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THREE WORKERS ‘KILLED BY FUMES’

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THREE men died yesterday in an industrial accident in Freeport after possible chemical exposure while cleaning a tank filled with scrap metal.

A Bahamian, American and a Dominican were discovered unresponsive in a pit on a floating tank at City Services Ltd shortly after 4pm.

Although police are withholding the identities of the men, one of the deceased is David Dorvile, a Bahamian of Haitian descent.

Felix Timothy, a relative, told The Tribune his cousin David was aged about 47 and worked at City Services. He received a call

around 3pm of the tragic news.

According to reports, the tank was being cleaned at the time. One of the men went down in the pit first.

When he failed to return, a second man went in to check. When he did not return, the third man went in.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Stephen Rolle said police received a report around 4.15pm of an industrial accident at the City Services property which is located in the industrial area, just north of the container port.

On arrival at the scene, ASP Rolle reported officers found three unconscious males.

SEE PAGE TWO

THE Central Bank’s governor yesterday said the Government’s “fiscal consolidation ambition” is critical to protecting the external reserves and currency peg, as well as enabling the country to meet its debt payments.

John Rolle said huge borrowings to cover near-$1bn annual deficits were simply

unsustainable given The Bahamas will eventually “hit a point” where servicing its $10bn-plus national debt will become a challenge.

Warning The Bahamas has to “make certain we repair our finances beyond the pandemic”, he nevertheless said the country’s foreign currency reserves remain higher than expected at some $2.6bn as of last week.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells has said the government is currently not considering making COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for healthcare workers even though recommendations have been put forward as vaccine hesitancy among the group remains a challenge.

Mr Wells made the assertion after Chief Medical Officer Dr Pearl McMillan told reporters at a Ministry of Health press conference on Friday that mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers was under consideration due to vaccine hesitancy.

SEE PAGE FOUR

POLICE PROBE BODY FIND IN LIQUOR STORE

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE body of a man with an injury was found in a liquor store on First Street, the Grove, on Monday night, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Although authorities have not officially identified the victim, sources in the community told The Tribune he is Gerald Coakley, who owned the store.

SEE PAGE FIVE

‘GOVT MUST ACT TO REBUILD FINANCES’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

MANDATORY VACCINES RULED OUT

A BODY is taken from the scene at City Services Ltd yesterday after three men died.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

LACARTHEA’S OLYMPIC DREAM KILLED BY COVID

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net HIGH school sensation Lacarthea Cooper was all packed and ready to make the trek to Tokyo, Japan, as a part of the Bahamas women’s 4 x 400 metre relay pool when her Covid-19 test results shattered those dreams.

Listed as the youngest member of Team Bahamas, Lacarthea was scheduled

LACARTHEA COOPER to travel on Friday. But Lacarthea’s test came back positive.

“When I got the news, I

was sad and disappointed, but they gave me a second chance. They told me to go and take another test to make sure,” Cooper said.

“I was praying the next test came out negative, but it came out positive. Right now, I don’t feel any sickness. I don’t feel weak.

I’m eating. I don’t have no symptoms,” said Cooper, who is preparing to enter grade 12 at St Augustine’s College in September.

FULL STORY - SEE SPORTS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

CORONER’S COURT HAS STILL TO RECONVENE

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas has not had an inquest into a policeinvolved killing in at least 17 months, despite having one of the highest rates of police-involved killings in the world.

Inquests were halted in March 2020 because of COVID-19. They were supposed to resume after the Coroner’s Court was outfitted with plexiglass barriers in April of this year.

SEE PAGE FIVE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, July 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

THE SCENE in Freeport where three workers died.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

Three workers ‘killed by fumes’ from page one “These males were doing some work in the floating tank and they all became unresponsive,” he said.

Mr Rolle said that an employee from an adjacent property came over to assist with the removal of three lifeless bodies from the pit.

When The Tribune arrived shortly after 5pm, the bodies were still lying on the deck of a floating tank, which was filled with scrap metal.

Even with a mask on, you could still smell a chemical odour in the breeze.

EMS personnel called to the scene pronounced the men dead, ASP Rolle reported.

The bodies were taken by three hearses to the morgue.

ASP Rolle said investigations are continuing into the

matter and an autopsy will be carried out to determine the exact cause of death.

The identities and ages of the deceased men are being withheld pending official identification, Mr Rolle said.

When asked the nationalities of the men, Mr Rolle confirmed one is said to be a Bahamian, a Dominican and an American who lived in Grand Bahama.

ASP Rolle indicated that the men went in the pit one at a time.

“The first male did not return, the second individual would have gone down to search for the first male.

When he did not return, the third went down and he did not return. That caused the male from an adjacent property to come and make some inquiries and then he found three men unresponsive,” he explained.

“We cannot say the depth of the pit, but there is some depth down there,” Mr Rolle said.

When asked whether the men were exposed to toxic chemicals or fumes, the senior police official said he could not confirm that or whether the men were wearing protective gear.

He said when police arrived the bodies had already been retrieved from the tank, with the assistance of a fourth man who worked on the adjacent property.

Mr Timothy said David was the father of one child, who lives in Miami, Florida.

He was very shocked to learn of his cousin’s death.

“I got a call at home around 3pm about my cousin,” he said. “This is a very serious situation when you send a person inside a stinky hole with gas; they

should have someone on top to keep eyes on them.

“You let people go in there by themselves and nobody check on them for hours after hours. You don’t see them and that’s when you check?

“I received a phone call and it shocked me.

Someone said, ‘You ain’t hear what happened, ain’t nobody call you?’ Then they say David die. I said who David? My David?”

Mr Timothy said his cousin David was a hardworking man who was always by himself.

“I feel bad, this is

terrible. How would you feel if someone close to you was walking, and next you hear someone say they are dead – that shock me, I feel very bad about that,” he said.

“The tank that stinks with gas in there. That is not safe.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 28, 2021, PAGE 3

DAMES: DEPT HAS NOT USED WHITEOUT ON VOTER CARDS LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames has defended the integrity of the voter registration process while denying claims that the Parliamentary Registration Department has used “whiteout” to make changes on Bahamians’ voter cards.

His comments came after photos circulated on social media last week, showing a transferee’s voter’s card marked up with red ink to reflect constituency changes instead of a new one being issued.

The issue has raised public concern about the possibility of voter fraud.

However, yesterday, Mr Dames – who has ministerial responsibility for general elections - insisted the registration process is being heavily scrutinized by officials.

He admitted there are some processes that need to be modernised and added that the Minnis administration is making great strides towards full modernisation of the system.

“There are checks and balances for all of these things and it’s not as easy as that and this is something that we’ve been doing for time now,” Mr Dames said before going to a Cabinet meeting. “Is it time for change? Absolutely and this government has taken the position that we’re moving towards automation and taking it to another level but until we get there, we have to continue to adhere to the law.”

“We would have made some amendments in the legislation to ensure that we revolutionise and we improve and modernise the

MINISTER of National Security Marvin Dames and, above, people queuing recently for Parliamentary Registration.

system, but that is a process and we’re taking steps towards that process.”

The minister also denied claims the agency uses “whiteout” correction fluid to make corrections on voter cards.

“I expect that when we do look into these matters, we look into it carefully,” Mr Dames said when asked about the issue. “The parliamentary department does not use whiteout, all right, and we have to be careful of those persons who are going online and who are intentionally misleading the

public for their own personal gain and political gain which is unfortunate.”

“The parliamentary registration department does not use whiteout. I would’ve seen that as well and I would’ve taken that up with the parliamentary commissioner and we are certain that that was not done by anyone in the parliamentary registration department.

“Now, the law says and it hasn’t changed that in transfers, you put a line through okay so they’re adhering to the laws as it relates

to that but as far as that ‘whiteout’ is concerned, it has nothing to do with the parliamentary registration department.”

Yesterday, Mr Dames also responded to criticisms by the Progressive Liberal Party, who accused officials of voter suppression.

Their accusations were based on claims that Hurricane Dorian victims are expected to file police reports at their home islands as a prerequisite for voter registration.

Responding, Mr Dames told reporters: “I would’ve

addressed the comments in relation to that before of persons having to turn to the island to make complaints.

“It’s utter nonsense and very misleading and we have to as leaders be very responsible in times like this, especially when we’re putting information out there for the general public.

It’s very misleading and unfortunate.”

Registration centres were inundated with people last week who either rushed to register or transfer constituencies

amid speculation of an early general election.

Crowds at the registration sites have been significantly smaller this week as COVID-19 cases are once again rising in the country.

Asked if the department plans to keep all the registration sites open, Mr Dames said officials will monitor the process.

According to Parliamentary Commissioner Lavado Duncanson, more than 191,000 people are currently registered to vote in the upcoming election.

ABOUT ONE IN FIVE THINKS COUNTRY IS GOING RIGHT WAY

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ONLY 23 percent of Seabreeze residents and 22 percent of St Barnabas residents believe the country is going in the right direction, according to a new survey that shows the majority of residents in those constituencies are also unsure about who they will support in the next general election.

A copy of the survey’s results is contained in a newsletter that Open Current – a strategic communications and public engagement firm – sent to its clients. The newsletter was leaked to The Tribune yesterday by one of the firm’s clients.

The survey results come amid anticipation that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis may call an early election. However, some observers believe the rising COVID-19 cases may disrupt whatever early election plans Dr Minnis might have. The Tribune understands the Free National

Movement cancelled a rally scheduled for this week because of the COVID19 situation. Dr Minnis, meanwhile, is expected to address the country tonight.

Open Current said it conducted door-to-door surveys between July 9 and July 15, surveying 409 residents in Seabreeze and 391 residents in St Barnabas.

Asked why these constituencies were chosen, Joey Gaskins, a senior partner for the firm, said the company wanted two constituencies that were different.

“We thought they were different in a number of ways so we can compare results, some of which we find interesting,” he said.

