noted that Grand Bahama’s construction industry is beginning to take off.

“The construction industry is beginning to move in Grand Bahama. We see presently the hospital remains under renovation, and there are about 100 workers who are at the site,” he said.

Mr Thompson stated that

work is done to major areas of the Rand Memorial Hospital. He noted that work is underway on the completion of the cafeteria and the addition of an infectious wing for additional COVID patients.

In West Grand Bahama, he said construction is progressing on the government complex in Eight Mile Rock, and the new school in Holmes Rock.

“There is going to be a significant amount of construction work and that does not include the Small Home Repair programme, where over 700 in Grand Bahama have benefitted from it. It will continue throughout this year and we hope it will intensify throughout this year. This is a very active year with respect to the construction industry,” he said.

SIX CHINESE HELD BPL REPORTS CUTS SIX Chinese nationals were arrested yesterday morning at a condominium in Freeport, police reported.

According to reports, shortly before 5am on Monday, a team of officers, acting on information, went to a condo complex at Kelly Court in South Bahamia, where they found four Chinese men and two women.

They were arrested and taken into police custody, and later handed over to Bahamas immigration officials.

BAHAMAS Power and Light reported a number of areas in New Providence were without power yesterday afternoon.

According to a notice from BPL at 4.45pm yesterday, a portion of Sir Lynden Pindling Estates, Montgomery Avenue, Flamingo Gardens and Oak Ridge in South Westridge had no power.

BPL said it was working to restore power in the affected areas. A cause for the outage was not given up to press time.

Father Kendrick Forbes will officiate and interment will follow in the Church’s Cemetery, Hamiltons, Long Island.

Left to cherish her memories are her husband of 54 years, Deacon Patrick Darville and her 7 children and their families: Son Patrick “Papa George” Darville, his wife Patrice, and their daughters Deanthea and Georgia, and stepson Luther Saunders. Daughter Sandra Darville,her husband Quentin Knowles and their daughters Courtney and Allana Son Darryl Darville, his wife Donna, and their son Gabriel. Daughter Melanie Knowles and her son Joshua, and her grandson Grayson. Daughter Lillian, her husband Terence Forsythe and their son Henry. Son Gerard Darville, his wife Tawan Turnquest and their three sons Justus, Dylan and David. Her daughter Dr. Phyllis Darville and her son Truman Darville-Dexter.

She was preceded in death by her parents Cora and Earle Knowles, her siblings Cyril, Marina and Alda Knowles and grand-daughter Rebecca Darville Also left to mourn are her siblings Laurin, Lindy, Cora, Wesley and Earl Jr (Dutchboy) Knowles and Louise Cartwright; her brothers and sisters-in-law: Lilleth (Sue), James (Jimmy) Catherine, Mark and Angela Knowles, Leonard Cartwright, Joseph and Melanie Darville; Her uncles and aunts: Ivan, Jane, Isabel and Alma Knowles; her nieces and nephews Mark, Neil, Ian, David, Don, Stefan, Scott, Jude, Clarence (Callie), Andrew (Chris), Andrew, Jevon, Fernando, Clyde, Antoinne, Ava, Nelson, Eddie, Kevin Knowles, Colleen Mckinney, Crystal and Clint Cartwright, Glenda Whylly, Lorraine Malone, Sharlene Rodriguez, Kate Fox, Dale Morley, Lynn Marcello, Perpetua Roberts, Nelson, Maris Thompson, Casandra Burrows, Tanya Knowles-Cartwright, Simone Fernander, Santina Chea, Dawn Simmons, Sarah Ferguson, Saul Darville, Gloria Culmer, Sharon DaBrusco, Dawn Worobel, Ryan Carroll, Marty and Anthony Cartwright, Marcella, Audrey, Aldin Jr, Philip, Debbie Darville, Marsha Sands; Dennis and Leslie Treco, Lisa Carroll; Other family and friends: Troy Dexter, Henry and Ena Major, Jacqueline and Duffy Turnquest, Margo John, Margaret Hepburn, Vernencha Blatch, Bonnie Blake, Maxine Ritchie, Cheryl Turnquest, Mildred Cartwright & family, Eddie and Brenda Knowles, Jan and Brian Forsythe, Christine and Charles Smith, Greg Culmer, Karen & Leo Betschart, Seth Roberts, Etoille Burrows, Ruth Cartwright, Carmie Treco, Myrtle Taylor, Ceolah Turnquest, Thomas and Effie Cartwright, Ms. Ruth (Stephanie) Billings, Archbishop Patrick Pinder and Clergy of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nassau and the entire parish of St. Peter & Paul.

Friends and family may view her remains at Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited, Palmdale Avenue, Palmdale on Wednesday June 17th from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. and at the church in Long Island on Thursday June 18th beginning at 12:00 noon.

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, June 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THIS month, “Father Scott” celebrates 35 years as a priest . Above, talking to former Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling in 2015 on the 30th anniversary of him becoming a priest.

Below, as assistant priest at St Matthews in 2000.

GROWING up, I attended Holy Cross Anglican Church with my family. For most of my years there, the late Canon Neil Roach, affectionately called “Father” by many, was rector. He was assisted by a priest who found a way to connect with the young people of the church and make a difference.

Canon Peter Scott had a down-to-earth way of connecting with us as young people and inspiring us to be our best. But he also wasn’t afraid to ask the hard questions we needed to hear to help steer our course. Now as an adult, I can appreciate what he did for us and the role he played in our lives.

This month, “Father Scott”, as we call him, celebrates 35 years as a priest and a servant of many. As he reflects on the journey, he is satisfied that the Anglican church is in good hands. The church continues to grow and there are “lots of talented young priests and lay members who are not afraid to grab the future and run with it”.

The world has changed so much since the time he was ordained, and the priesthood is no exception.

“The life of an Anglican priest is so much better in these modern times than when I started out, yet in some ways they are more challenging,” he said.

“While we have more comforts and conveniences, priests today have to deal with a much smaller global village in which social media rules the world.

Priests today need to be savvy and technological if they are going to remain relevant in today’s world.

“While I am not yet in the pasture (but looking lovingly at it), my generation of priests need to let go of certain things, and let the younger clergy have more say. We can still steer and guide, but learn to let go and let God run things!”

He remembers well what it is to be young and in need of every opportunity to succeed. He was born on August 20, 1956, to the late Ross W Scott of Canada and the late Marjorie EL Scott (nee Smith) of George Town, Exuma. The youngest of four children, with two brothers and one sister, Peter grew up in a quiet neighbourhood called Shirlea, nestled between Mackey and Shirley Streets.

In those days, “the neighbourhood was your family”, and the Scott children did all the childhood and teenage things that were common during the late 1950s and 1960s including

Father Scott on ducking bullets and ministering to the people playing rounders, shooting marbles, spinning tops and playing hop scotch.

He first studied at Christ Church Cathedral Day School (later St John’s Prep). He was born into and grew up at Christ Church Cathedral. His mother joined the church when she came to the big city from Exuma to find employment.

The young Peter showed promise from an early age.

When he was about nine years old, he was selected to be in the first men and boys choir at the cathedral, formed in part in preparation for Queen Elizabeth’s first visit to The Bahamas in 1966.

By 1967, Peter had secured a seat at the Government High School. He graduated a year before The Bahamas became an independent nation, so his years of schooling were interesting ones from a historical standpoint.

“My time at the Government High School was during an awakening in national politics, as the first majority-led Government had taken office in 1967,” he recalls.

“There were only four of

us white Bahamians in my class, but we had little racial issues then. For the most part, life was good at home, school and church. My mother was working to take care of four children (my father died when I was five years old). Times were tough and often we had to walk or catch rides, wear the same clothes for a year or until you outgrew them; yet we were happy. People cared for each other… it was a caring society.”

He was only 15 years old when he graduated from GHS. He went on to attend CR Walker Technical College, now the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI), where he studied accounting/office procedures. He joined Barclays Bank in 1973; moving on to Dominion Life Assurance Co and then Nestle Company Ltd. During all that time, from his first performance in the church choir until the present day, Peter’s church life grew tremendously.

As he grew from a boy to a young man, he was getting more and more active at the cathedral, becoming a youth leader, and being

active in Scouts, Cubs, the Christian Youth Movement, and the Servers Guild. He even became a Sunday School teacher.

“I think it was a natural progression to feel a calling to be a priest, for I loved serving and helping others,” he said.

In 1976, Peter was all set to go to Codrington College to test his vocation for the priesthood, but he got cold feet and decided to wait a bit.

