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VOLUME:117 No.172, AUGUST 4TH, 2020

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• Minimum two-week lockdown to try and halt new COVID surge • Tougher restrictions, including stores open just Mon, Weds & Fri • Shops expecting rush from consumers ahead of tonight’s deadline

By TANEKA THOMPSON Tribune News Editor tmthompson@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced a strict “two-week minimum” national lockdown beginning tonight to curb the rapid spread of COVID19, a decision he said came based on the advice of health officials.

Near the end of the twoweek period, health officials will make an assessment to determine if the lockdown needs to be extended, Dr Minnis said during a national address.

The upcoming period has more restrictions than previous lockdowns, as most of the commercial sector has been ordered shut. For instance, takeaway and curbside dining has been prohibited as well as most of the retail sector, except for hardware stores.

People will be allowed to access grocery stores and water depots during the lockdown, however these businesses will only be open three days a week— Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7am to 5pm— for the general public and on Saturdays from 7am to 1pm for essential workers only. Pharmacies will

also be allowed to operate during the specified days, but only from curbside operations or take-away windows; gas stations will be allowed to provide external services only.

The impending lockdown is anticipated to lead to a rush on stores today, with at least one liquor store last night advertising a sale on alcohol and an early morning opening time.

“The purpose of alternating days is based on health guidelines that strongly demonstrate that limiting movement, and having clear days where there is no movement, helps to minimise the spread of COVID 19,” Dr Minnis said.

He said all households should identify one person to be the designated shopper for each of the essential services listed. He added the government’s enforcers will be monitoring shopping and the number of people travelling in vehicles.

“Throughout the country, all businesses and offices will be required to suspend operations, with limited exceptions, and to have their staff work remotely, where this is possible,” Dr Minnis added.

SEE PAGE THREE

ONE man looks out to see the damage Isaias has done outside his home

Photo: Donavan McIntosh

ISAIAS: WE DODGED A BULLET

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

CABINET ministers and private sector executives yesterday said the Bahamian economy had “dodged a bullet” after Hurricane Isaias inflicted minimal damages and loss on this nation.

Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest, told Tribune Business that the storm had “for sure given us quite a reprieve” with no indication yet that it will cause any adjustments to the government’s spending plans and allocations just one

month into its 2020-2021 fiscal year.

He was echoed by Jeffrey Beckles, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s chief executive, who described the storm’s outcome as “the gift of the year” given that the private sector and wider country had all been bracing for a major hit given initial projections of its path and intensity.

Mr Turnquest acknowledged any further lockdown which included “limitations on commerce” would have an impact on the government’s 2020-2021

fiscal forecasts although he suggested this would be limited given that the Ministry of Finance had already budgeted to earn minimal revenues through to November as a result of the ongoing tourism shutdown.

However, Mr Turnquest voiced gratitude that Isaias had not added to The Bahamas’ already-deepening economic and fiscal woes.

“For sure, absolutely for sure. I would say that’s a good description of it, yes,” Mr Turnquest replied when presented with the “dodged a bullet” analogy.

FACE-TO-FACE

HOW RECYLCING MESSAGE IS GETTING ACROSS

SEE PAGE EIGHT

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

MARINES APPREHEND HAITIAN SLOOP A GROUP of 44 Haitian migrants was apprehended in the central Bahamas on Sunday morning in a joint operation between the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the US Coast Guard.

After receiving information from a USCG aerial surveillance that a migrant vessel was spotted off Little Hawksbill Cay, RBDF patrol craft HMBS MADEIRA under the command of Lieutenant

THE HAITIAN SLOOP James Cox and P-45 and coxswained by Chief Petty Officer Bernard Miller were dispatched to the area to

investigate. The migrants 35 men and nine women - were discovered on a Haitian sloop shortly after 3pm approximately 1.06 nautical miles north west of the cay.

The Haitian vessel made an attempt to get away, but was eventually caught and the migrants transported aboard P-45.