“These two constituencies have different political histories and different socio-economic profiles. A lot of the work we do is looking at how demographics affect certain perspectives.

We thought the demographics in these constituencies were not extreme in their difference, but different

enough to provide valuable insights.”

The newsletter said: “Only 23 percent of Seabreeze residents and 22 percent of St Barnabas residents believed that the country was going in the right direction. Overwhelmingly it seems residents of both constituencies think the country is going in the wrong direction – 54 percent for Seabreeze and a whopping 70 percent for St Barnabas. These results are even starker when we look at age and specifically 18 to 35 year olds who represent the largest voting bloc. In each instance, this age group polled above the average wrong direction numbers with 60 percent of 18-35 year olds in Seabreeze and 70 percent in St Barnabas saying the country is going in the wrong direction.”

“We also asked about whether voters had decided preferences for a party or a party leader. In Seabreeze, only 22 percent of residents said they had a clear preference for a party or party leaders, while 40 percent

had absolutely no idea and 26 percent had no idea whom they would vote for but knew for sure whom they wouldn’t vote for.

These numbers looked different in St Barnabas where 34 percent of residents already knew which party or leader they would vote for, while 18 percent had no idea and 35 percent were uncertain about whom they would vote for but knew precisely who they wouldn’t be voting for.”

According to the survey, job opportunities were the top priority of 45 percent of Seabreeze residents, health care was the top priority of 39 percent of them and economic growth topped the list for 37 percent of them. Among St Barnabas residents, employment and job opportunities were the most important thing for 63 percent of residents while economic growth and healthcare were the most important priorities for 58 percent and 39 percent of residents respectively.

Mr Gaskins emphasised that Open Current’s newsletter is not a political one.

He said results from all the questions residents were asked were not included in the letter.

“As it relates to the other questions, we would answer questions about those to our clients on the phone but we would not put it in writing,” he said. “They provide a lot of value insofar as strategic information that people who are not paying us should not benefit from and secondly this is not a political newsletter. If our clients are curious about some of the other stuff, we’re happy to answer and walk them through that.”

Mr Gaskins said Open Current used sound methodology for its survey.

“Every time we go out and do research, even if it’s internal, we are very particular about the type of methodology we employ,” he said. “ The sample size for the two constituencies are comparable to some of the conversations around national polls that have been happening recently.

This data is weighed so that it is representative.

Door-to-door surveys remove some of the biases that you can see through other types of polling, particularly online polling.

This poll was not conducted over a long period of time where people’s opinions can change because of particular events like changes in lockdown measures or the revelation of a budget. It is a pretty accurate snapshot of public opinion in these constituencies.”

Open Current’s survey comes after an FNM internal poll showed Dr Minnis leading Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip “Brave” Davis in approval ratings. According to poll results, which The Tribune reported last week, 54 percent of Bahamians approve of Dr Minnis while 37 percent disapprove of him; 24 percent of Bahamians approve of Mr Davis while 47 percent disapprove. Dr Minnis is said to be buoyed by the poll results and the FNM plans to put the leadership battle between him and Mr Davis at the front and centre of their election campaign.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, July 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

ANOTHER DELAY IN PAYMENT FOR FRONTLINE WORKERS

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net FRONTLINE workers employed in the public sector are in for a disappointment as they will not see the much anticipated COVID-19 honorarium in their pay cheques this month as once again, the government has delayed it.

Since last summer, Bahamas Nurses Union president, Amancha Williams has agitated for the government to make the promised payments and although the government had continually promised to pay, no advancement was

made on the matter.

The Minister of Health, Renward Wells, recently promised that healthcare workers would see the welldeserved bonuses in their pay cheques at the end of this month.

In a statement issued late yesterday evening, the Ministry of Health outlined monies allotted for the payouts and made the announcement of the delay and when and how it would be carried out.

Officials expected that the money would be paid by the end of this month.

However, the delay now means the workers will receive the money by cheque on or before the

second week of August 2021.

“Recalculations had to be completed based on the proposed names for consideration, and a verification process ensued to ensure all health care workers recommended were compensated according to the set specifications,” according to the Ministry of Health’s statement. “This caused some delays.

“Consequently, the Ministry of Health announces that all front-line and nonfront line workers who assisted with the National Response to COVID-19 during the first wave of the COVID19 pandemic in The Bahamas will be paid

by cheque on or before the second week of August, 2021. The Ministry of Health apologizes for any inconveniences caused.”

Healthcare workers, world-wide, were promised and paid the honorariums for risking their lives in the pandemic since March 2020.

The Ministry of Health statement continued: “During the 2021/2022 budget contribution of the Minister of Health, the Honourable Renward R. Wells, advised the general public that approval was given for the pay-out of $1,040,600.00 in honorarium and death benefits to a limited number of frontline

MANDATORY VACCINES RULED OUT from page one

She said because of the significant role medical workers play in the fight against COVID-19, officials recognise the need for more personnel to get vaccinated to help contain the pandemic.

The suggestion, however, has received much pushback in the medical community – with Bahamas Nurses Union president Amancha Williams recently telling The Tribune the decision to take the jab should be a personal choice.

Yesterday, Mr Wells sought to alleviate worker’s concerns, insisting it was just a recommendation.

He said while no final decision has been made on the matter, making vaccines mandatory for healthcare workers is not the current position of the government.

“That is not the current position of the government of The Bahamas. Let me state that emphatically – it is not the current position of the government of the Bahamas,” Mr Wells said before going to a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

“This was a recommendation made by the health professionals in The Bahamas, in the Ministry of Health to the government as a way for us to be able to help arrest and deal with the spread of COVID.” “But the government of the Bahamas has not made a decision as have others around the globe to move in the direction of a mandatory requirement for healthcare workers.”

Several countries have since implemented the mandatory vaccination policies for frontline workers in recent months. Among those include Italy France and Greece.

“Just yesterday (Monday), the entire state of California made it mandatory that all public workers in

California be vaccinated or get tested every week to show that they do not have the virus and there’s talk about them charging their employees to do such,” Mr Wells added. “Not just California, the entire city of New York has made it mandatory that all of its public workers get vaccinated or take a test and for the first time in the United States, the entire federal department of the US of veterans affairs has now made it mandatory that all of the healthcare workers in its system be vaccinated.”

The push for vaccinations comes at a time when COVID-19 cases and virus-related hospital admissions are surging worldwide, even here in the Bahamas. More than 1,5000 new cases have already been confirmed in the country for this month alone.

The resurgence of virus infections has placed a great strain on the nation’s already burdened health care system, which is plagued by a lack of human resources among other things.

Mr Wells said officials are addressing staff shortages in public health and have already taken steps to increase worker capacity.

He said his ministry will be bringing on some 60 doctors in the days ahead – something health unions have long been calling for. “In my public healthcare system, I have over 550 doctors – 422 at PMH alone and I’m going to be hiring another almost 60 doctors to add to the 550 I got,” Mr Wells told reporters yesterday.

When asked when the workers are expected to come on stream, the health minister continued: “As a matter of fact, that’s already happened. There is more than 24 senior house officers.

“We’re looking to hire, well not hire. We’re bringing on 30 and then we’re bringing on an additional 30 interns. As you know last year, we would’ve hired some 32 doctors.”

“If you remember back in October, (those) who were interns in the system and we hired them as senior house officers. We have 24 of the new senior house officers who are now onboard and I understand that about 30 interns took their exams last night and they’ve been working in the system trying to qualify themselves.”

“They took their exams and we’re looking to onboard as many of them that would’ve passed their exams.

We’ll be bringing them into the public system. They’re already working in the system to a certain extent but we’re going to be bringing them on as senior house officers.”

As for the nursing community, Mr Wells said similar plans are also in the pipeline. “We’re bringing on 64 nurses and as you know, the first of July is the new budget period and for that budget period, we’re bringing on who are currently working 64 registered nurses. We’re bringing on 20 trained clinical nurses,” the health minister told reporters.

“We’re bringing on 17 patient care assistants and 10 porters that are going to be deployed inside the public healthcare system. Some of them are already deployed and by the end of this week, the others will be deployed and this is not a new decision.”

“This was a decision taken earlier in July. We had made allocations to bring on these individuals in the new budget period. I spoke to this inside the House of Assembly in June as to the additional personnel the government was going to be bringing on.“ “Certainly, we did not expect that we would’ve been here in this kind of surge, uptake of COVID taking place within the country but our preplanning to be able to address personnel shortages inside the healthcare system is going to auger well for what we intend to do going forward inside the Ministry of Health,” Mr Wells continued.

nurses, physicians and medical service workers involved in the COVID-19 response for the period 19th March – 19th June, 2020.

“Minister Wells also informed that during the first wave of COVID-19, these front-line health care workers initially stepped forward, and said, ‘Here am I, send me!’ when others were somewhat tepid and hesitant. The Minister of Health in his budget presentation also advised that The Bahamas Government approved in the 2021/2021 budget an additional $3m in honorarium to compensate other health care workers “who later joined in the fight.”

TOTAL CASES

The Ministry of Health is reminding the public that originally no date was indicated as to when the honorarium would be paid.

However, according to the statement, the Ministry of Health was aiming to complete the task, and disburse the funds by the end of July, 2021.

“The public is advised that after the announcement that $3M was approved by the Government to pay other frontline and non-front line workers who later joined the fight, the Ministry of Health had to carefully scrutinize the proposed list of names recommended for an honorarium,” the statement said.

TOTAL DEATHS

14,327 285 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES MONDAY

75 CASES

NEW PROVIDENCE 44 GRAND BAHAMA 12 EXUMA 8 ELEUTHERA 7 BIMINI & CAT CAY 3 ABACO 1

TOTAL TESTS

117,468

HOSPITALISED

93

NEWLY CONFIRMED DEATHS • A 42-YEAR-OLD MAN FROM NEW PROVIDENCE ON JULY 10.