“Maybe I was unsure, maybe I did not want to leave my mother alone, he said of his trepidation.

“Whatever it was, I could not fight the call of God, and I left in 1980 for Codrington College. I graduated in 1984 with a licentiate in theology (UWI) and a diploma in pastoral studies. I was ordained a deacon on July 2, 1984, and I was called to the priesthood on June 28, 1985. both ordinations took place at my home church, Christ Church Cathedral.”

After his first ordination, he was sent to St Barnabas under Father Gilbert Thompson, where he stayed until July of 1987 when he was sent to St Peter’s Parish, North Long Island.

During his 35 years, he has also served at St Margaret’s in North Andros, St Andrew’s in Exuma, and Holy Cross, Highbury Park, New Providence, where he served when I was a youngster and has returned as the rector today.

“When I joined Holy

Cross as assistant priest in 1992 for five years, it was really a good time in my ministry, especially with the youth of Holy Cross,” he said eagerly.

“Never would I have thought I would be back, but here I was and I got to work! With two successful fund-raisers, we were able to do a lot of things with the church building, which had begun to deteriorate in some ways. All in all, we have spent over $200,000, which we raised by the sweat of our brow. Now that the church was back in good shape, we were ready to move into evangelism and outreach, then COVID-19 came! However, we have been feeding over 100 persons weekly.”

He has also served other New Providence parishes including St Matthew’s, St John’s College and Holy Spirit. He was made a Justice of the Peace in 2011, and a canon of Christ Church Cathedral in December 2013. He continued to educate himself throughout this time and he obtained his Master’s degree in education (school counseling) in December 2002 from Kent State/COB. His mentors include the late Dean William Granger who was his parish priest, and who “was never afraid to give him a tongue lashing” when he strayed off course.

“His bark was worse than his bite though, and I knew he deeply cared for my success… he taught me

conviction,” he said of his mentor.

“The late Archdeacon Murillo Bonaby was another mentor who kept me close and involved to ensure I went off to be a priest. He taught me so much about humility and passion for God’s service.

Then there was Canon Warren Rolle, who tutored me over a year at his home twice weekly in religious studies, and taught me the importance of how to know and understand what we are teaching and preaching.

‘Know your Craft’ was his watchword.”

He shared some of the highlights of a career that proves that faith can truly move mountains of perceived limitations.

“I remember my first night alone in the rectory in Simms, Long Island, when the generator was cut off.

Lord, the silence was overbearing…no electricity, no TV, nothing! No people living close by, just the clinic and the jail around me. I remember ducking bullets after getting caught between rival drug lords in Lowe Sound, Andros, in the late eighties.

“In 1998, I was transferred to St Matthew’s Church, Nassau, after much begging to be closer to my ailing mother. While I grew to love St Matthew’s and her people, it was a trying experience to work there.

By September 2002, I was appointed chaplain at St John’s College and assistant pastor at St Christopher’s Church, Lyford Cay - a wonderful time in my life and ministry in so many ways. I often think my best years in ministry were with the staff and students of St John’s; so many good times, so much accomplished. I was able to get the school chaplains put as school administrators, and I was able to secure a better Chaplain’s office in the guidance department. I also started confirmation classes and services in school, and had it done three times, during 2002-2010. It was sad to leave St John’s College and move to Holy Spirit Parish in Chippingham, but move we must.”

While his journey continues to move on and he reaches the twilight years of his ministry, Father Scott has learned a few lessons in life: “People are basically good at heart but life’s circumstances often change who they are - don’t judge a book by its cover. Open the book! Not everything that glitters, is gold; so learn to accept some things and leave the rest to God to work out.”

THE TRIBUNE

I

T COMES as no surprise that in Britain increasing numbers of people are genuinely shocked that protests in London and other cities about racism and police brutality across the Atlantic have turned into an attack on their own country’s history and culture. Violent demonstrations have resulted in attacks on the police and destruction of property. These have been condemned by political and police leaders - and serious clashes in London this past weekend have been described as racist thuggery, with activists of the organization Black Lives Matter facing counter-protests from far-right factions. The Cenotaph in Whitehall and, among many others, the statue in Parliament Square of Winston Churchill had to be boarded up to stop them being damaged.

Some people now regard the situation as so serious that the UK is being held to ransom by a lawless mob and that, if this is allowed to continue, the country could even sink into anarchy. At the same time, most agree that peaceful demonstrations, led by Black Lives Matter in reaction to the killing of George Floyd, are legitimate, even if they break the UK’s rules for dealing with the COVID19 pandemic. But the disturbances have ignited controversy about the nation’s imperial past which has included condemnation of individual historical figures.

Even though they lived hundreds of years ago, such figures are now accused of racism and abuse of power during the colonial period including links with the slave trade, however tenuous. So there is a growing demand by protesters for memorials and statues all over the country to be torn down. In addition, perhaps three months of confinement during the coronavirus lockdown has contributed to people’s

Tuesday, June 16, 2020, PAGE 9

No country should forget about its past nor allow lawlessness to run free

so it is illogical to wrench historical figures out of their context or expect them to have had modern views on issues such as race – and, what is more, people living today cannot be held accountable for the actions and transgressions of previous generations.

All that said, however, it is perfectly reasonable in a democratic society to review statues, monuments and plaques – as well as street names - and determine, for example, whether relocation to a museum might be called for to make way for new ones. Such an option should always be available. But that is quite

different from allowing minority mobs unilaterally to determine, outside established procedures, what is going to be displayed and what is not - and vandalising structures in the process.

The main concern surrounding the riots in Britain has been the breakdown of law and order; for, as has often be said, if you don’t have law and order you don’t have a country!

When a lawless mob was recently pulling down the statue of Edward Colston in the centre of the city of Bristol in the southwest of England - on the grounds he was involved in the slave trade in the 17th century - the police failed to react to this criminal vandalism.

Permitted lawlessness only encourages more of the same.

So the police set a bad example and the consequence has been further mob rule in the defacing or destruction of monuments and statues elsewhere in the country.

Judging from reactions in the UK press, the vast majority of Britons - known as the silent majority - fail to understand why a mob was allowed to get away with lawlessness in Bristol, though it is clear the police took a tougher stance at last weekend’s riots in London.

Civil disobedience is not the way to bring about change. The country cannot be dictated to by mob rule so there needs to be a real crackdown on those who incite or perpetrate violence. Let us hope that in the UK there will not be a long hot summer of mayhem and civil unrest.

No doubt the significance of this will be a factor. It is also interesting that in 1992 - the Quincentenary Jubilee - it was decided that in order to commemorate Columbus’s first landfall in the Bahamas a one dollar bank note should be produced bearing his portrait.

According to reports, the PLP is in favour of the removal of Columbus’s statue and more than 8,000 people have signed a petition supporting this. But, since it has been in place for so long, its removal should surely only take place after a full discussion among those concerned and a collective decision to

that effect. Perhaps, too, consideration should be given to erection of statues of those credited with the abolition of slavery.

I wonder whether an acceptable way forward might not be to leave Columbus’s statue in place with an informative educational notice alongside it explaining in detail the history of his achievement in discovering the New World - but, at the same time, recording reprehensible actions on his part which have been condemned so that all concerned have a full picture of what happened so long ago and formed the basis of our nation.

The

Peter Young column outpouring of anger about the perceived discrimination still being suffered by black people in Britain.

As legitimate and understandable as protests in the UK about racial discrimination may be, there is evidence they have been hijacked and exploited

by Left-wing activists and agitators who are fomenting division and turmoil.

It is claimed such people are intent on destroying western core values and restructuring the country with militant groups and far-left ideologues in positions of power – and all the while treating Britain’s history and heritage with contempt and ignoring the truth that for centuries the nation has been a beacon of liberty with a reputation for pluralism, moderation and openness. These important traditions are now under threat, as is the country’s reputation for discipline and good order – two qualities that explain in part why people from all over the world want to live there.

Nonetheless, it remains the case that racial discrimination persists in Britain even though there has been, in the words of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, much progress in fighting

it. There is considerable room for improvement, but the nation has made huge strides in eradicating it as people become increasingly blind to the colour of someone’s skin so that the issue has become more one of social class and economic inequality – and many believe that, since their children and grandchildren do not see race and colour, it is important to look to the future.

Be that as it may, amid the current divisions there is also controversy about the separate issues of history and lawlessness. It is said that a nation which forgets its past - good or bad - has no future since its history shapes its attitudes. We cannot pretend to have another history and we cannot lie about it or change it to fit with current moral standards. Of course, historians are always reinterpreting and re-evaluating the significance of elements of the past but the basic facts are unalterable.