They were brought into the capital late on Sunday night and turned over to the Department of Immigration for further processing.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

PETER YOUNG

BBC COULD PAY HEAVY PRICE FOR OWN GOAL

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Tuesday, August 4, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

SENIOR EXEC AT ALBANY CONTRACTS COVID-19

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net

A SENIOR executive at the Albany resort has contracted COVID-19, The Tribune has learned.

According to a wellplaced source, the senior executive contracted the deadly virus from a Peruvian nanny who was taking care of his and another person’s children in a residential property at Albany.

“The executive’s wife was off island and their children were over at another residence playing with some children,” the source said.

“The Peruvian nanny was taking care of all of the children and she had the virus.”

The Albany executive, according to the source, went to check up on his children, came into contact with the nanny and contracted the virus. The father of the other children also tested positive for the coronavirus. The children, from

both families, were tested and did not contract the virus.

“A maid came in to the residence to clean it and she is now in quarantine,” the source said. “She was quickly ushered out, but just as a precaution, she was tested and found to be negative, but was still quarantined.

“That maid then reported to her supervisor to tell him about the incident so because she came into contact with him. He, too, was

tested and put into quarantine. His test result was also negative. The children were also tested and their tests came back negative.”

The three people at Albany who tested positive for COVID-19 came in contact with others on that property. In total, there are approximately 14 people currently in quarantine because of this, this newspaper was told.

Albany, because of its listing as a resort, remains open with guests

during COVID-19 related lockdowns.

“I think Albany worked quickly to contain the spread of the virus,” said the source, continuing. “For the safety of its guests and residents, everyone who came in to contact with the nanny was tested and put into quarantine. There was no widespread cases of COVID-19 on the Albany property. Only three people have COVID-19 there.”

The source also informed The Tribune that the

Peruvian nanny had a preexisting medical condition – throat cancer. People with pre-existing medical conditions are far more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 than others.

The Tribune reached out to Jason Callender, a partner at Albany, for comment on the matter, but when this writer identified herself, Mr Callender hung up the phone. Several calls were made to Mr Callender following the disconnection, but they were all declined.

More than 800 on Grand Bahama now in quarantine

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

CHINESE Ambassador to The Bahamas Huang Qinguo paid a courtesy call on Minister of Health Renward Wells on Friday, as the Chinese government donated personal protective equipment to aid in the fight against COVID-19.

MORE than 800 people are in quarantine on the island of Grand Bahama, which continues to lead in recorded COVID-19 cases in the country.

The island recorded 22 new cases yesterday, bringing its count to 320 confirmed cases, the largest in the country.

According to hospital administrator Sharon Williams, 868 residents were in quarantine and isolation throughout the island as of last Thursday. She expected that figure to change as testing continues.

Quarantine is the period of time that must elapse before those exposed to or infected by a contagious disease can be considered

as incapable respectively of developing or transmitting the disease.

The number, she explained, also includes people who travelled outside the country after July 1 when travel restrictions were lifted.

“We would have been working hard as usual… and of course, those figures would have changed,” she said during a press briefing last week at the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management and Reconstruction ahead of Hurricane Isaias’ landfall.

Ms Williams commended staff for “diligence, commitment, and consistent work” in the Grand Bahama community. “Our staff has been working extra hard for months ever since Dorian,” she added.

During the initial

outbreak from March to May, Grand Bahama only had eight recorded cases.

There was a lull in new cases for two months, until July 1 when travel restrictions were lifted and the island’s case count began to soar.

Many of the island’s residents travelled to South Florida, a hotspot for coronavirus infections. The state has one of the highest COVID-19 infections and deaths in the US. In an effort to stop the spread, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis recently ordered a two-week lockdown for Grand Bahama and a curfew. Residents are only allowed to go to food stores, pharmacies, and gas stations. Last Monday, hardware stores were allowed to open so residents could prepare for Isaias.