CASES IN ICU

10

RECOVERED

12,419

NO DECISION YET ON EMERGENCY EXTENSION

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE government has not yet decided if it will extend the current state of emergency beyond next month, Health Minister Renward Wells said yesterday.

The country has been under a state of emergency since March 2020 and the latest emergency proclamation expires August 13.

The House of Assembly, however, is not expected to meet until September.

“I don’t have an update on that as yet,” he said when asked about the issue.

“Those decisions really are collectively for the entire Cabinet to make. Obviously, as I would’ve said on Friday, this is not a static situation. It’s a very dynamic situation and in dynamic situations that means decisions are made as we go along based on the initial conditions and the circumstances that we find ourselves in.”

In June, Attorney General Carl Bethel told reporters the Minnis administration wanted to remove the COVID-19 emergency restrictions by August, but noted that doing so will heavily depend on infection rates and the behaviour of residents.

However, since then, COVID-19 infection rates have skyrocketed in the country, with more than 1,500 cases confirmed for this month alone.

The surge in virus cases and hospital admissions prompted health officials on Friday to re-implement new restrictions on New Providence, Grand Bahama along with North and Central Eleuthera.

The restrictions include tighter curfew hours, social limitations and strict travel guidelines for those islands.

Yesterday, Mr Wells said as the deadline nears, the government will assess the country’s COVID-19 situation and also look at the nation’s current economic conditions among other things when making a final decision.

He told reporters: “So as we approach August 13, the government will assess, re-assess, look at where we are, where we want to go economically, where we want to go nationally in our social sphere and in the

mental health of the Bahamian people, how do we see ourselves from a legal standpoint being able to move forward and still have rules, regulations that keep our people safe.

“So, we’re going to look at all of that in the sphere of the context of continuing to maintain the health and safety of the wellbeing of the Bahamian people as best as we can.

Mr Wells further assured Bahamians that the Minnis administration will not make any decisions that will hamper the progress the country has made in its fight against COVID-19.

“We are aware that other countries who would’ve relaxed restrictions have not necessarily gone back and imposed all of the restrictions that they’ve had before,” the health minister said. “The United States no longer has a mask mandate but there’s a discussion that perhaps indoors they should require folks to wear masks.

“Israel had moved away from its mask mandate and had completely opened up its economy. With the experience that it is now having with the delta variant, it has not gone back to masking indoors so we’re assessing our national circumstance and we’re not going to do anything that’s going to hold on to the benefits and gains that we have achieved in this country in our response to COVID as an administration and for the Bahamian people.”

Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis is expected to address the country at 8 o’clock tonight regarding his administration’s continued fight against COVID-19.

Dr Minnis will announce a series of measures to assist with care of people in hospital with COVID-19, steps to limit the further spread of the virus and an update on the country’s efforts to secure more vaccines.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is the worst crisis in our country’s modern history. Throughout, the government has instituted a variety of measures, focusing on saving lives and livelihoods,” Dr Minnis said in a statement Sunday.

“As the fight continues, we must remain focused on prevention, preparedness and the future.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 28, 2021, PAGE 5

Coroner’s court has still to reconvene from page one However, former Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice in May and has not yet been replaced.

The Tribune understands that while Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt is the Acting Coroner and has visited scenes of killings as required, she has not yet held inquests.

Before court proceedings were suspended last year, the court was scheduled to hold an inquest into the 2018 death of Deangelo Evans, a 20-year-old man whose killing in Masons

Addition alarmed the community.

The Governor-General appoints coroners on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, according to the Coroner’s Act. Questions to the Office of the Chief Justice were not answered before press time yesterday.

There have been at least six police-involved killings this year. In the most recent case, police killed a man in June who allegedly assaulted an elderly lady and shot a young man who followed him.

The country has one of the highest per-capita rates

of police involved killings in the world and recorded 11 such killings in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Backlogs of cases and lengthy periods without inquests are a recurrent problem for the Coroner’s Court. For years very few inquests took place until Attorney General Carl Bethel in 2017 admitted that the backlog was “distressing” and “unacceptable”.

The court then held 18 inquests between January 2018 and June 2019, three of which resulted in unlawful killing rulings and one of which resulted in an open verdict finding.

The other killings were

deemed lawful.

Englerston MP Glenys Hanna-Martin said yesterday that the government should address the backlog of cases and urgently appoint a coroner.

“Just as the government saw it as a matter of urgency to appoint additional judges to deal with caseload matters, it was incumbent on them to understand the role of the coroner in the administration of justice in this country,” she said. “To vacate that office to meet one need without on a concurrent basis immediately replacing that individual particularly in light of

the long delay that happened in the pandemic and the adjustments that were made to the court is an issue. It seems to me that it ought to have been obvious what needed to be done and they are urged to immediately put a replacement in place for that critical role and function.”

“Because of the inordinate or peculiarly high number of police killings in this country when compared to countries globally, it is necessary. I think that when you have state involved killings through the institution of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, it is in the interest of that

institution and in national security to address the matters from the point of view that people must have confidence in the ability of police to maintain order in the country. When resolutions are brought about in a fair and timely fashion, that would quell concerns, quell suspicions, answer questions and bring a formal legitimacy or otherwise to what has happened on the ground in these incidents.

When you see case after case after case after case and no resolution, then it takes on a different spectre as to what’s happening in this country and there has to be accountability.”

THE SCENE where a man was found dead on Tuesday during the early hours. The man is said to have lived upstairs from the liquor store and was also the owner.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

POLICE PROBE BODY FIND IN LIQUOR STORE from page one

Chief Superintendent Shanta Knowles, who heads the Criminal Investigations Department, explained yesterday that police received a call on Monday shortly after 11am that the body of a man was found in a building.

“When we got there, he was unresponsive,” she said.

“EMS came and a short time later they pronounced that he was deceased. We are working with very limited information at this time. We’re hoping that we can have an official identification of that man sometime today.

“There was an injury to

his body. Of course, we will await the autopsy’s official report from the pathologist, which will confirm the cause of death and we will be able to know which direction we go in with this matter, but we continue to investigate.

“So, we will continue to investigate – have a homicide team look into this matter and investigate it should we have the need or cause, to reclassify them.”

Asked if the injuries were blunt force trauma, she replied: “We can suspect that it may have been blunt force trauma, but again, like I said, we will await the exact cause of death in this incident.”

When The Tribune visited the scene yesterday

morning, one woman said she had known Mr Coakley her whole life and described him as an “honest” and “hard working” man.

“He didn’t deserve this,” said the woman, who did not want to be named. “Not one bit. Everybody looked up to him. Everybody looked up to this man. This a man of principle.

“Plenty people ain’t sleep last night,” she added.

Police are appealing to members of the public who may have information that can assist with this latest incident and other homicides to contact the Criminal Investigations Department at 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.

TRIBUTES TO HAVARD COOPER SR

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Grand Bahama community is mourning the loss of well-known Grand Bahamian Havard Cooper Sr. Mr Cooper – who rose from poverty to become a very successful and wealthy businessman – was an example to many that anything is possible with hard work and determination.

He first opened a meat market and general food store in Pinder’s Point.

He later brought the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise to Freeport during the early years, and later brought the Burger King franchise.

He expanded the businesses and opened several KFC’s and a BK outlet. Mr Cooper also acquired the Pizza Hut franchise and the Pollo Tropical franchise.

He invested in other businesses in Grand Bahama,

acquiring LMR Drugs, Halt Industries, and GB Glass and Windows. After many years at the helm, Mr Cooper retired and turned over the businesses to his children.

In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Mr Cooper was also a Baptist Reverend. He was an author and wrote his autobiography, “My Story, His Glory.”

Minister of State for Grand Bahama and Finance Senator Kwasi Thompson issued a press statement on behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister in Grand Bahama, expressing heartfelt condolences to the Cooper family on the passing of Rev. Havard Cooper.

He said Rev. Cooper was a “patriarch, who rose from humble beginnings in Grand Bahama to become a highly respected citizen of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

“In his autobiography, ‘My Story His Glory’,

Reverend Cooper is described as ‘a oncepoor child who overcame adversity to become a visionary, entrepreneur, successful Christian businessman and patriarch of a large influential Bahamian family.”

Mr Thompson further said: “Reverend Cooper was a philanthropist extraordinaire and loved his God his Country and its people and this was always reflected in his humble and kind personality.

“Indeed, his life stood as a testament to true Christianity, patriotism and abiding love for his fellow man and he stood as a role model for others seeking to ‘fulfil their God-Given destinies by contributing to the economic, social moral and spiritual development of The Bahamas.’”

Mr Thompson said Grand Bahama, in particular, and The Bahamas, in general, has lost one of its finest sons.

Private Service For Izetta Rolle, 79

of Antigua Street will be held on Thursday, 29th July, 2021, 11:30 a.m. at Lakeview Memorial Gardens, John F. Kennedy Drive and Gladstone Road. Officiating will be Rev. Dr. Alvin C. Hepburn.

Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, attendance is limited to Thirty (30) persons.