Furthermore, if you airbrush the past, nothing is safe because you enter the territory of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ where nothing counts except the Party which is always right.

People are generally

THE STATUE of Edward Colston is pulled from Bristol harbour proud of the achievements recorded in Britain’s history even though, in common with every other country, it is far from perfect. It is unrealistic to apply our present-day views to people in the past or to judge the merit of past activities using today’s values because those concerned were making judgments based on different perspectives and understandings of right and wrong in accordance with standards and norms considered reasonable at the time. The old maxim that yesterday’s orthodoxy is today’s heresy applies in this debate. Standards and values change and develop

LET’S LEAVE COLUMBUS WHERE HE IS BUT TELL THE WHOLE STORY

PRINCE PHILIP, the Duke of Edinburgh, with Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH - STANDING TALL AT 99 ON JUNE 10, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh celebrated his 99th birthday with The Queen at Windsor Castle where they have been ‘isolating’ because of coronavirus. This represents another notable achievement for Britain’s Royal Family because the Prince has become the third oldest royal in the nation’s history – after the Queen Mother at 101 and The Queen’s aunt, Princess Alice, at 102.

He withdrew from public life three years ago, and, in his own inimitable way, made light of what was clearly a major decision when, in response to a well-wisher who expressed regret that he was ‘standing down’, told him ‘well, I can’t stand up any more’ – though the truth is the Prince has stayed in remarkably good health for a nonagenarian.

Aides are now saying that he looks ‘incredible’ for his age with a ramrod straight back and not an ounce overweight.

They ascribe this to an abstemious life style – eating little but often, drinking alcohol sparingly and not smoking. He is also said to be committed to exercising daily.

Prince Philip is the longest-serving royal consort in British history and there is general agreement that The Queen could not have been so effective as head of state without him by her side. As the politicians come and go with alarming frequency, she continues to provide the stability and continuity that underpins the nation’s democracy.

Many people will have been happy to see her never-ending commitment to duty this last weekend when, with the COVID-19 lockdown still in place, she presided over a socially-distanced and scaled down version of Trooping the Colour to mark the monarch’s official birthday. This was held with a military ceremony of drills, salutes and a marchpast in the grounds of Windsor Castle. It was an appropriate setting for it and it took place in glorious sunshine. Watching the event on TV, my wife and I were reminded of how well such pageantry is done in Britain - even in today’s exceptional circumstances.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Prince Philip on reaching a memorable milestone.

IN LIGHT of the events involving statues and monuments in the UK, I have found it particularly interesting to follow the current debate locally about the possible removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus from the front of Government House. Controversy about this seems to have been reignited by the terrible police brutality in Minneapolis and by new pressure in the U.S. to remove confederate statues.

Discussion of the issue is not new, of course, and many contend it is not possible to judge the merits of a prominent person being memorialised in this way by comparing his past actions with today’s attitudes and values. Even if it can be assumed that those who decided to honour Columbus with a statue at Government House in 1830 were aware of his full story - including both his achievements as an explorer who discovered the New World and accusations against him of alleged brutality and other wrongdoing - they were making judgments at a different period in the nation’s history.

Inevitably, however, attitudes will change with the passage of time.

So it appears that more recently a growing number of people have ceased to revere Columbus as a brave explorer. Some now regard him with a mixture of resentment and disapproval as a plunderer, obsessed with finding treasure and acquiring land, who was allegedly responsible for horrendous atrocities and who also introduced slavery.

As I understand it, Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria, appears on the shield of the Coat of Arms which is the national Symbol of The Bahamas.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, June 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Trump would do well to look at China’s winning strategy

VENEZUELA Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, centre, greets the arrival of medical specialists and supplies from China in March.

By Nader Habibi, Henry J. Leir Professor of Practice in Economics of the Middle East, Brandeis University and Hans Yue Zhu, Research Assistant, Yale University US-China relations are the worst they’ve been in decades – at least since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in June 1989, which led to almost complete international isolation of China.

Some officials and observers have even publicly fretted that the US and China are on the brink of a 21st-century cold war.

Significant disagreements over trade, human rights and China’s growing might have long been flashpoints in the relationship between the world’s two biggest economies. But tensions over China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak and Hong Kong’s autonomy are pushing it to the breaking

point. Yet, what’s most interesting to us – as close observers of China’s economic and foreign policy – is the differences in how the US and China are handling the fallout.

While the Trump administration has primarily focused on confrontation – by accusing China of mishandling the initial outbreak and threatening to downgrade its relationship with Hong Kong over China’s passage of a new security law for the island – China has been taking a more nuanced and moderate approach. The Chinese government hasn’t shied away from being provocative or defending itself, to be sure, but most of its foreign policy efforts have been directed toward strengthening its hand on the international stage through humanitarian aid and more investment.

We hope they’re wrong about a new cold war. But if they’re right, China’s focus

on winning international hearts and minds – like the U.S. did in its Cold War with the Soviet Union – will likely prove to be the superior strategy.

Tensions boil over Until Donald Trump became president in 2017, US-China economic and diplomatic relations generally had been on an upward swing for more than three decades, despite occasional tensions.

The situation deteriorated sharply in mid-2018, when Trump launched a trade war with China. For the next one-and-a-half years, the two sides placed an escalating series of trade barriers on each other’s products, until virtually every product was subject to additional tariffs.

A breakthrough emerged earlier this year, as China agreed to buy more US products in exchange for cutting some US tariffs. But

the thaw didn’t last long before the pandemic’s devastating impact in the US prompted Trump to blame China for covering up the seriousness of the coronavirus in January – concerns that got a boost when countries such as Australia called for an independent investigation.

Then, after China passed a new security law in Hong Kong, raising fears of a loss of liberties, the U.S. threatened to downgrade its economic relations with the island, which could hurt its status as a regional financial capital. The UK, Australia and Canada have also criticized China over the issue.

Disarm and charm China, of course, hasn’t let these attacks go unanswered.

The Chinese government has engaged in a diplomatic and media campaign to defend its coronavirus

GN-2404

policies and refute charges of negligence and cover-up.

China’s ambassadors, for example, have used mainstream and social media to defend China’s policies to local audiences in countries around the world.

But its more substantive response came when China initiated a large-scale international humanitarian aid campaign in early March.

After containing the spread of coronavirus at home, China has been supplying billions of dollars worth of medical supplies and dispatching medical teams to at least 82 countries all over the world, including Spain, Italy, Iran and dozens of African countries such as Nigeria.

Dubbed “mask diplomacy,” this assistance came at a crucial time when the pandemic had forced many countries, particularly the US, to turn inward and focus on domestic needs.

Belt and Road 2.0 Perhaps the most important part of China’s strategy relates to its Belt and Road Initiative.

Belt and Road, also known as the “new Silk Road,” is a $1.2 trillion global infrastructure and energy investment plan launched in 2013. It’s China’s main strategy to promote its long-term economic interest.

Due to the global spread of COVID-19, however, many of its dozens of ongoing projects came to a halt and will be hard to resume as governments redirect their financial and fiscal resources to health care expenses and economic recovery.

So China is shifting gears,

converting the initiative’s focus from energy and infrastructure – two industries that are less important in the current environment – to health care and digital telecommunications, which are sectors seen as critical to recovery.

Originally introduced in 2017, the “Health Silk Road” is being promoted as a way to invest in other countries’ health care infrastructure to help fight future pandemics and build cooperation.

Similarly, China’s “Digital Silk Road,” valued at $200 billion, is helping countries such as Italy, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zambia improve their digital infrastructure, such as with advanced telecommunications technology.

Make friends, not enemies These efforts are helping the Chinese government not only deflect the Trump administration’s anti-China campaign but also seize the opportunity to continue deepening its international relationships.

There is evidence it’s working, as surveys in countries such as Germany and Serbia show citizens are viewing China more positively – while becoming more critical of the US. If Trump continues an anti-China policy with the aim of isolating the country internationally, he may want to rethink his strategy. Instead, he should follow China’s lead and return to the playbook that helped the US in the 20th century: winning hearts and minds.

theconversation.com

TRUMP should follow China’s lead and return to the playbook that helped the US in the 20th century: winning hearts and minds.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, June 16, 2020, PAGE 11

‘WHEN DOES IT STOP?’ SLAIN MAN’S FAMILY MAKES TEARFUL PLEA ATLANTA Associated Press

Pleading through tears yesterday, the family of a black man killed by Atlanta police outside a drive-thru demanded changes in the criminal justice system and called on protesters to refrain from violence amid heightened tensions across the US three weeks after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

An autopsy found that 27-yearold Rayshard Brooks was shot twice in the back late Friday by a white officer who was trying to arrest him at a fast food restaurant

for being intoxicated behind the wheel of his car. Brooks tried to flee after wrestling with officers and grabbing a stun gun from one of them.