DAIRY QUEEN AND BLISS WAX AMONG BUSINESSES CLOSED

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net DAIRY Queen (Bahamas) announced its Mall at Marathon location was closed on Friday after an employee from the eatery tested positive for COVID-19.

The company said the employee is currently on sick leave and the location will undergo full sanitisation before reopening to customers. The fast food chain is one of several businesses that announced closures for cleaning after COVID-19 exposure, including a salon.

Dairy Queen’s statement said: “Any employees who may have had contact have been released to self-quarantine for the recommended 14-day period, before being assessed and allowed to safely return to work.”

Meanwhile, Bliss Wax

Boutique announced on Sunday that its western New Providence salon would be closed for “full sanitisation” after an employee on sick leave tested positive for the coronavirus. The location will remain closed for 14 days and all employees “who may have been exposed” have been asked to self-quarantine for two weeks, after which a “secondary assessment” of the employee will be completed before they return to work.

Scores of customers who visited the spa during the exposure window have also been advised to selfisolate for 14 days or take a COVID-19 test.

On Friday, Nassau Tile announced the store would close its doors for two weeks after a worker tested positive. The company said all other staff members have tested negative and the premises has been professionally cleaned and sanitised.

That same day, Minister of Health Renward Wells said the rise in cases locally is connected to travel to the United States as well as social events.

“Our information also leads us to conclude that the increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases is connected to the social activities among Bahamians – funerals, weddings, and home parties,” Mr Wells said at the National Emergency Management Agency headquarters.

“For example, individuals from Grand Bahama, New Providence, and Bimini, all attended a particular funeral and within a single incubation period, there were increased numbers of cases on those islands.”

He added, “Let me be frank, while there is no way to ensure zero risk of infection of COVID-19, doing all that we can to minimise risks and stay safe requires personal responsibility.”

was made due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases and its continuous impact in The Bahamas.

“With the effects of the outbreak being felt each day, we have determined that the fall 2020 semester will be done 100 percent online, in a virtual platform,” said BAMSI’s board chairman, Stephen Turnquest.

BAMSI said new student orientation will now begin on Wednesday, August 19, while advisement and registration is scheduled to start Friday, August 21.

Classes will subsequently commence on August 31.

For more information on the upcoming semester, people are asked to visit the institute’s website at www. bamsibahamas.edu.bs

BAMSI PUTS CLASSES ONLINE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) announced on Friday that classes for its upcoming semester will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials said the decision

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 4, 2020, PAGE 3

ANOTHER 31 CASES AS COVID COUNT HITS 679

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net COVID-19 cases in the country have skyrocketed to 679, with 31 additional cases recorded just yesterday as health officials expect cases to increase in the days ahead.

The latest COVID-19 dashboard was revealed just hours before Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis addressed the nation yesterday, reimposing a number of former restrictions to curb the spread of the virus including a national twoweek lockdown.

According to the Ministry of Health, 22 of the new cases are on Grand Bahama,

with nine in New Providence.

Health officials did not provide background information on any of the new cases despite calls for more transparency from both the media and the public.

Last night, Dr Minnis said the recent surge of cases has already started to strain the country’s health care system, with critical ICU beds already at capacity and non-critical care beds “approaching capacity.”

“COVID-19 is not going away any time soon,” he said in a sombre national address. “We will defeat this second wave just as we defeated the first. But I warn you that due to how easily the virus spreads we are likely to have future

waves. This is the dangerous nature of pandemics and of this virus which is very contagious. A more normal time will not come until there is a vaccine. We have to keep working in tandem to prevent outbreaks.”

Noting the negative longterm impacts COVID-19 can cause physically, Dr Minnis yesterday urged the Bahamian people to not let their guard down. He further advised the public against attending social gatherings and travelling to COVID-19 hotspots.

He also warned young people that they are not immune to the disease, saying a number of cases have been diagnosed in people under 40.

“COVID-19 kills,” he warned. “COVID-19 leaves some survivors so damaged that their lifespans may be shortened. Let us remain disciplined, keeping to the public health advice. Sacrifice now to stay healthy so that when this is all over you can once again go back to those times spending time with those you love.”