She was predeceased by her husband: Ernest Nathaniel Rolle; mother: Annie McKenzie-Hepburn; father: Elisha Hepburn; children: (sons) Clifford Hepburn Sr., Alvin Hepburn Sr. Left to cherish the memory of her life are stepmother: Rowena Hepburn; children & spouses: (stepson) Perry Clarke Sr. (Jasmine), (son) Christopher Rolle (Denise), (daughter) Jacqueline Munroe (Crispus Sr.); grandchildren: Omar and Able Seaman Clifford Hepburn Jr., Det. Cpl. 3412 Nickera HepburnRobinson (Ryan), Jamile Ferguson, Sandera Hepburn-Strachan (Gavin Sr.), PC 3623 Alvin Hepburn Jr., Alexis Hepburn, Perry Clarke Jr., Valentino Rolle, Desiree Smith (Lance), Tinisha Clarke (Rajeev), LaShun, Cristianna, Crispus Jr., and Raphael Munroe; great-grandchildren: Omara and Omar Jr. Hepburn, Ajanae Basden, Gavin Jr., Gav’Riel, Gavi’Nique Strachan, Altorio and Altoria Hepburn, Destin Smith; siblings: (brothers) Rev. Willard (Idell), Rev. Jonah Kenneth and Milton Hepburn (Tina) (sisters) Daisymae & Emma Hepburn; sisters-in-law: Dr. Clarice Ingraham, Alicia ‘Penny’ Thompson (Newton), Betty Hepburn; brothers-in-law: Ivan Rolle (Clementine), Rev. Levi Rolle (Laura), Benjamin Rolle (Linda), Lessiah LLB Esq Rolle (Nursing Officer Melony); numerous nieces & nephews too many to mention, but including: Minister Janet Hepburn, Rosa Harris, Valerie Pernell, Calvin Rahming, Kala Cooper, Eulamae, Donna, Laverne and Aluma Rahming, Richard, Prince and David Hepburn, Alfreda Sands, Alretha Bell, Debra Rahming, Wayde, Patrick, Kendall, and Andrew Hepburn, Whyonie Symonette, Karen McIntosh, Sheryl Major, Andrea Brown, Prince, Ralph and Phillip Hepburn, Bernadette Rolle, Christine Williams, Antoinette Rahming, Ramona Ferguson, Judy Thompson, Theresa Moss, Herman, Rev. Lawrence, Jonah Jr., Ralph, Elder Micah and Rev. Dr. Alvin C Hepburn, Pastor Monica Kemp, Glenda Louis, Pastor Latoya Smith, Ralph Hepburn, Troy Stubbs, Michael McPhee, Anton Johnson, Ashkuel and Aldion Armbrister, Shakara, Travis, and Latesha Hepburn; special family & friends: Gwendolyn King, Freddie McKenzie, Rubin McKenzie, Alice Moncur, Children of the late Lawrence McKenzie, Children of the late Henrietta McKenzie, Charles Mackey, Children of the late Annie Lloyd, Gary Rolle, Peralee Minnis, Idamae Lloyd (Ricardo), Rose McPhee and family, Mrs. Rodriguez and family, Mr. Taylor and family, Bernice Hepburn-Cornish, Beryl Rolle, Bishop Albert Hepburn, United Christian Cathedral family, Sandra Cooper, Gayle Davis, Michelle Stuart, Kenrea Edwards, Carolyn Strachan, Carolyn Deveraux The Very Rev. Chitan Thompson, Assistant Curate and the entire Parish Family of Christ Church Cathedral and many others too numerous to mention.

Viewing will be held in the Celestial Suite at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Roads on (TODAY) Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, July 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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No easy task for the Prime Minister WHEN Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis addresses the nation tonight, he faces one of the greatest dilemmas of his administration.

The country has been on a course to continue opening up – bringing with it a surge in tourism and an increase in income for businesses, individuals and for the government coffers.

We are also, however, experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. Yesterday alone saw another 75 confirmed cases.

All told, more than 14,000 people in The Bahamas have now been confirmed to have had or still have the virus, and sadly one more death in the latest figures brings the total number confirmed to have died from the virus to 285.

There will be many more who have had the virus without knowing – including Lacarthea Cooper whose Olympic dream was ended by a positive test result. She had no symptoms and didn’t know she was positive until she was required to take a test to go to Japan.

By now, all of us will likely know someone who has had the virus, and many of us will know someone who has died from it.

The response to previous surges of the virus has been to tighten the restrictions – but Dr Minnis seems to be determined to try to avoid doing so as much as possible. He doesn’t want to kill the resurgence in tourism when it’s only just started – while also wanting to stop the spread of the virus.

Are those two goals both achievable or must one come at the cost of the other? That’s the challenge before Dr Minnis.

It’s easy for those not in leadership to criticise – and you can be sure the PLP will be quick to do so after Dr Minnis’ address tonight. However, their policy suggestions don’t appear to have any magic wand to prevent the spread of the virus either.

Dr Minnis also has to contend with the discontent that comes when Bahamians see tourists able to dine at restaurants but their own children unable to go to summer camp.

There are hopeful signs. The US Embassy, for example, is reporting strong interest from the workers on its new building in receiving the vaccine, and if that is any indication of a wider interest from the population, that can only be a good sign.

COVID-19 is a destroyer. It has destroyed lives, it has caused our society to buckle – and now it has even destroyed an Olympic dream.

If people look around and see the risk the virus brings to their lives, their health, and even their futures, maybe that is now starting to encourage people to say well, if the vaccine can make a difference then I’ll take it.

That brings another problem for Dr Minnis – securing enough doses, but he has previously said that the vaccine is really the key to finding our way past this pandemic, and he’s right.

Tonight’s address cannot be about waiting and hoping, however. Dr Minnis needs to find a balance to slow down the spread of the virus while finding a way for the economy to keep going.

Threading that needle will be a true challenge.

You can’t win with that, PLP EDITOR, The Tribune.

health benefits of a majority COVID-19 vaccinated I HAVE read the leader population. Cases might be of the official opposition – up, but hospitalisation and the Hon Philip “Brave” death rates are falling sigDavis’ latest press release nificantly – Mr Davis and today – captioned: Guid- the PLP. ance to PLP Candidates.

Yes, people have the It’s good to know that right to not vaccinate PLP candidates and cam- against COVID-19; and paigners were informed the vaccinated have equal that they cannot be on the rights under the law – Mr campaign trail if they are Davis and the PLP. But, not vaccinated. This is in in The Bahamas – where adherence with the latest the majority of the adult COVID-19 emergency population is still unvacciorders. In the meantime, nated, that spells bad news he said that the PLP is for the national economy, examining avenues for Mr Davis and the PLP. It’s legal recourse. Apparently, national economic suicide the PLP doesn’t agree with in real time, Mr Davis and the new emergency orders the PLP. – restricting campaigning So, you and the PLP to vaccinated personnel are now looking for legal only. avenues to fight for the Mr Davis went on further majority of adult Bahamito say that: “The “Com- ans to remain unvaccinated petent” Authority permits - if they so choose. What many activities which pose utter madness is this, Mr a much greater risk of Davis and the PLP? You transmission of COVID”. want to be prime minisAgain, Mr Davis and the ter of the Commonwealth PLP don’t get it. If you, of The Bahamas – with and the PLP were in power an agenda of political under the present circum- recklessness, death and stances, and announced suffering? your COVID emergency Mr Davis went on with orders – some folks will his evil plot and said this: feel shortchanged also. It “The government has failed goes with the territory of badly to prepare the counhaving to make difficult try for the Delta variant. decisions in a very trying We are facing a serious time – in the national inter- health crisis, one that is est, Mr Davis. already overwhelming the We cannot have it every public health system and is way, Mr Davis, and the likely to seriously worsen”.

PLP. It has been stated by What a hypocrite! The competent medical author- Delta variant has not been ities everywhere – that confirmed in The Bahavaccination is the only way mas to date, but this is the out of the global COVID- pet variant apparently of 19 crisis. Some highly which Mr Davis can’t wait vaccinated nations are for – to get here. He knows already experiencing the that every PLP government

to date in The Bahamas is aware of a brewing healthcare crisis for decades. Mr Davis has been an Executive in a few of them; so he has first hand experience in poor political leadership and incompetence – across the board.

Yes, Mr Davis, when the Delta variant arrives – I hope that you, your party, and your unvaccinated clients are ready for it; because everyone knows that that variant ain’t playing with no one. Don’t blame Minnis and his FNM government for the decision of the unvaccinated majority, Mr Davis, and the PLP. They are being greatly impacted now by sickness and death, and the Delta variant will take things to new heights of national disaster and misery – when it arrives, Mr Davis and the PLP. The PLP’s decision to not seriously and aggressively help to promote and encourage vaccinations nationally, is a very poor reflection on its leadership ability in crisis time – in my most gracious opinion.

The Bahamas’ economy will not survive if the vast majority of its adult people remain unvaccinated in a fluid and raging COVID19 environment, Mr Davis and the PLP. So, carry on with the wicked demagoguery on COVID-19 vaccination efforts in The Bahamas, Mr Davis and the PLP. You can’t win with that – bro.

DENNIS DAMES Nassau, July 26, 2021.

Minnis must be careful EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Free National Movement (FNM) administration of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis once again finds itself in a rather awkward situation with the Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) and the entire Christian community.

The issuance of a new emergency order by Minnis, which limits worship services to just one hour, in addition to worship sanctuaries only being allowed to have up to 33 percent attendants, is being viewed by certain clergymen as a singling out of the church.

To the best of my knowledge, no such restrictive measures were imposed on the gambling houses, banks and food stores, at least this time around.

Moreover, Minnis has banned indoor funeral services, while indoor wedding ceremonies are allowed, which calls into question the scientific rationale for such policies.

The limit of 30 individuals to a graveside service is undoubtedly difficult for mourning relatives of deceased loved ones.

Thankfully, the new emergency order is restricted to just New Providence and Grand Bahama.

However, the issue that might haunt Minnis and the FNM is that the two islands are home to approximately 80 percent of the overall population of The Bahamas.

By reinstating the onehour time limit to worship services, is the Minnis administration implying that the risk of contracting COVID-19 becomes greater in a two or three hour worship service?

With a looming election, Minnis must tread carefully with the evangelical Christian community, which happens to comprise one of the largest voting blocs in The Bahamas.

While Minnis is obviously

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net following the counsel of health officials at the Ministry of Health, I think he must also take into consideration the perceived theology of his decisions towards the church.

Within this voting bloc are individuals who sincerely believe that the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the various vaccines, are all signs of an apocalyptic doomsday, with Minnis unwittingly playing the role of a persecutor of the Christian church.

To some within the Christian church, Minnis’ latest restrictions brings to mind the second century BC Selucid King Antiochus Epiphanes.