“Not only are we hurt, we are angry,” said Chassidy Evans, Brooks’ niece. “When does it stop? We’re not only pleading for justice. We’re pleading for change.”

About 20 of Brooks’ children, siblings, cousins and other family members sobbed at a news conference as more than 1,000 people gathered not far away at an NAACP-led protest outside the Georgia Capitol.

Floyd’s death on May 25 after a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into the black man’s neck touched off demonstrations and scattered violence across the U.S., and Brooks’ killing rekindled those protests in Atlanta. The Wendy’s restaurant where Brooks was shot was burned down over the weekend.

Evans said there was no reason for her uncle “to be shot and killed like trash in the street for falling asleep in a drive-thru.”

“Rayshard has a family who loves him who would have gladly come and got him so he would be here with us today,” she said.

Relatives described Brooks as a loving father of three daughters and a stepson who had a bright smile and a big heart and loved to dance. His oldest daughter learned her father was slain while celebrating her eighth birthday with cupcakes and friends, wearing a special dress as she waited for Brooks to take her skating, said Justin Miller, an attorney for the family.

“There’s no justice that can ever make me feel happy about what’s been done,” said Tomika Miller, Brooks’ widow. “I can never get my husband back. ... I can never tell my daughter he’s coming to

take you skating or for swimming lessons.”

She asked those demonstrating to “keep the protesting peaceful,” saying: “We want to keep his name positive and great.”

The NAACP protest took place as lawmakers returned to work after a three-month coronavirus shutdown. Several Democratic lawmakers joined protesters and called for Georgia to pass reforms including the repeal of the state’s citizen’s arrest and stand-yourground laws.

Officials nationwide are responding to calls for reform while protests persist.

GERMANS TELL MCCANNS BY LETTER THAT MADDIE’S DEAD

FRANCE BACKS OFF BAN ON CHOKEHOLDS PARIS Associated Press UNDER pressure from police, the French government yesterday backed away from a ban on chokeholds during arrests.

France’s interior minister announced a week ago that the immobilization technique would be abandoned, in the face of growing French protests over police brutality and racial injustice unleashed

by George Floyd’s death in the US. But French police responded with five straight days of counterprotests, arguing that the ban deprived them of a key tool to subdue unruly suspects. They also bristled at being compared to police in the US, or painted as white supremacists.

POLICE advance on protesters during a march against police brutality and racism in Marseille, France on Saturday

Supreme Court says law protects LGBT workers WASHINGTON Associated Press THE Supreme Court yesterday ruled that a landmark civil rights law protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment, a resounding victory for LGBT rights from a conservative court.

The court decided by a 6-3 vote that a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 known as Title VII that bars job discrimination because of sex, among other reasons, encompasses bias against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have

questioned in members of a different sex,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court. “Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”

The decision was a defeat not just for the employers, but also the Trump administration, which argued that the law’s plain wording compelled a ruling for the employers. Gorsuch, a conservative appointee of President Donald Trump, concluded the opposite, and Trump said he accepted the court’s “very powerful decision.”

Gorsuch was joined in the majority by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s four liberal members. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s other Supreme Court pick, dissented, along with Justices

Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

“The Court tries to convince readers that it is merely enforcing the terms of the statute, but that is preposterous,” Alito wrote in the dissent. “Even as understood today, the concept of discrimination because of ‘sex’ is different from discrimination because of ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity.’”

Kavanaugh wrote in a separate dissent that the court was rewriting the law to include gender identity and sexual orientation, a job that belongs to Congress. Still, Kavanaugh said the decision represents an “important victory achieved today by gay and lesbian Americans.”

Trump had a restrained reaction, telling reporters

CORONAVIRUS FORCES ACADEMY TO DELAY 2021 OSCARS CEREMONY Associated Press FOR the fourth time in its history, the Oscars are being postponed. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network said yesterday that the 93rd Academy Awards will now be held April 25, 2021, eight weeks later than originally planned because of the pandemic’s effects on the movie industry.

The Academy’s Board of Governors also decided to extend the eligibility window beyond the calendar year to Feb. 28, 2021, for feature films, and delay the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures from December until April 30, 2021.

“Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our Awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone’s control,” said

Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson in a joint statement.

Karey Burke, the president of ABC Entertainment, added: “We find ourselves in uncharted territory this year and will continue to work with our partners at the Academy to ensure next year’s show is a safe and celebratory event.”

The 12th annual Governors Awards has also been canceled. The event, in which honorary Oscars are bestowed to previously announced recipients, is

generally held in Los Angeles during the second week of November. The untelevised event is a major gathering for many of the year’s awards hopefuls.

The film academy has been grappling with how to handle the pandemic’s near shutdown of the theatrical exhibition and film production and festival business since mid-March. With theaters shuttered, release dates pushed and major festivals like Cannes canceled, the academy in April made the unprecedented decision to allow films that did not have a theatrical run to be eligible for the awards — but only for one year.

The Oscars ceremony date was the big lingering unknown, however. The organization’s leadership has acknowledged all along that the situation was fluid and that everything was on the table. Now, Oscars nominations will be announced on March 15 and the nominees luncheon will be on April 15.

that he’d read the decision and that “some people were surprised.”

He added: “But they’ve ruled and we live with their decision. That’s what it’s all about. We live with the decision of the Supreme Court. Very powerful. A very powerful decision actually. But they have so ruled.”

The outcome is expected to have a big impact for the estimated 8.1 million LGBT workers across the country because most states don’t protect them from workplace discrimination.

An estimated 11.3 million LGBT people live in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA law school.

GERMAN prosecutors have written to Madeleine McCann’s parents to tell them she is dead but they refused to disclose how they knew, insisting that any further information could jeopardise the inquiry into suspect Christian Brueckner.

Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the case, said he could not share key evidence with Scotland Yard officers or police in Portugal. “I sympathise with the parents but if we reveal more details to them it might jeopardise the investigation,” he said. “We have concrete evidence that our suspect has killed Madeleine and this means she is dead.”

He said that Kate and Gerry McCann, whose three-year-old daughter vanished on an Algarve holiday in 2007, had not responded to the letter.

“We of course really consider the fact that it is going to be very hard for the family when we tell them that we assume Madeleine is dead,” he added.

“But we can’t say why she is dead – it is more important that we are successful and we are able to get the culprit as opposed to just putting our cards on the table and telling them why we think she might be. This is a murder case not a missing persons case.

We have been quite clear throughout we are investigating a murder and we have the evidence for that.

“We can understand the pain of the parents – and they want relief – but it is better for them that we have a clear and successful conclusion to the case. ”

PAGE 12, Tuesday, June 16, 2020

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CALL: Charles Gaitor 502-2394 or EMAIL: cgaitor@tribunemedia.net ETIENNE FROM PAGE 13

that is the main thing on my calendar right now,” Etienne said. “But I want to qualify for the Olympic Games, so jumping 2.30m (7-6 1/2) is my main goal and then once I do that, everything else like college nationals will fall into place.”

The 2017 under-20 CARIFTA bronze medallist in the high jump was a New York State champion in 2016 and was second at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 2016 and fourth place finisher in 2017 while attending The Stony Brook High School after he left Queen’s College at grade 10.

MANFRED FROM PAGE 13

pandemic on March 12, two weeks before opening day, and the sides reached an agreement on March 26 on how to revise their labor deal to account for the virus.

Since then, the hostility has escalated to 1990s levels as the sides exchanged offers. MLB claims teams can’t afford to play without fans and pay the prorated salaries called for in the March deal, which included a provision for “good-faith” negotiations over the possibility of games in empty ballparks or neutral sites.

“The proliferation of COVID19 outbreaks around the country over the last week, and the fact that we already know of several 40-man roster players and staff who have tested positive, has increased the risks associated with commencing spring training in the next few weeks,” Halem wrote in his letter to Meyer, which was obtained by the AP. Halem sent Meyer a letter with a sarcastic tone Friday accompanying MLB’s latest offer, and Meyer responded with a hostile tone Saturday as the sides memorialized positions ahead of a possible grievance before the panel chaired by independent arbitrator Mark Irvings. Halem’s letter Monday asked the union for many clarifications of its positions.