Over the weekend, the country recorded a total of 74 cases, with 49 new COVID-19 cases reported on Sunday and an additional 25 new cases on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Friday saw a whopping 66 new confirmed cases - with 39 cases in Grand Bahama and 27 in New Providence.

Last week, health officials also confirmed three additional deaths from the virus, bringing the country’s death toll to 14. The victims include a 76-yearold female, a 54-year-old female and a 77-year-old male—all from Grand Bahama.

Dr Minnis noted the number of COVID-19 cases is expected to increase in the country before the current surge is brought under control. In an effort to manage the spread of the virus and better enforce the quarantine rules, the Royal Bahamas Police Force has taken over control of the Hubbcat monitoring system.

According to Dr Minnis,

25 police reserves have already been trained for the system, with an additional 25 reserves set to be trained in the days ahead.

He added: “The COVID19 Enforcement Unit Command Centre, which is now operational, is located in the Cable Beach Police Station. The government has acquired 21 vehicles that will be properly outfitted with communications systems and deployed with police officers and individuals as ambassadors to patrol public spaces, beaches and parks predominantly.

“The ambassadors will be identifiable, wearing blue trousers and light blue shirts with caps embroidered with the COVID-19 logo.”

“Once we have reduced community spread, we can reopen parts of our economy again,” he said.

He also sought to rally a spirit of nationalism, casting residents “as partners” with the government in the fight against the virus, adding that the more disciplined people are during this lockdown, the sooner some measures can be eased.

He also said “2020 has not been the year any of us imagined,” adding, “I know many of your plans have been halted. Many of your dreams paused.

“It is difficult not having our routines. It is difficult not seeing our friends,

families and loved ones in the close ways we used to before the virus.

“Pandemic fatigue is setting in. Many are tired of restrictions; tired of separation. I understand your frustrations. I too would like to be back to better times. However, we must not let that frustration lead us to slacken our behavior or resolve. COVID-19 kills.

COVID-19 leaves some survivors so damaged that their lifespans may be shortened.”

Dr Minnis also said food distribution will continue through the National Food Distribution Task Force on

Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, depending on the zone.

The task force is currently assisting more than 27,000 households throughout the country.

Approximately 108,000 people are receiving food—the scale of which is “unprecedented for our country,” he said.

An assessment will be made of Grand Bahama nearing the end of its previous two week lockdown to determine if an extension is necessary for that island.

That island’s lockdown is set to expire on August 7 at 5am.

PM imposes minimum two-week lockdown to fight surge from page one Exceptions include commercial banks, which will be permitted to provide service to the public until 1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He said accommodation will be made for international banks, trust companies and financial institutions to have a skeleton team in office on the same days.

Construction will be permitted to continue, due to the ongoing hurricane season, Monday through Friday, 7am to 5pm, and on Saturdays 7am to 1pm.

Hardware stores will have limited operations, with them only permitted to provide curbside services on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7am to 5pm.

“There will be no curbside and takeaway dining or retail, other than as mentioned for hardware stores,” Dr Minnis stressed.

Private medical facilities will be permitted to provide emergency medical care and immunisation services only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

All routine medical services are to be suspended, Dr Minnis said. Home healthcare workers certified by the Ministry of Health will be permitted to carry out their services, however.

Among other exceptions to the lockdown, essential commercial ports will be allowed to continue their respective services and caretakers will be permitted to maintain crops and animals.

While in person church services have been suspended, the religious community can still host livestream events “with no more than 10 people at the facility, to accommodate virtual services,” he said.

Funerals will be allowed, however they are still only permitted at the graveside with no more than five attendees, excluding the officiant and mortuary staff.

Dr Minnis said outdoor exercise will also be allowed in a person’s immediate neighbourhood from 6am to 9am.

There is no change in the travel policy as outlined in the most recent emergency powers order.