The Selucid dynasty rose out of the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great, subsequent to his untimely death in 323 BC. As a Roman Catholic, Minnis should be familiar with the name Antiochus Epiphanes, as he is referenced by name in the Apocryphal books of First and Second Maccabees.

The Apocrypha was officially recognised as divinely inspired by the Council of Trent in 1546 in response to the Protestant Reformers.

Antiochus is also mentioned, albeit prophetically, in Daniel 8:9-12 and 11:2832. Bible scholars believe that when the apostle Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians 2:1-11 regarding the eschatological man of sin, he had Antiochus Epiphanes in mind.

The Grecian monarch figures prominently in Jewish eschatology because of his radical opposition to the Jewish people in the Intertestamental Period, which would culminate in him banning Jewish worship and his desecration of the temple by enforcing worship of the Olympian Zeus.

He would also slaughter thousands of his Jewish opponents, before encountering stiff resistance from the Maccabees.

No, there are no direct or even indirect correlations between Minnis and the Grecian madman of the Intertestamental Period. Again, it must be stressed that Minnis is a Catholic. Antiochus, on the other hand, was an active pagan.

Minnis has never physically harmed any Christian, nor has he used the state to systematically harass the Christian community.

However, Christians will automatically assume that the latest restrictions are an impingement on their inalienable rights to worship for however long they desire to worship.

What Minnis must do is remove the restrictions immediately, as they lack scientific basis.

I have listened to BCC President Bishop Delton Fernander’s concerns about the new measures to fight COVID-19. I don’t believe Fernander’s criticism of the new restrictions are politically motivated. The church restrictions gives one the impression that the state is seeking to usurp the role of Jesus Christ as Head of the church. As prime minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Minnis has a secular duty to govern the state, which does not include micromanaging the internal affairs of the church. Christians are mandated by the Word of God to assemble each Sunday to worship, partake in communion and to hear the proclamation of the Bible.

The one hour time limit is simply insufficient.

Minnis must be very careful not to be viewed as an Antiochus Epiphanes towards the Bahamian Christian community.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama, July 27, 2021.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 28, 2021, PAGE 7

Conch shell killer gets sentence reduced by ten years in appeal

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE COURT of Appeal has quashed the 30-year sentence of a man who was convicted of bludgeoning another man to death with a conch shell over five years ago.

Yesterday, the appellate panel of justices substituted Ashley Hield’s three-decade-long sentence with 20 years imprisonment, minus the time he has already spent on remand. They did this after ruling that it was “strange” for the court to impose the same sentence that was imposed for a murder conviction on the “lesser charge of manslaughter”.

In August 2015, John

Henry Frazier asked two men on Gibbs Corner if they wanted to make five dollars by assisting him and his friend change a tyre on a vehicle. According to court documents, “things went horribly wrong” when one of the men robbed Frazier of his gold chain while his friend had gone to get the money changed to pay them.

During the trial, the prosecution’s case was that Hield hit Frazier in the head with a conch shell about five times, after Frazier followed Hield trying to get his chain back. They contended that Frazier managed to get up, but was attacked by Hield once again, who pursued him with the conch shell in his hand as he tried to leave.

Hield, on the other hand, argued that in the course of helping Frazier change the tyre, Frazier “began rushing him”.

When he testified during the proceedings, he said this made him frustrated and he tried to leave, but he and Frazier “ended up hassling” and Frazier’s gold chain popped during the altercation. Hield said he attempted to walk away but Frazier pursued him seeking payment for his chain which he insisted Hield had broken. He claimed Frazier threw rocks at him from behind and began charging at him with a broken bottle, which prompted him to pick up the conch shell and hit Frazier with it.

Although Hield was

charged with Frazier’s murder, a jury found him guilty of manslaughter and he was subsequently sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, less the time spent on remand. He recently sought an application for an extension of time within which to appeal his conviction and sentence.

Nonetheless, Justices Sir Michael Barnett, Jon Isaacs, and Maureen Crane-Scott refused his application to appeal his conviction. Still, the panel allowed Hield to appeal his sentence and substituted his original punishment of 30 years’ imprisonment to 20 years behind bars.

In their judgement, delivered by Justice Isaacs, the panel ruled that where

a good character direction was required but not given, the court had to consider whether the direction would have made a difference to the jury’s verdict if it had been given.

“The Court is satisfied that having regard to the state of the evidence in this case even if a full good character direction had been given the jury would inevitably have convicted the intended appellant,” Justice Isaacs stated.

“Regarding the intended appellant’s complaint that his sentence is unduly severe, the court is of the view that the prospects of success are good as the judge ritualistically relied on the range of sentences suggested by Larry Raymond Jones and also

due to the judge’s failure to observe and sentence the intended appellant in accordance with the jury’s verdict.

“In the result, the application for an extension of time to appeal against conviction is refused; the application for an extension of time within which to appeal sentence is however allowed. The sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment is quashed, and a sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment substituted. This sentence is to be reduced by three years and seven months having regard to the time spent on remand awaiting trial.

“Therefore, the sentence of 16 years and five months is to run from the date of conviction”.

A YEAR IN JAIL FOR TEEN 19 MIGRANTS PLEAD GUILTY WHO STASHED LOADED GUN

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A TEENAGER who admitted to stashing away a loaded pistol was yesterday sentenced to a year in prison.

Police arrested Justin McKenzie, 18, after they found a Smith & Wesson pistol with eight live rounds of ammunition in a shack near his residence on July 24.

The court was told that around 12.40 am on the morning in question, a team of officers, armed with a search warrant, proceeded to a residence on Kemp Road. Upon their arrival, they informed McKenzie of their search and began their investigation. The prosecution said when officers searched a shack on the premises, they discovered

the loaded gun.

McKenzie was arrested and taken to a nearby station. When he was interviewed there, he admitted being the owner of the firearm.

When the accused appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney, he maintained his guilty pleas.

He also told the magistrate he was sorry for his actions and asked for a “second chance”.

In response, Magistrate McKinney said he considered the fact that McKenzie had no previous convictions and that he admitted his guilt from the onset of the investigation. As a result, he fined him $5,000 and sentenced him to one year in prison. He warned McKenzie that if he failed to pay the fine, he could risk spending an additional six months on remand.

Meanwhile, Javado Adderley was also charged after officers found 13 amphetamine pills when they executed the search warrant on the Kemp Road home on July 24.

The court was told that after the officers found McKenzie’s gun, they also discovered 13 white and blue capsules with a quantity of amphetamine in the kitchen area that Adderley was occupying.

That morning, Adderley was also arrested and questioned in police custody where he said that the drugs were his.

When he was arraigned, he also told Magistrate McKinney he was “sorry for what he did” and asked for leniency.

He was subsequently fined $500 or three months in custody for simple possession.

PAIR GRANTED BAIL IN PROSTITUTION TRIAL

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO men who denied conspiring to exploit a woman through prostitution were yesterday granted bail ahead of their trial.

Paul Pawar, 30, and Theo Johnson, 33, appeared before Magistrate Shaka

Serville after they were accused of conspiring to transport a 34-year-old woman “into and within” The Bahamas for the purpose of prostitution sometime between July 6 and 22.

Prosecutors also allege Pawar actually transported the woman into the country for the purpose of prostitution within that same

timeframe.

During the hearing, both Pawar and Johnson pleaded not guilty to the allegations and the case was adjourned to August 17 for a fixture hearing before the Chief Magistrate.

Both accused, who are represented by attorney Ian Cargill, were each granted $3,500 bail in the interim.

BURGLARY ACCUSED GIVEN BAIL

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who denied breaking into a woman’s house to steal an assortment of cash was yesterday granted bail ahead of his trial.

Police arrested Justin Pratt after he was accused of unlawfully entering a woman’s residence with the intention of committing an offence on July 24.

He was further accused of attempting to steal $3,000 cash from the home during

the alleged break-in.

Pratt pleaded not guilty to the charges during his hearing before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis and the case was adjourned to October 4 and 5 for trial.

He was granted $5,000 bail in the meantime.

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

NINETEEN migrants found onboard a vessel at sea were charged with illegal embarkation in the Freeport Magistrate’s Court this week.

Haitians Josue Franceau, 41; Ginius Dieunicol, 59; Wadelove Gurrier, 26; Viviane Lazarre Evariste, 56; Judith Bein Aime, 35; Sgerlanda Darisma, 26; Maxeny Alce, 42; Stevens Michel, 25; Richemona Henry, 28; Bernadette Lubin, 36; Louisemene Elie Bell, 32; Veline Jacksaint,

26; Brazilians Cristiam Sairon Oliveria Souza, 30; and Silezio Pereira Ramos, 41; and Ecuadorian Pablo Eduardo Fajardo, 29, appeared in Court Four before Magistrate Simone Brown.

They all pleaded guilty to the charge of illegal embarkation.

According to the particulars, the group of migrants left Grand Bahama without leave of an immigration officer and were discovered on Thursday, July 22, on a vessel in waters off the coast of Florida.

Magistrate Brown ordered the migrants to pay a fine of $300 each or in default serve six months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS), The 19 migrants were also ordered deported on payment of the fines or upon completion of serving their custodial sentences.

All the accused paid their fines and were turned over to the Immigration Department for transport to New Providence where they will be detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre until deportation to their country of origin.

Private Service For Alvin Alexander Hepburn Sr., 56 affectionately called “Big Al”

of #47 Antigua Street will be held on Thursday, 29th July, 2021, 11:30 a.m. at Lakeview Memorial Gardens, John F. Kennedy Drive and Gladstone Road. Officiating will be Rev. Dr. Alvin Hepburn Sr. assisted by Other Ministers.

Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, attendance is limited to Thirty (30) persons.

He was predeceased by his parents: Izetta Hepburn Rolle and Basil Johnson; step father: Ernest Rolle; brother: Clifford Hepburn.