“I note that both the NBA and NHL, two leagues which

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It was during his sting at Stony Brook High School that the 6-foot, 5-inch Etienne made a name for himself as a two-sport star. He was excelling in basketball, but was encouraged to venture into the high jump.

“One of my coaches saw that I was jumping high and blocking a lot of shots,” Etienne said. “So he said I should try the high jump. I was doing both sports for about three years and then I saw I was way better in the high jump, so I made the switch.”

After spending the past two seasons soaring in high jump, Etienne said he has no regrets making the transition from basketball. He said he’s grateful because track and field has provided him with more opportunities to travel and compete.

As he began his freshman indoor season at Indiana, Etienne posted a third place finish at the Indiana Relays with a leap of 2.04m (6-8 1/4) on his first attempt. He also took the title at the Gladstein Invite with a clearance of 2.07m (6-9 1/2) and he won the Hoosier Open with 2.21m (7-3).

During the outdoors, Etienne made an unsuccessful debut at the Big Ten Championships after he placed eighth at the Tennessee Relays with 2.07m (6-9 1/2) and he was in the top 10 at the Florida Relays with 2.06m (6-9).

In 2018-19, Etienne continued to flourish in his sophomore year by climbing up the ladder to a third place finish at the Big Ten Indoor Championships with 2.16m (7-1) after he earned the

titles at the Hoosier Open, Gladstein Invite, Indiana Relays and the Tyson Invitational.

He also has second place finishes at the IU vs Tennessee Duals, Jim Green Track and Field Invitational and the Power Five Invite.

Those performances carried over to the outdoor season where Etienne won the ASU Invitational and the Billy Hayes Invite, placed third at the Big Ten Championships with 2.20m (7-2 1/2) and culminated with 17th at his initial NCAA Championships with 2.15m (7-0 1/2).

After getting off to another impressive start to his junior season this year, Etienne had to watch as everything came to a halt at the end of the Big Ten Championships.

you repeatedly reference in your letter, do not intend to resume play until about Aug. 1, and both intend to resume play at a limited number of sites with a quarantine approach,” Halem wrote. “Please let us know the association’s views on quarantining players in league-approved hotels (like the NBA’s Disney World model) when they are not at the ballpark if conditions worsen over the next few weeks.”

Clark had issued a statement Saturday that told MLB: “It’s time to get back to work. Tell us when and where.” The union then said it might file a grievance seeking additional economic documents and money damages that could total $1 billion or more.

“Players are disgusted that after Rob Manfred unequivocally told players and fans that there would ‘100%’ be a 2020 season, he has decided to go back on his word and is now threatening to cancel the entire season,” Clark said in a statement Monday.

“This latest threat is just one more indication that Major League Baseball has been negotiating in bad faith since the beginning,” Clark added. “This has always been about extracting additional pay cuts from players and this is just another day and another bad faith tactic in their ongoing campaign.”

Manfred said ahead of last week’s amateur draft that the chance of a season was “100%.”

He reversed his position Monday.

“I’m not confident. I think there’s real risk; and as long as

there’s no dialogue, that real risk is going to continue,” Manfred said on ESPN. “The owners are 100% committed to getting baseball back on the field. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that I’m 100% certain that’s going to happen.”

Halem asked the union for permission to go ahead with the season. MLB has made three economic offers, the last offering to guarantee players 70% of their salaries as part a 72-game schedule beginning July 14 and increasing the total to 80% if the postseason is completed.

Players previously offered two proposals, holding their position that no additional pay cuts were acceptable beyond the prorated salaries for 2020 that they had agreed to in March. That deal called for $170 million in salary advances and a guarantee of service time credit if no games are played this year.

Manfred had threatened a shorter schedule, perhaps of about 50 games. The union could respond by filing a grievance, arguing players should be paid for the season of 119 games they initially proposed. The union’s first plan would result in salaries of nearly $3 billion.

Players are angry following five years of flat salaries, a lost grievance claiming the Chicago Cubs manipulated the service time of star third baseman Kris Bryant in violation of the labor contract and allegations several teams did not properly use revenue sharing proceeds, which the union called “tanking.”

Players hope to see documents detailing regional sports networks’ agreements with teams, financial interests of MLB owners in RSNs and real estate ventures adjacent to ballparks, plus MLB affiliated companies such as the MLB Network, MLB Advanced Media and BAM Tech.

During a grievance, they would ask Irvings to order document production.

In their March agreement, the sides vowed to “work in good faith to as soon as is practicable commence, play, and complete the fullest 2020 championship season and post-season that is economically feasible, consistent with” a series of provisions.

Absent Manfred’s consent, the agreement said, the season would not begin unless there were no travel restrictions in the U.S. and Canada impacting play, no restrictions on mass gatherings at all 30 regular-season ballparks and no health or safety risks in playing in front of fans at the regular stadiums.

But it also provided that the sides “will discuss in good faith the economic feasibility of playing games in the absence of spectators or at appropriate substitute neutral sites.”

MLB told the union it would lose an additional $640,000 for each regular season game played with no gate revenue and does not want to extend the regular season past Sept. 27 because it fears a second wave of the coronavirus could endanger the postseason, when $787 million of broadcast revenue is earned.

MINISTER FROM PAGE 13

Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture’s website and Facebook page. Rolle added that the government expects to move ahead with its summer programmes and announced dates for its commencement.

“Under the guidance of the Ministry of Health we are planning to host our four-week summer programmes commencing July 27 to August 21,” she said.

“We also continue to monitor guidance by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention for best practices of reopening youth, sports and cultural sectors and activities. In this COVID-19 environment, our programmes will be guided by and subject to the advice of the Ministry of Health.”

Several international sporting bodies, including FIBA and the World Baseball Softball Confederation, have issued safety guidelines for their respective member federations as the sporting community continues to search for a means to continue amid the pandemic.

FIBA published recommendations on returning to basketball, with a basketball-specific Risk Assessment Tool, produced in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

FIBA’s guidelines are primarily for national federations that are seeking direction and advice on the restart of basketball activities and competitions.

The guidelines and risk assessment tool will serve as a checklist to ensure any decisions on basketball events are based on an assessment of risks and the best chance of a successful restart.

This publication is not intended to replace the guidance and restrictions of governments and public health authorities.

The WBSC published a set of health and operational recommendations for the safe return of baseball and softball activity.

The precautionary measures and recommendations -- named “Safe Return to Baseball/Softball -- COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines” -- have been developed by the WBSC Medical Commission in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s risk assessment tool and “Considerations for sports federations/sports event organisers when planning mass gatherings in the context of COVID-19”.

SPORTS SECTION E

TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020

Etienne gets All-American honours

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ahamian Jyles Etienne, who decided to give up a promising career as a basketball player to compete in track and field, is fast becoming one of the premier high jumpers to watch at the collegiate level.

Etienne, now attending Indiana University where he was competing in his junior year, was named by the US Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on an All-American list for the indoor track and field season after he finished at the ninth spot in the event when sports was halted just before the NCAA National Indoor Championships was to take place in March.

Etienne, the son of Vonchelle and Raphael Etienne, soared a lifetime

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PAGE 14

best of 2.23 metres or 7-feet, 3 3/4-inches to earn his first Big Ten individual title.

He opened the season at the Hoosier Open with the same height to post the fourth-best mark in the programme’s history.

“It feels good. It’s just all of the hard work paying off,” said Etienne after he earned his first AllAmerican honour at the collegiate level after twice receiving the nod while at the Brook in 2016 and 2017. “It really feels good.”

The COVID-19 pandemic put a lid on his indoor and outdoor season at Indiana, but Etienne is now preparing for his return to Bloomington for his final season and ultimately a trip to Tokyo, Japan, in July 2021 for the 2020 Olympics, which was postponed this July due to the spread of the coronavirus. “The timing of the coronavirus wasn’t that

JYLES ETIENNE bad. I just came off winning a conference meet, so I was glad that I was able to do it,” he said. “It cut right between conference and nationals, so basically

it gave me time to prepare for next year.

“I haven’t missed anything. Everything just got prolonged to next year. So I am hopeful that I will be able to get back to where I was before everything stopped because of the coronavirus.”

The 21-year-old Etienne has been in town since March 20 where he’s been training under the guidance of local coach James Rolle at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium after Prime Minister Hubert Minnis gave the go-ahead for professional athletes to resume training at the beginning of May. “It was a little different at first because they didn’t open the stadium, but now it’s opened and you’re able to get into the weight room too, so it’s going good right now,” said Etienne of the training sessions here.