Dr Minnis delivered the sombre national address on Emancipation Day, hours after health officials briefed his government and members of

DR Hubert Minnis speaking yesterday. the official opposition at Cabinet. At times he sought to strike a hopeful tone, while acknowledging that COVID-19 fatigue had set in for many.

“We enter this lockdown together as one people, as a Bahamian community united in love and a shared desire to fight this deadly virus together until the battle is over,” he said.

“I know that a lockdown like this is the last thing we wanted as a country. I know the nation is hurting; that our economy is in a terrible state; that many businesspeople are struggling; that many workers are now unemployed; that families are scared; that many of us are afraid of catching the virus.

“I offer deep condolences to all those who have lost loved ones because of COVID-19. We are also praying for all of those ill in hospital or at home. Let me say to you as your prime minister and as someone who long ago took a solemn medical oath to save lives: I will and I must do all that is right and necessary to protect your life and those of your loved ones, neighbours and fellow citizens.

“We are taking the required and necessary measures to comprehensively battle COVID-19. I promise you, we can and we will rebuild our economy and our society. But what we cannot do is bring people back to life.

“So our first and foremost priority will always be to protect the lives of Bahamians and residents.”

He stressed that things will get better and a return

to normal will one day occur, once there is a vaccine.

Editorial View - Page 6

PAGE 4, Tuesday, August 4, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

MINNIS FLIES OVER BAHAMAS TO ASSESS IMPACT LESS than 24 hours after Hurricane Isaias passed over The Bahamas, the United States provided aircraft support so that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis could assess the damage and humanitarian needs of those in the storm’s wake.

Chargé d’Affaires Kevin O’Reilly accompanied Dr Minnis along with US Coast Guard District 7 Commander Rear Admiral Eric Jones. Desmond Bannister, minister of public works; Captain Stephen Russell,

director of the National Emergency Management Agency; and leader of the opposition, Philip Davis joined the overflight.

As Hurricane Isaias was still roaring over The Bahamas on August 1, the US Embassy was putting in place a plan to provide a US Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry so that the prime minister could fly over affected areas to assess the damage from the storm, a US Embassy press release noted. Based out of Air

Station Miami, the overflight went over Andros and the Berry Islands, before returning to New Providence due to prevailing weather conditions.

“The view was encouraging. There was minimal damage observed from the aircraft,” said Captain Russell in a separate release issued by Bahamas Information Services.

“Vegetation still looks intact. There were pockets of water inland and as expected the water along

the coast looked milky white due the storm surge.

“NEMA will coordinate with various ministries and departments to get technical officers into the areas to conduct a detailed damage assessment and needs analysis of the impacted areas during the week ahead,” he added. “And where necessary, relief and repair assistance will be provided for citizens and residents, accordingly.”

Once the reports are in from the teams, the public

THE PM boards the flight

will be apprised of the overall impact and the plan of action to assist those in need, Captain Russell said.

The first alert on a potential tropical storm was issued on Tuesday and after further development, it was named Tropical Storm Isaias on Wednesday and became a hurricane on Friday. It exited The Bahamas as a tropical storm on Sunday. Isaias is the ninth tropical storm and second hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

THE PREPARATION, impact and aftermarth of Isaias.

Photos: Donavan McIntosh and Patrick Hanna/BIS

STORM CAUSED MINIMAL DAMAGE ON GB

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama fared well overall as Isaias passed

near the island on Sunday downgraded as a tropical storm, causing only minimal damage and isolated flooding in some communities due to heavy rain.

Death Notice For

Clarice Sinclair Granger, O.B.E., 87 of West Bay Street, Nassau, The Bahamas, died at her residence on Tuesday, 28th July, 2020.

Mrs. Granger was predeceased by her husband, The Very Reverend William J. Granger, First Bahamian Dean of Nassau.

Relatives and friends may pay their respects at Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited, 19 Palmdale Avenue, Palmdale, on Wednesday 5th August, 2020, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

Power outages were reported in some areas because of downed poles and power lines, but electricity was restored by Sunday evening.