Left to cherish his memories are his daughters: Sandera Hepburn-Strachan and Alexis Hepburn; son: PC 3623 Alvin Hepburn Jr.; son-in-law: Gavin Strachan; grandchildren: Gavin Strachan, Gav’rielle Strachan, Gavi’nique Strachan, Altorio and Altoria Hepburn; grand parents: Rowena Hepburn, Elisha Hepburn; brother: Christopher Rolle; step brother: Perry Clarke; sister: Jaqueline Munroe; aunts: Daisy and Emma Hepburn; uncles: Kenneth, Willard and Milton Hepburn; nieces & nephews: Omar and Devon Hepburn, Able seaman Clifford Hepburn Jr., Valentino Rolle, Crispus Jr. and Raphael Munroe, Det. Cpl. 3412 Nickera Hepburn-Robinson, Desiree Smith, Tinisha Clarke, Lashun and Cristianna Munroe; grand nieces and nephews: Omara and Omar Jr. Hepburn, Ajanae Basden, Destin Smith; brotherin-law: Crispus Munroe Sr.; sister-in-law: Denise Munroe; godchildren: Jamile Ferguson, Deandre & Ricardo Forbes, Lorenzo Darling, Jayden and Khamal Martinbourough, Sharran and Colesia Bastian; cousins: Whyonie Symonette, Karen McIntosh, Wayde, Patrick, Kendall, Andrew Hepburn, Sheryl Major, Andrea Brown, Minister Janet Hepburn, Rosa Harris, Minister Janet Hepburn, Rosa Harris, Valerie Pernell, Calvin Rahming, Kala Cooper, Eulamae, Donna, Laverne and Aluma Rahming, Richard, Prince and David Hepburn, Alfreda Sands, Alretha Bell, Debra Rahming, Prince, Ralph and Phillip Hepburn, Bernadette Rolle, Christine Williams, Antoinette Rahming, Ramona Ferguson, Judy Thompson, Theresa Moss, Herman, Rev. Lawrence, Jonah Jr, Ralph, Elder Micah and Rev. Alvin Hepburn, Pastor Monica Kemp, Glenda Louis, Pastor Latoya Smith, Ralph Hepburn, Troy Stubbs, Michael McPhee, Anton Johnson, Ashkuel and Aldion Ambrister, Shakara, Travis, and Latesha Hepburn, Gwendolyn King, Freddy McKenzie, Alice Moncur, Audrey Bastian, Betty Mae Poitier; special friend: Tiffany cartwright; best friends: Ross Smith, Maverick Moxey, Brandon Bethel, Lynden Johnson, Karen Bastian, Wendell McKenzie, Vernen “Boss”, Agatha Williams, Marlene Martinbourgh; numerous friends and relatives: Sandra Cooper, Carolyn Strachan Rubin McKenzie, Children of the late Lawrence McKenzie, Children of the late Henrietta McKenzie, Charles Mackey, Children of the late Annie Loyd, Frank, Idamae Lloyd, Rose McPhee and family, Ms. Rodriguez and family, Taylor’s family, Beryl Rolle, Kirk-lee Collie, Laquana Sweeting, Deandra Forbes, Ricardo Forbes, Robert Russell and family, Stacy Storr, Shenique Frazier, Samuel Turnquest, Debra Foulkes and Family, Camille Lockhart, Brashad and Taniel Cooper, Lakeisha Wright and family, Quekell Prince and Family, Sharelle Stubbs and family, Nikia Williams and family, Jennimae Rolle and family, Maxine Cox and family, Natalie Lafrance and family, Patrica and Makella Stubbs, Natasha Joseph and family, Deontra Taylor, Glenalee Gibson, Sandra Lewis and family, Phillip Strachan, Miracle Strachan, Diana Ranger and family, Tinisha Smith, Edricka Taylor, Stephanie Hepburn and Family, Carolyn Deveaux and family, Ms. Monique Cartwright, Robert Russell, Stacy Storr, Betty Roker, Shanique Frazier, Vanessa Flowers, Rek’z Beneby, Samuel Turnquest, JB Brown, Jacqueline Burrows-Bonaby, Golden Gates Community, Faith United Missionary, United Christian Church, Central Police Station, House of Parliament, A. F Adderley Class of 1981, Grove community, BTVI, Pandora Greenslade and Family and many others too numerous to mention.

Viewing will be held in the Celestial Suite at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Roads on (TODAY) Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, July 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

TIME TO GET SERIOUS AGAIN AND FOLLOW THE PROTOCOLS - JUST LIKE WE DID A YEAR AGO

By Alicia Wallace

Graveside Service For

Vanria Marcelle Butterfield-McNeil, 81

a resident of #42 Sunset Park, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 29th, 2021 at St. Agnes Anglican Church Cemetery, Nassau Street.

Officiating will be Rev’d. Fr. Ruel J. Strachan assisted

by Rev’d. Fr. Peter L. Ferguson.

Left to cherish her many wonderful memories are her lovely children: Stephen George Nelson, Stephanie Vanria and Sonia Nicole; sons-in-law: Jetsoun Gilcott and Anthony Knowles; sisters: Mavis Butterfield and Betty Knowles; nieces: Dionne Cooper, Michelle Smith, Carla Rolle, D’Wana Bain, Lorene Clarke and Meldvern McNeil; nephews: Michael Thompson, Kim Pinder, Shane Darrell, Carlos Curry, Jeremy Horton, Maxwell McNeil and Dencil Williams; other relatives and friends including: her best friend Mrs. Rosalie Dillett and Family, Joan Sands and Family, Peggy Holmes and Family of Virginia, USA, Nicole Brown and Family, Astrid, Patsy, Ernest, Garth and Warren Fraser and Family, Audley Fraser and Family, Principal Nursing Officer Thelma McKenzie, Paulamae Miller and Family, Veronica Pratt and Family The Family of the late Arnette Gloria Okpuno, Marcia Roberts and Family, Elsa Wallace and Family, Kensworth and Leonard White and Family, Joy and Theresa Evans and Family, Mildred Thompson and Family, Janet Brown and Family, Rev. Randy Fraser and Family, Eleanor Elliott and Family, William Johnson and Family, Willamae Hepburn and Family, The Entire Butterfield and McNeil Family, Harry Knowles and Family, Aubury, Anwar and Candia Knowles, Mr. Ernst Scavella and Family, Retired Nursing Officer Gloria Forbes-Storr and Family, Mrs. Jane Adderley and Family, Mrs. Jaqueline Mycklewhyte and Family, Mrs. Dorothy Godet and Family, Mrs. Angela Cartwright and Family, Mrs. Rosie Foulkes and Family, Ms. Ruth Francis and Family, Paula Crawley, Ms. Lorene Joseph, Ms. Valarie Lightbourne, Betty Simms and Family, Lindalee Burrows and Family, Michelle Hepburn and Family, Patricia Mitchell and Family, Lauretta and Dorothy Coakley and Family, Plato Small and Family, The Fernander Family, Ms. Sawyer and Family Ms. Lillian Beckles, and the Entire St. Agnes Anglican Church Family, Dr. Agreta Eneas-Carey, Dr. Lisa Rolle, (Flamingo Gardens Clinic), Nurses at the Burns Unit, Princess Margaret Hospital especially Mikus Mikula, The Family of the Late Mrs. Katrine McPhee and Annie, Clarice, Myrtle and Tony Rolle, Lavern McPhee and Family, Mr. Levi Rolle (Freeport) and Family, Officer Barry and Sandy, Mrs. Braithwaite and Family, Mrs. Sherman and Family, Mrs. Janet Lightbourne and Family, Ms. Bowe, Mrs. Paulette McKenzie and Family, Ms. Eve Simmons, Archdeacon, Keith Cartwright, Rev’d. Father Ruel J. Strachan, Rev’d. Father Peter L. Ferguson, Archdeacon I. Ranfurly Brown, Rev’d Fr. Neil Nairn, Rev’d. Canon Warren Rolle, Rev’d. Fr. James Moultrie, The St. Agnes Anglican Church Women, Apostle Paul and Elder Maxine Butler and Family and The Bahamas Christian Fellowship Centre Family, The Treasurer and the staff of The Bahamas Public Treasury, Mr. Clifford Stubbs and The Beaches and Parks Authority Family and The Family of The Public Hospitals Authority (Corporate Office).

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

HERE we are again, COVID-19 case numbers rising, tightened restrictions and numerous questions about the effectiveness of the measures put in place by the government. No one wants to be restricted like this, but most of us understand we all need to cooperate in order to help save lives by reducing the want to be bothered. The same is true for banks, and spread of the virus.

Unfortunately, enforce- I am sure this is happening ment is an even bigger issue in other business places. now than it was last year. People are left to do as they There is not enough atten- wish. We are depending on tion to the implementation each other to care.

From the beginning, we and enforcement of protective measures in places we have been talking about frequent. It is left to the improper mask use. They individual to make the right need to cover the nose and decision with consideration mouth and far too many people wear them below to those around them.

I have significantly the nose, pull them down reduced the frequency of to speak, or let them hang my grocery shopping since under the chin. Very few March 2020, but I always people are prepared to pay attention to what other tell them to adjust their people are doing to pro- masks for everyone’s protection. Some people say, tect themselves “Well, I wear and others when mine properly.”

‘Months ago, I go. Someone Unfortunately, takes the tem- most people that’s not the perature of the were using way it work. people enterYour mask disinfectant ing the grocery protects others store, but I have wipes on and other peonot seen anyone shopping ple’s masks ensure people protect you.

We carts.

That sanitize their all need to wear hands at major is no longer them properly. grocery stores the case.’

It means talking in months. Very a little louder, few people do it without prompting. Once repeating yourself quite in the store, people seem a bit, not being able to to completely forget about smile (except for the eyes) COVID-19. Particularly in and a number of other Those the produce section, there inconveniences. inconveniences, of course, is crowding and people seem to be unwilling to are not more important wait for others to move than people’s lives.