But Etienne said he doesn’t expect everything to be as normal as before,

considering the “Back Lives Matter’ and “I Can’t Breath’ campaign as a result of the resurgence of protests and riots after the death of African American George Floyd by a white policeman on May 25.

“I think because of the pandemic, there will be a lot of changes,” Etienne said. “I’m just trying to take everything day by day and not let it get to me.

“When that time comes, I will deal with it.”

In the meantime, Etienne said he’s holding out to see whether or not the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations will host their National Championships over the weekend of July 31 to August 1, or he just goes into his preparation phase for the 2021 season and the Olympics. “I heard that they are having the Nationals at the end of July, so

SEE PAGE 12

MINISTER ROLLE OUTLINES OFFICIAL GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net AS local sporting activities remain on hold throughout the country due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations eagerly anticipate the guidelines that will allow them to return to participation.

In her contribution to the Budget Debate for the 2020/2021 fiscal period, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Lanisha Rolle said the mode of operations for organisations moving forward would be outlined in the official Guidance Document.

“In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has prepared a list of COVID-19 Guidelines for the benefit of youth organisations, sports federations and organisations and cultural artists and related entities that may choose to conduct independent programmes,” she said, “for the record we emphasise that until we are clear of this state of emergency particular contact sports and related facilities should not be conducted or opened in the absence of health guidance.”

The official Guidance Document was expected to be available Monday 15th June, 2020 on the

SEE PAGE 12

MANFRED SAYS THERE MIGHT NOT BE AN MLB SEASON

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer JONQUEL JONES and the Connecticut Sun will look to return to the WNBA Finals. She signed a multi-year contract with the Sun in February as the league’s free agency period commenced. “We are pumped to have JJ sign a multi-year contract to stay in Connecticut,” head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “She has proven to be one of the most dominant and versatile players in the world. She continues to be one of the elite rebounders in the game and took a huge step on the defensive side of the ball in 2019. She is just scratching the surface and we look forward to her continued growth and leadership in 2020.”

WNBA PLANS TO PLAY 2020 SEASON STARTING LATE JULY IN FLORIDA

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA yesterday announced plans to play a reduced season, with a 22-game schedule that would begin in late July without fans in attendance because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The league is still finalising a partnership with IMG Academy in Florida to play all the games at the facility in Bradenton or other nearby locations. Players and team officials for the league’s 12 teams would be housed at IMG and hold training camps there.

“There’s a lot to do between now and the tip of the season, now that we’ve selected IMG Academy” as the location to play, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a phone interview.

“My hope is the July 24 date will stick. We have scenarios and plans to lift and shift the tip of the season. It could slip to a couple of days later. We want to have the appropriate number of days for training camp.”

Engelbert, who said she had a site visit at IMG, hopes to have teams in Florida by the first week of July to start training camps.

The season had been postponed indefinitely in April because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The WNBA would use its regular playoff format, with the top

eight teams making the postseason and the first two rounds being single-elimination. The top two seeds would have byes until the semifinals. The playoffs would begin in the middle of September and end in early October.

Teams would play each other twice in the abbreviated 22-game schedule, which the league said would be released later. The IMG facility has four courts, but the WNBA is still exploring options to play games at other sites in the area just south of Tampa/St. Petersburg that might be better for broadcasts.

Players would receive their entire salaries for the year despite playing a schedule that’s only about two-thirds the length of the 36-game one that was supposed to start May 15. “It was an important message the owners said to pay the players 100 per cent,” Engelbert said. “There are people taking pay cuts in the country and people being furloughed. It was a really important signal from the owners and the league.”

The union said 77 per cent of players voted in favour of the league’s proposal. They have until June 25 to let their teams know whether they plan to play this season. The commissioner said players who are considered highrisk for the new coronavirus could opt out of playing this season and still earn their full salaries.

Players with children will be able to bring a caregiver with them.

The WNBA had a lot of momentum coming from a historic collective bargaining agreement that was ratified shortly before the pandemic hit.

“We know this is not going to be perfect; it’s not going to be ideal,” WNBPA Executive Director Terri Jackson said.

“Let’s see what we can do at this moment. That’s really appropriate for what our country needs right now.”

The league is still working with medical specialists, public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that health and safety protocols are in place.

“We will have protocols on coming and going and who comes and goes,” Engelbert said.

“Protocols of a quarantine isolation when you get on campus.

Once you’re there 14 days, 21 days. Those early days will be important.”

Jackson said players are confident that the league will have the proper safety guidelines in place.

She said the union’s executive committee had a Zoom call with league doctors and the next step will be an all-player call with the physicians later this week.

“These players will be able to have an educational session on the call and ask questions that they

really are focused on,” Jackson said.

The league also announced yesterday that it will work with the players on their commitment to social justice reform.

The WNBA recently said it will make donations from sales of its “Bigger Than Ball” women’s empowerment merchandise to the Equal Justice Initiative.

“The WNBA opposes racism in all its forms, and George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are the latest names in a list of countless others who have been subject to police brutality that stems from the systemic oppression of Black Lives in America, and it is our collective responsibility to use our platforms to enact change,” Engelbert said.

More than 70 per cent of the league is black.

WNBAPA President Nneka Ogwumike said a big part of discussions with the league about playing this year involved allowing the players to amplify their collective voices. “We have always been at the forefront of initiatives with strong support of #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, the LGBTQ+ community, gun control, voting rights, #MeToo, mental health and the list goes on,” Ogwumike said.

“This is not only necessary from a humanitarian perspective, but it may be one of the biggest opportunities that this league has and will ever have.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Commissioner Rob Manfred says there might be no major league season after a breakdown in talks between teams and the union on how to split up money in a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The league also said several players have tested positive for COVID-19.

Two days after union head Tony Clark declared additional negotiations futile, Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem sent a seven-page letter to players’ association chief negotiator Bruce Meyer asking the union whether it will waive the threat of legal action and tell MLB to announce a spring training report date and a regular season schedule. These were just the latest escalating volleys in a sport viewing disagreements over starting the season as a preliminary battle ahead of bargaining to replace the labor contract that expires on December 1, 2021. “It’s just a disaster for our game, absolutely no question about it,” Manfred said during an appearance on ESPN that included the heads of the other major US professional leagues.

“It shouldn’t be happening, and it’s important that we find a way to get past it and get the game back on the field for the benefit of our fans.”

Spring training was stopped because of the

SEE PAGE 12

PAGE 14, Tuesday, June 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Rusty Ronaldo looking to improve in Italian Cup final

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — A missed penalty. A series of missed chances. A miserable performance grade.

For Cristiano Ronaldo, nothing seemed to go right in the Italian Cup semifinal match against AC Milan.

Fortunately for the fivetime Ballon d’Or winner, a 0-0 draw earned Juventus a spot in Wednesday’s final against Napoli and Ronaldo now has every reason to be motivated as he chases his 30th trophy for club and country.

Like almost every other player featured in the semifinal return legs — the first two matches of Italian soccer’s restart — Ronaldo showed signs of rust after being inactive for more than three months during the coronavirus pandemic.

His attempt off the post early on marked his first missed penalty since January 2019.

“He doesn’t miss many penalties. This one was quite unfortunate and he probably struggled because of that,” Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri said.

Ronaldo also appeared to struggle with a positional switch from his usual spot on the left wing to centre forward, as evidenced by a grade of only 5 out of 10 in the Gazzetta dello Sport’s report card.

“We discussed it with him and he was completely open to the idea,” Sarri said.

“He’s such an extraordinary player that I don’t think it changes anything for him whether he plays five metres ahead or behind. He can play any of the forward positions.”

With Gonzalo Higuain likely still unavailable for the final in Rome, Ronaldo

PSG STALWARTS CAVANI, SILVA NEED TO FIND ANOTHER CLUB

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer

JUVENTUS’ Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during an Italian Cup second leg soccer match between Juventus and AC Milan at the Allianz stadium, in Turin, Italy, on Friday, June 12. The match was being played without spectators because of the coronavirus lockdown.

(AP Photo/Luca Bruno) could again line up at centre forward as Juventus seeks a record-extending 14th Italian Cup title.

Juventus is hoping it’s the first trophy of a triple.

The Bianconeri hold a one-point lead over Lazio entering the Serie A restart this weekend and are also looking to overturn a 1-0 loss to Lyon in the second leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Napoli, which is also still in the Champions League, is looking to win its sixth Italian Cup. SAN GENNARO Named after Naples’ patron saint, coach Gennaro Gattuso will secure himself a spot in Napoli lore if he can bring a title to the soccer-crazy city six months after replacing the fired Carlo Ancelotti.

A title could also serve to raise Gattuso’s spirits

following the recent death of his younger sister, Francesca, to diabetes.

Napoli was in complete disarray when Gattuso was hired in December amid a player mutiny over a forced training camp ordered by club president Aurelio De Laurentiis.

“He’s restored our self-confidence,” Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly said. “In the first three months of the season, I don’t think we wanted to suffer when we were in trouble.

“Now we have the ability to suffer when needed and push forward when we have the ball. We still have some work to do but we’re on the right path.”

The 1-1 draw with Inter Milan on Saturday was a case in point, as Napoli responded to an early goalkeeping blunder to equalise and move ahead

on aggregate — then clamped down defensively.

Gattuso has been here before.

He was Milan’s coach during a 4-0 loss to Juventus in the 2018 final.

No matter the outcome of this final — a victory would bring the 2006 World Cup champion his first coaching title — Gattuso seems destined for a contract extension.

“Fortunately, I’m not interested in money, I just care about having the respect of those I work with,” Gattuso said.

“Contracts are worth little to me, as I fully admit that I can lose my temper and walk off, so I need to improve that about myself.”

SARRI’S STORY Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri will always be linked to Napoli, his first big club

and the city where he was born. It was in Naples that “Sarriball” captured the imagination of soccer purists before the coach moved on to Chelsea last season and won the Europa League.

It was also in Naples that Sarri angered Juventus management when he acknowledged after a 2-1 loss to his former club in January that the defeat didn’t bother him and that he’ll “always remain fond of them.”

SAFETY CONCERNS While fans will not be admitted to the final, there are still security concerns surrounding the game.

When Napoli last played in the final in 2014, a supporter was shot outside the Stadio Olimpico by an opposing Roma fan and later died — even though Roma was not playing.

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain’s record scorer Edinson Cavani and its long-serving captain Thiago Silva need to find another club next season.

PSG’s sporting director Leonardo said they won’t get new contracts when their current deals expire at the end of June.

This poses a legal headache for the Champions League — which is set to resume in August — because they will be out of contract even though it is technically still the same season. “The Champions League is still in sight and the idea is to have them playing with us in the competition,” Leonardo said.

“But the way we can do this isn’t yet clear.”

PSG qualified for the quarterfinals just before France went into lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. The French league was cancelled under government orders but the domestic cup finals were not scrapped.

PSG is through to the French Cup and League Cup finals, which could be held in early August before the Champions League resumes.

PSG returns to training on June 22.

Right back Thomas Meunier, left back Layvin Kurzawa and forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting are also out of contract next month. The club does not intend to offer them new deals either.

“But we need to discuss the two months ahead,” Leonardo said in an interview with newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche on Sunday.

UEFA TO PICK LISBON AS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE KNOCKOUT ROUNDS HOST

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The Champions League final is heading to Lisbon, with UEFA planning an August 23 final to cap seven broadcast nights in a 12-day span of elite European teams playing knockout soccer.

The widely reported UEFA wish to hold an eight-team knockout bracket in two empty stadiums in Portugal’s capital was confirmed in reports yesterday by broadcaster Sky Italia.

UEFA’s executive committee must agree on the plan on Wednesday among a series of decisions to reschedule international soccer — for Europe’s clubs and national teams — after the coronavirus pandemic upended the global sports calendar.

The most prized trophy in club soccer will be decided in a rare Sunday final at

Benfica’s Stadium of Light.

It was originally to be on Saturday, May 30 at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, but UEFA looked elsewhere when that city was no longer practical..

Semi-finals will be shared by the Stadium of Light and the nearby home stadium of Sporting Lisbon on August 18-19. Four quarterfinals are planned on consecutive nights from August 12-15, Sky Italia reported.

Four quarterfinals places have yet to be decided, and the UEFA executive panel must decide on Wednesday where to schedule secondleg games in the round of 16 that were postponed in March.

Those games could also go to Lisbon or be played without fans in the home stadiums of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester City.

The Europa League mini-tournament is set to be shared by four cities

in western Germany with Cologne hosting the final on Friday, August 21. It was meant to be on Wednesday, May 27 in Gdansk, Poland.

The second-tier competition also paused at the round of 16 in March. Six first-leg games were played and two more — Inter Milan-Getafe and RomaSevilla — could not be played in Italy when that country was hit hard by coronavirus cases.

• A look at the decisions facing UEFA on Wednesday: CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Lisbon was the losing candidate in May 2018 when UEFA picked Istanbul to host this season’s Champions League final.

After the pandemic wreaked havoc on soccer’s calendar, Lisbon is set to have seven games instead of one in an unprecedented mid-August mini-tournament of single-leg games.

UEFA’s priority during the shutdown was to stabilise hundreds of clubs by allowing time to finish domestic leagues and cups by the first weekend in August.

Next in line is rushing to finish the Champions League and fulfil broadcasting contracts which help pay clubs more than 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in prize money. If UEFA’s reschedule plan succeeds, only two broadcast slots are lost.

The Women’s Champions League is set to resume in the quarterfinals with a mini-tournament in Spain ahead of an August 30 final, postponed from May 24 in Vienna.

EUROPA LEAGUE The Europa League is heading to a mini-tournament in western Germany by a more complicated path.

Only four Champions League last-16 games

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remain, but the Europa League has 10. It could be eight if Inter-Getafe and Roma-Sevilla become single-leg games.

UEFA is set to pick Cologne, Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday for the quarterfinals onward, maybe earlier. Another option is a four-city hub centred on Frankfurt.

NEXT SEASON’S CLUB COMPETITIONS In a typical season, teams from 55 UEFA member federations play qualifying rounds in the Champions League and Europa League from late-June through August. Six places in the Champions League and 31 places in the Europa League are on offer and feed into group-stage draws in Monaco in late August.

This process involving a lot of travel has been complicated by the pandemic.

A UEFA club competitions panel will meet on Wednesday ahead of the executive body to help make efficient sense of the challenge.

The next group stages will likely start in October instead of September. Istanbul and Gdansk could also get their hosting chance one year on.

The Super Cup game between the Champions League and Europa League winners is also being moved from mid-August in Portugal to September 24 in Budapest, Hungary.

EURO 2020 UEFA’s biggest recent decision was postponing the European Championship to kick off in June 2021.

All 12 host cities, in 12 countries, had to reconfirm their contractual commitments and should be ratified on Wednesday.

Four teams must still qualify for the 24-nation lineup. The playoffs involve 16 teams in four separate knockout brackets.

UEFA wants to complete the playoffs — already postponed from March and June slots in the calendar — by November. The

semifinals round is likely in October and finals one month later.

These playoffs could be fitted in by squeezing three games instead of two into the weeks of national team soccer in October and November.

NATIONS LEAGUE National teams face a backlog of games, with valuable space created by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar kicking off in November instead of June.

UEFA still aims to complete Nations League groups — six games for all but low-ranked nations — in the intended September-to-November fixture slots.

Those games help decide seeding for the 2022 World Cup qualifying draw due in November.

Four winners of top-tier Nations League groups also advance to a mini-tournament the following year to crown the champion.

Portugal was the inaugural winner in 2019.

Dates must be found for the next Nations League Final Four. It was to be in June 2021 that now belongs to Euro 2020.

2022 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS The 10 qualifying groups were scheduled to start next March, continue in June — now largely unavailable — and finish in November 2021.

Ten group winners go to Qatar and the runners-up advance to a 12-team playoffs bracket that includes two teams based on Nations League standings. The playoffs are scheduled in March 2022.

Makeup dates are now needed, which could be done by having threegame international periods instead of two, or stretching the groups into March 2022 and pushing playoffs to June that year.

One thing is clear; the calendar of UEFA-organised games is stretched to its limits even without a second shutdown caused by more waves of COVID-19 cases.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, June 16, 2020, PAGE 15

US Tennis Association intends to hold Open if government OKs

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer THE US Tennis Association intends to hold the US Open in New York starting in August without spectators, if it gets governmental support -- and a formal announcement could come this week.

The professional tennis tours have been suspended since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, with the French Open postponed from May to September and Wimbledon cancelled

altogether for the first time in 75 years.

The US Open, if played, would be the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, following the Australian Open in January.

“We’re ready to move forward as long as we get all the approvals we need,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said in a telephone interview yesterday.