In addition to the way on before approaching the mask is worn, we need the same areas. It is just as bad in line for the cashier, to pay attention to the way or any line for that matter. they are handled. Keep in Unless someone points or mind the mask is worn as stickers or other markers a barrier. The fabric forms indicating where people that barrier and traps what should stand, people fail to we do not want to breathe maintain the required dis- in. It is counterproductive, then, to touch the fabric tance of six feet.

Months ago, most people part of the mask. Do not were using disinfectant use the fabric part of the wipes on shopping carts. mask to pull it down, take That is no longer the case. it off, or anything else.

In fact, there is sometimes Adjust and move it by congestion at entrances the part that holds it up where people are waiting behind the ears only. We for a shopping cart to be also need to remember brought back by a packing that a mask should only be person. The shopping carts worn for one day. We need change hands and there is a clean mask for each no disinfecting. Perhaps new day, and a wet mask people have determined needs to be replaced. It’s a that surfaces are not a part good idea to keep an extra of the issue given newer mask or two in a clean, studies, but it is also pos- dry place in the car, in the sible people just do not office drawer, in your bag,

and other place convenient for you. Masks will not work if they are not used properly.

It is frustrating to see people fail or refuse to follow the protocol and it is not fun to intervene.

You never know when your prompt for someone to adjust their mask will result in a loud, embarrassing cuss out. You do not know if telling the person behind you that they are too close will be misunderstood and turned into something entirely different. It is, however, required of us to help each other along. Corrections and prompts are necessary, and we should have, by now, found some ways to offer them with kindness and tact. What one person does easily affects everyone. It only takes one person to expose and possibly infect many others.

Tell the cashier when they are not wearing their mask correctly. Remind people about the hand sanitizer near the door everyone is supposed to use (unless they have their own). Continue to wash your hands often. Social distance and insist that the people around you do the same. Make suggestions to management when you see something that needs to be improved. As you should be able to see by now, it really is on us.

Individualistic behaviour helps no one. We are all missing out in various ways, but preventing the collapse of the healthcare system, protecting healthcare workers, and preventing deaths are all more important than large milestone birthday parties, micromanaging staff who can easily work from home, and three-hour-long indoor services. The government needs to do a better job of monitoring and enforcing prevention measures, and it clearly is not prepared to step up. Can we govern ourselves and hold each other accountable?

s n o i t a d n e m m o c Re 1. Domestic travel.

Both the long period of travel restrictions and the arrival of the summer months have people itching to go, go, go. The economy has not yet recovered and tourism numbers are not were they used to be.

If we are going to spend money on travel, it would be advantageous to us all to keep it in the country.

Following all protocol and taking extra precautions like getting vaccinated and/or testing before travel, domestic travel is the way to go. Many Bahamians have been to more US states than islands of The Bahamas. Let’s change that.

Buy a ticket to a Family Island, book your stay at a Bahamian-owned hotel, eat good down home food, relax on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, take pictures at popular attractions and spend time exploring on your own. Let’s keep Bahamian

businesses open by supporting them and sharing our experiences to encourage more people to do the same.

2. Let Me Hear a Rhyme

by Tiffany Jackson.

Set in the late 90s in Brooklyn, this young adult novel follows teens Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine as they try to put their friend and brother Steph on the map (posthumously) as a rapper.

The deal is that Jasmine will let Quadir and Jarrell take and promote Steph’s music if they help her find out who murdered him. The challenges mount higher as they get closer to their goal to get Steph signed to a record label, and they start to learn more about Steph and the world they are growing up in. Even with its heavy themes, this is an enjoyable read, especially for older millennials who will appreciate the references to hiphop icons like Notorious B.I.G. and

Lauryn Hill.

3. Contribute to Feminist Standards for Governance.

Equality Bahamas is working with community members to develop a set of feminist standards for governance that reflect our priorities, respond to pressing needs, and make clear demands on people in positions of leadership. They will address critical issues such as gender-based violence, climate change, and disaster management. We invite people to offer their recommendations in the areas of health, education, women and LGBTQI+ people, social services, youth, environment, and labor and economy by participating in the survey at tiny.cc/feministsg. Answer any or all of the questions and, if it is of interest, sign up to join the working group that will review recommendations and use them to build our feminist standards for governance.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, July 28, 2021, PAGE 9

NEW TECHNOLOGY PROPELS EFFORTS TO FIGHT WESTERN WILDFIRES IN US

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

(AP) — As drought- and wind-driven wildfires have become more dangerous across the American West in recent years, firefighters have tried to become smarter in how they prepare.

They’re using new technology and better positioning of resources in a bid to keep small blazes from erupting into mega-fires like the ones that torched a record four percent of California last year, or the nation’s biggest wildfire this year that has charred a section of Oregon half the size of Rhode Island.

There have been 730 more wildfires in California so far this year than last, an increase of about 16 percent.

But nearly triple the area has burned — 470 square miles (1,200 square kilometres).

Catching fires more quickly gives firefighters a better chance of keeping them small.

That includes using new fire behaviour computer modelling that can help assess risks before fires start, then project their path and growth.

When “critical weather” is predicted — hot, dry winds or lightning storms — the technology, on top of hard-earned experience, allows California planners to pre-position fire engines, bulldozers, aircraft and hand crews armed with shovels and chain saws in areas where they can respond more quickly.

Forecast With the computer modeling, “they can do a daily risk forecast across the state, so they use that for planning,” said Lynne Tolmachoff, spokeswoman for Cal Fire, California’s firefighting agency.

That’s helped Cal Fire hold an average 95% of blazes to 10 acres (4 hectares) or less even in poor conditions driven by drought or climate change, she said. So far this year it’s held 96.5 percent of fires below 10 acres (4 hectares).

Federal firefighters similarly track how dry vegetation has become in certain areas, then station crews and equipment ahead of lightning storms or in areas where people gather during holidays, said Stanton Florea, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

In another effort to catch fires quickly, what once were fire lookout towers staffed by humans have largely been replaced with cameras in remote areas, many of them in high-definition and armed with artificial intelligence to discern a smoke plume from morning fog. There are 800 such cameras scattered across California, Nevada and Oregon, and even casual viewers can remotely watch wildfires in real time.

Fire managers can then

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BY DECADE’S END

By DAVID MCHUGH AP Business Writer

CAL Fire Capt. Danell Eshnaur uses the Fire Response Tactical Analyst program to use computer modeling to help pre-position fire fighting resources on the Dixie Fire at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Sacramento Command Center in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Friday. Firefighters are trying to become smarter in how they prepare for the drought- and wind-driven wildfires that have become more dangerous across the American West in recent years, including by using new technology like fire behaviour computer modelling that can help assess risks before fires start, then project their path and growth. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) “start making tactical decisions based on what they can see,” even before firefighters reach the scene, Tolmachoff said.

Fire managers also routinely summon military drones from the National Guard or Air Force to fly over fires at night, using heat imaging to map their boundaries and hot spots. They can use satellite imagery to plot the course of smoke and ash.

“Your job is to manage the fire, and these are tools that will help you do so” with a degree of accuracy unheard of even five years ago, said Char Miller, a professor at Pomona College in California and a widely recognised wildfire policy expert.

In California, fire managers can overlay all that information on high-quality Light Detection and Ranging topography maps that can aid decisions on forest management, infrastructure planning and preparation for wildfires, floods, tsunamis and landslides. Then they add the fire behavior computer simulation based on weather and other variables.

Other mapping software can show active fires, fuel breaks designed to slow their spread, prescribed burns, defensible space cleared around homes, destroyed homes and other wildfire damage.

“It’s all still new, but we can see where it’s going to take us in the future when it comes to planning for people building homes on the wildland area, but also wildland firefighting,” Tolmachoff said.

Cal Fire and other fire agencies have been early adopters of remote imaging and other technologies that can be key in early wildfire detection, said John Bailey, a former firefighter and now professor at Oregon State University.

Some experts argue it’s a losing battle against wildfires

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Daimler AG’s luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz says it is stepping up its transition to electric cars, doubling the share of sales planned by 2025 and sketching out a market scenario in which new car sales would “in essence” be fully electric by the end of the decade.

The shift to electric vehicles “is picking up speed — especially in the luxury segment, where Mercedes-Benz belongs,” said Ola Kallenius, CEO of Daimler AG and also head of the Mercedes-Benz division. “The tipping point is getting closer and we will be ready as markets switch to electric-only by the end of this decade.”

The company plans to invest 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in battery-driven vehicles between 2022 and 2080. It says it also intends to work with partners on setting up eight factories producing battery cells — the individual components that are assembled into larger battery packs in different vehicles.

The company said last Thursday it foresaw half its sales as battery-only or plug-in hybrid cars by 2025, up from a quarter in previous forecasts.

In the first six months of this year, such vehicles were 10.3% percent of total sales. The company sold 39,000 battery cars and 121,500 plug-in hybrids, which combine a battery with internal combustion.

TOP PAID iPHONE APPS:

AVIONICS mechanic Mike Luong inspects the control panel of Sikorsky Firehawk helicopter at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Sacramento Aviation Management Unit based at McClellan Airpark in Sacramento, Calif., last week. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) worsened by global warming, a century of reflexive wildfire suppression and overgrown forests, and communities creeping into what once were sparsely populated areas.

Climate change has made the West hotter and drier in the past 30 years, and scientists have long warned the weather will get more extreme as the world warms.

Goal Yet, firefighters’ goal is to replicate the outcome of a fire that started last week Monday in the canyon community of Topanga, between Los Angeles and Malibu.

It had the potential to swiftly spread through dry brush but was held to about 7 acres (3 hectares) after water-dropping aircraft were scrambled within minutes from LA and neighbouring Ventura County.

What firefighters don’t want is another wildfire like the one that ravaged the Malibu area in 2018. It destroyed more than 1,600 structures, killed three people and forced thousands to flee.