“At the end of the day, there are three factors involved in the decision-making. No. 1 is creating a plan that has health and safety at the forefront. No. 2 is

whether conducting the US Open is the right thing for the sport of tennis. And No. 3 is whether it can be done in a financially viable manner. We believe we can hit all three of the objectives,” Widmaier said.

“But we do need to approach this in a step-by-step manner, and when all of the steps are completed, that is when we can make an official announcement.”

The operational plan to hold the event amid concerns about the coronavirus includes no spectators, limited player entourages,

centralised housing, increased cleaning at the tournament grounds in Flushing Meadows and testing for COVID-19.

Also part of the plan: There would be no qualifying for singles.

Players whose rankings would have put them in that field will get money that the USTA will pass along to the ATP and WTA tours to distribute. The Cincinnati tournament scheduled for August 16-23, which is majority owned by the USTA, will be moved to New York in place of US Open qualifying.

“We have submitted our proposal to the state of New York.

It’s a very comprehensive plan that details all operational aspects of the tournament — first and foremost, the health and safety of anyone involved in the tournament,” Widmaier said.

“We are waiting to hear back from state officials on the viability of that plan. The US Open is one of many professional sports entities within the state of New York and we recognise that the state needs to review all sports in a comprehensive manner.”

Barty joins players expressing concern over US Open timing

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ash Barty has joined the ranks of highprofile players concerned over the staging of the US Open while there’s still so much uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic.

The women’s No. 1 hasn’t had the chance yet to defend her French Open title because all elite tennis competition is shuttered.

She’s already processed the fact there’ll be no Wimbledon in 2020 but is still awaiting clarity on the US Open, which is scheduled to begin August 31.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, winners of the last eight men’s major titles, have aired reservations about the potential restrictions on players, limits on player entourages and other changes being considered for the US Open. Women’s No. 2 Simona Halep reportedly is also uncertain about playing.

“I have concerns too,” Barty said in an e-mail to

The Associated Press. “I understand the tournaments are eager to run but keeping everyone safe has to be the priority.”

A decision from the US Tennis Association’s board about whether to hold the Grand Slam tournament in New York in August could be made as early as this week.

The US has accounted for more than 115,000 of the almost 433,000 deaths globally from COVID-19, including more than 30,000 in the state of New York, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Djokovic last week told Serbia’s state broadcaster RTS that most players he’s talked to “were quite negative” about entering the US Open and that for him, “as things stand, most probably the season will continue on clay at the beginning of September.”

The French Open was postponed from a May start to late September because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Under usual circumstances, the US Open is the last

AUSTRALIA’s Ash Barty holds the trophy as she celebrates winning her women’s final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in two sets 6-1, 6-3, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, on June 8, 2019. Barty has joined the ranks of high-profile players expressing concern over the staging of the US Open.

(AP Photo/Christophe Ena) of the four majors to be played in the season, when the tours go back to hard courts following the grass and clay-court swings.

US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster has said organisers have been

trying to figure out how to “engage fans virtually,” making it unlikely that fans — or at least large groups of fans — will be allowed to attend.

Under proposals to get the tournament started,

players would need to prove they had tested negative for COVID-19 before travelling on charter flights the USTA would organise from a handful of cities.

There would likely be daily health questionnaires and temperature checks, along with occasional nasal, saliva or antibody testing.

Barty said she’s “still getting my head around what the tournament set up would be.” Australia closed its international borders in March and there’s still travel restrictions domestically and strict physical distancing regulations, although restrictions are easing. Australia has recorded 102 deaths from 7,335 cases of COVID-19, but the infection rate is declining.

“I can’t wait to get back out there and play but we have to make sure it’s safe to do so first, not just for me but for my team,” Barty told the AP. Barty hasn’t played competitively since a semi-final loss to Petra Kvitova at the Qatar Open in late February. That followed her first

title on home soil at the Adelaide International in January and her semifinal run at the Australian Open.

She’s been able to spend time at home in Australia’s Queensland state since March, keeping up tennis practice and fitness while also lowering her golf handicap during regular rounds with her partner Garry Kissick, a trainee golf pro.

She had a 24th birthday during the height of the lockdown in April, and hosted a virtual party on Zoom earlier this month to mark the first anniversary of her first major singles title at Roland Garros.

A Grand Slam title defence is likely a priority for the remainder of the year, but there’s so much unknown.

“It’s tough to set goals, that’s for sure, (when) we still don’t really know what the rest of the year will look like, there is so much out of our control.,” Barty said. “When we have some certainty on the rest of the year, my team and I will sit down and set a few tennis goals.”

PAGE 16, Tuesday, June 16, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

DURANT JOINS OWNERSHIP GROUP OF MLS’ PHILADELPHIA UNION

By ANNE M PETERSON AP Sports Writer

GARY Woodland poses with the trophy after winning the US Open Championship golf tournament in Pebble Beach, California, on June 16, 2019. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the golf to watch on Father’s Day this year will not be the US Open as is usually the case.

(AP Photo/David J Phillip)

WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN: US OPEN FINAL ROUND FOR FATHER’S DAY

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer THE golf to watch on Father’s Day this year won’t be the US Open as is usually the case. There also will be no live baseball to watch this week from either the major leagues or the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. While the PGA Tour is playing again without spectators, and NASCAR ran its first race in front of limited fans, almost entirely military members, The Associated Press looks at some of the other sporting events that had been scheduled the week of June 15-21: WINGED FOOT WAITS: While the PGA Tour will be in Hilton Head, South Carolina, for its second tournament back since a three-month hiatus because of the pandemic, this is the US Open’s traditional spot — with the final round on Father’s Day. The

RBC Heritage, which like Colonial last week will be played without spectators, was originally scheduled in April. The US Open at Winged Foot in New York will be played September 17-20, two weeks after the Tour Championship that wraps up the 2019-2020 schedule. Gary Woodland won at Pebble Beach last year by three strokes over Brooks Koepka, the winner of the previous two US Opens.

TRIVIA BREAK: When was the last time the US Open wasn’t played on Father’s Day? (answer at bottom) MLB BASEBALL: Gerrit Cole is missing a possible chance to pitch in Pittsburgh as a visitor for the first time. Cole is still waiting for his regularseason debut with the New York Yankees after signing a record $324 million, nineyear free-agent deal last winter. Cole was drafted in

NEW York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole throws during a spring training baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Florida, on March 5. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cole still has not made his regular season debut with the Yankees.

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) the first round, 28th overall, by the Yankees in 2008.

He went to UCLA instead, and three years later was the first overall pick by the Pirates. He played his first five big league seasons in Pittsburgh. In his two seasons with the Astros,

he faced the Pirates only once — in Houston. The Yankees were scheduled to play a three-game series this week in Pittsburgh, and then would have headed to Minnesota for a threegame series and rematch of last year’s best-of-five

AL Division Series that the Yankees swept.

NBA FINALS: The resumption of the NBA season with only 22 teams, and all of them in Orlando, Florida, is still more than a month away. But this would have been the latest week possible for the conclusion of an uninterrupted season — had the best-of-7 NBA Finals stretched to six or seven games. The Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors in six games last year.

CWS: The week in Omaha would have started with the first elimination games at the College World Series, then the rest of the games in the two double-elimination brackets to determine the two teams to play in a best-ofthree series for the national championship.

TRIVIA ANSWER: 1975, when the US Open finished on June 22, the week after Father’s Day.

BROOKLYN Nets forward Kevin Durant has joined the ownership group of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union.

Durant, a 10-time NBA All-Star, has a five per cent ownership stake, with an option for five per cent more in the near future, the Union announced yesterday.

“I’ve always been a soccer fan and have wanted to get into it in a meaningful way. My team and I felt an instant connection with the Philadelphia Union ownership and staff and their vision for a partnership,” Durant said in a statement.

“While you won’t get to see me at games for now, my team and I will be taking an active role in the community where I can help give back to Chester (Pennsylvania) and Philadelphia.”

The Union and Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures, a firm he runs with sports executive Rich Kleiman, will partner to grow the team’s profile and community outreach through the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.

Thirty Five Ventures and the Union aim to develop community programmes in Chester, Pennsylvania, home of the Union’s Subaru Park, to address racial and social injustice as well as recovery efforts from the coronavirus pandemic.

“This partnership was months in the making and in the process, our teams got to know each other very well and understand the true potential for the future,” said Kleiman, Durant’s agent. “We believe that Thirty Five Ventures and our expertise will attract new fans in Philly and beyond, so we’re excited to get started.”