In another bid to gain an early advantage, California is buying a dozen new Sikorsky Firehawk helicopters — at $24 million each — that can operate at night, fly faster, drop more water and carry more firefighters than the Vietnam War-era Bell UH-1H “Hueys” they will eventually replace.

It will also soon receive seven military surplus C-130 transport aircraft retrofitted to carry 4,000 gallons (15,140 litres) of fire retardant, more than three times as much as Cal Fire’s workhorse S-2 airtankers.

For all that, firefighters’ efforts to outsmart and suppress wildfires is counterproductive if all it does is postpone fires in areas that will eventually burn, argued Richard Minnich, a professor in Riverside who studies fire ecology.

“No matter how sophisticated the technology may be, the areas they can manage or physically impact things is small,” he said. “We’re in over our heads. You can have all the technology in the world — fire control is impossible.”

Working with wildfires is

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more realistic, he said, by taking advantage of patches that previously burned to channel the spread of new blazes.

Timothy Ingalsbee, a former federal firefighter who now heads Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, also said firefighters need to adopt a new approach when confronting the most dangerous winddriven wildfires that leapfrog containment lines by showering flaming embers a mile or more ahead of the main inferno.

TOP FREE iPHONE APPS: It’s better to build more 1. TikTok, TikTok Pte. Ltd. fire-resistant homes and 2. Y ouTube: Watch, Listen, devote scarce resources to Stream, Google LLC protecting threatened communities while letting the 3. Instagram, Instagram, Inc. fires burn around them, he 4. G oogle Maps, Google LLC said.

5. R un Rich 3D, Voodoo “We have these amazing 6. napchat, Snap, S tools that allow us to map Inc. fire spread in real time and acebook, model it better than weather 7. F Facebook, Inc. predictions,” Ingalsbee said. y Talking Angela 2, “Using that technology, we 8. M Outfit7 Limited can start being more strategic and working with fire 9. M essenger, Facebook, Inc. to keep people safe, keep 10. S treamer Life!, RUBY homes safe, but let fire do OYUN VE YAZILIM the work it needs to do — DANISMANLIK which is recycle all the dead stuff into soil.”

PAGE 10, Wednesday, July 28, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

‘This is how I’m going to die’ Officers tell January 6 stories POLICE Sergeant Aquilino Gonell testifying yesterday.

WASHINGTON Associated Press “THIS is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance,” Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell recalled thinking, testifying Tuesday at the emotional opening hearing of the congressional panel investigating the violent January 6 Capitol insurrection.

Gonell told House investigators he could feel himself losing oxygen as he was crushed by rioters – supporters of then-President Donald Trump – as he tried to hold them back and protect the Capitol and lawmakers.

He and three other officers gave their accounts of the attack, sometimes wiping away tears, sometimes angrily rebuking Republicans who have resisted the probe and embraced Trump’s downplaying of the day’s violence.

Along with graphic video of the hand-to-hand fighting, the officers described being beaten as they held off the mob that broke through windows and doors and interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential win. The new committee launched its probe with a focus on the law enforcement officers who protected them — putting a human face on the violence of the day.

Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who rushed to the scene, told the committee — and millions watching news coverage — that he was “grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country.” That assault on him, which stopped only when he said he had children, caused him to have a heart attack.

Daniel Hodges, also a DC police officer, said he remembered foaming at the mouth and screaming for help as rioters crushed him between two doors and bashed him in the head with his own weapon. He said there was “no doubt in my mind” that the rioters were there to kill members of Congress.

Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn said one group of rioters,

perhaps 20 people, screamed the n-word at him as he was trying to keep them from breaching the House chamber — racial insults he said he had never experienced while in uniform. At the end of that day, he sat down in the Capitol Rotunda and sobbed.

“I became very emotional and began yelling, ‘How the (expletive) can something like this happen?” Dunn testified. “Is this America?”

“My blood is red,” he said.

“I’m an American citizen. I’m a police officer. I’m a peace officer.”

Tensions on Capitol Hill have only worsened since the insurrection, with many Republicans playing down, or outright denying, the violence that occurred and denouncing the Democratic-led investigation as politically motivated. Democrats are reminding that officers sworn to protect the Capitol suffered serious injuries at the hands of the rioters.

All of the officers expressed feelings of betrayal at the Republicans who have dismissed the violence.

“I feel like I went to hell and back to protect them and the

people in this room,” Fanone testified, pounding his fist on the table in front of him. “Too many are now telling me that hell doesn’t exist or that hell actually wasn’t that bad. The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful.”

The witnesses detailed the horror of their assaults and the lasting trauma in the six months since, both mental and physical. At the hearing’s end, the witnesses all pleaded with the lawmakers to dig deeper into how it happened.

The lawmakers on the committee, too, grew emotional as they played videos of the violence and repeatedly thanked the police for protecting them.

Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida told them she was hiding near an entrance they were defending that day and said “the main reason rioters didn’t harm any members of Congress was because they didn’t encounter any members of Congress.”

Illinois Rep Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the panel, shed tears during his questioning. He said he hadn’t expected to become so emotional.

“You guys all talk about the effects you have to deal with, and you talk about the impact of that day,” Kinzinger told the officers. “But you guys won. You guys held.”

Wyoming Rep Liz Cheney, the panel’s other Republican, expressed “deep gratitude for what you did to save us” and defended her decision to accept an appointment by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“The question for every one of us who serves in Congress, for every elected official across this great nation, indeed, for every American is this: Will we adhere to the rule of law, respect the rulings of our courts, and preserve the peaceful transition of power?”

“Or will we be so blinded by partisanship that we throw away the miracle of America?”

The House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, withdrew the participation of the Republicans he had appointed last week after Pelosi rejected two of them. She said their “antics” in support of Trump, and his lies that he won the election, weren’t appropriate for the serious investigation.

McCarthy has stayed close to

FROM left, US Capitol Police Sgt Aquilino Gonell, Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone, Washington Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges and US Capitol Police Sgt Harry Dunn are sworn in before the House select committee hearing on the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/AP

Trump since the insurrection and has threatened to pull committee assignments from any Republican who participates on the Jan 6 panel. He has called Cheney and Kinzinger “Pelosi Republicans”.

On Tuesday, McCarthy again called the process a “sham”. He told reporters that Pelosi should be investigated for her role in the security failures of the day but ignored questions about Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who had identical authority over the Capitol Police and Capitol security officials.

After the hearing, Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, said that the testimony “sets the right tone” for the investigation, which will examine not only Trump’s role in the insurrection but the groups involved in coordinating it, white supremacists among them. He said the committee could start issuing subpoenas “soon”.

The probe will also look at security failures that allowed hundreds of people to breach the Capitol and send lawmakers running for their lives. Some of those who broke in were calling for the deaths of Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence, who was hiding just feet away from the mob.

Capitol Police have repeatedly said they are hamstrung by a lack of funding. Senate leaders said Tuesday they had reached a deal on a $2.1 billion emergency spending bill that could provide more resources.

Shortly after the insurrection, most Republicans denounced the violent mob — and many criticized Trump himself, who told his supporters to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat. But many have softened their tone in recent months and weeks.

And some have gone further, with Georgia Rep Andrew Clyde saying video of the rioters looked like “a normal tourist visit,” and Arizona Rep Paul Gosar repeatedly saying that a woman who was shot and killed by police as she was trying to break into the House chamber was “executed”.

MAN JAILED FOR LIFE FOR KILLING SPREE AT GEORGIA SPAS CANTON, Georgia Associated Press

A MAN accused of killing eight people, most of them women of Asian descent, at Atlanta-area massage businesses pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday in four of the killings and was handed four sentences of life without parole.

Robert Aaron Long, 22, still faces the death penalty in the four other deaths, which are being prosecuted in a different county. The string of shootings at three different businesses in March ignited outrage and fueled fear among Asian Americans, who were already

ROBERT Aaron Long in court yesterday. facing increased hostility at the time linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

Many were particularly upset when authorities suggested Long’s crimes were not racially motivated but instead born of a sex addiction, which is not recognised

as an official disorder.

In comments sure to further frustrate those who believe Long targeted Asian women, a prosecutor reiterated Tuesday that Cherokee County investigators saw no evidence of racial bias. That’s at odds with the hate crime enhancement that Long, who is white, faces just miles away in the four Atlanta deaths.

“This was not any kind of hate crime,” District Attorney Shannon Wallace said.

On March 16, Long shot and killed four people, three of them women and two of Asian descent, at Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County, according to police

accounts. A fifth person was wounded. Long then drove to Atlanta, where he shot and killed three women at Gold Spa before going across the street to Aromatherapy Spa and fatally shooting another woman, police said. All of the Atlanta victims were of Asian descent.

In Atlanta, Long could be sentenced to death if convicted in the four deaths.

There, he also faces charges of aggravated assault and domestic terrorism in addition to murder, and prosecutors have said they will seek to have the deaths classified as a hate crime.

Wallace explained that Cherokee County

prosecutors came to a different conclusion. When Long walked through the first spa “shooting anyone and everyone he saw”, Wallace said he told investigators he was motivated by a “sex addiction” and his desire to eliminate sources of temptation at businesses where he engaged in sex acts. Investigators interviewed people who’d known him for years, including three of Asian descent, who said they’d never heard him say anything derogatory about any racial or ethnic group, Wallace said.

As for gender bias, Wallace said seeking a hate crime enhancement based on hatred of women would

not have significantly extended his sentence.

The American Psychiatric Association does not recognise sex addiction in its main reference guide for mental disorders.

While some people struggle to control their sexual behaviors, it’s often linked to other recognised disorders or moral views about sexuality, said David Ley, clinical psychologist and author of “The Myth of Sex Addiction”.

Wallace said prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty if Long didn’t plead guilty. All relatives of the victims they’ve been able to contact supported the plea deal in the interest of swift justice, she added.