One of the communities that experienced some flooding was Smith’s Point, where the front yards of some residents were underwater.

Dwight Wilson, who lives on the back street in Smith’s Point, said rainwater covered his front yard and came as far as the front step. With Hurricane Dorian, he had water inside his house.

“We had a lot of water,” he said. “But this time the water only came as far as the step… it did not make it to the front door.”

Mr Wilson believes that more storm drains would prevent the settling of water on the back street, which is low-lying and prone to flooding.

“When they built the (new) seawall they put in some drains, but they put all the drains up on the front street where it is high and never floods. They put three drains on the back street down here; we need more drains, and we have been agitating for that even before they built the seawall.”

Peter Turnquest, MP for East Grand Bahama, was aware of isolated flooding in some communities, but was grateful that generally all communities “fared relatively well.”

“Yes, there was flooding in the (Smith’s Point) community,” Mr Turnquest said.

“We did have two drains that were drilled with the paving in the area. We will have this new flooding studies by the Ministry of Works to see if further drains will help. Unfortunately, that back street borders a wetland area.”

Mr Turnquest said the government will look to the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility to see if the country qualifies for any excess rainfall claims under its policy.

In the High Rock community, he reported that the front road was washed out again. “We will need to design a temporary solution to protect this infrastructure,” he said.

In terms of property damage, Mr Turnquest said: “We do have some reports of leaky roofs in some areas that have contributed to additional internal damage to some homes regrettably, but not widespread.”

The MP also noted: “We

lost the temporary clinic in High Rock, as well as some temporary church and living structures farther east, but no structural damage reported. Considering all that was at risk, we are grateful.”

Mr Turnquest was still awaiting an update on Sweeting’s Cay as of Monday due to disruption in cellular service.

The Tribune attempted to contact Chief Councillor for Sweeting’s Cay Gladstone Russell who could not be reached up to press time.

Further west in the communities of Mack Town, Hunters, and Pinder’s Point, there was no flooding or power outage, according to a resident.

“We fared pretty good,” said Hunters resident Jackie Russell. “There was no damage, and we had no flooding in Hunters, other than water that settled from the rain, but we had power throughout the storm.”

There was also no flooding at the Fishing Hole causeway, which connects Freeport and West Grand Bahama.

Christine Palacious, administrator for West Grand Bahama, reported only minimal damage in the area.

“We fared very well; we had minimal damage, just some down power lines and one or two poles that had broken. We had one incident where a tree fell on a resident’s house, but no damage was incurred there.”

In terms of flooding, there was nothing out of the ordinary, according to Ms Palacious.

“West End proper did very well. They were anticipating flooding, but the water actually went out, and we had some very rough seas on the southern side of Eight Mile Rock where the container port is. We did very well, and we thank God for that,” she said.

Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe, MP for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, was relieved that the community was spared.

“We are thankful to God that our community was spared. I do not think we could have taken another blow, in the midst of still recovering from Hurricane Dorian,” she said.

Officials will assist homeowners by referring them to the Disaster Reconstruction Authority, which is mandated to help with home repair for those eligible, she said.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 4, 2020, PAGE 5

NEMA CHIEF GRATEFUL ISAIAS SKIRTED COUNTRY

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net

THE director of the National Emergency Management Agency said Bahamians should thank God for small mercies after Hurricane Isaias skirted through the country without leaving any major damage in its wake.

Captain Stephen Russell said thankfully no injuries were reported and no lives were lost.

“We are all grateful for the outcome of the Category One storm as it passed through the entire archipelago,” Captain Russell said. “We had some challenges in certain areas,

and definitely down in the Acklins area there is extensive flooding in some areas.

Some settlements there are not passable because of the water level.

“In Grand Bahama they had extensive flooding throughout the island. We are grateful that no one reported (being) injured and there were no fatalities. I did an over pass with the prime minister and the team yesterday over the Andros area and Bimini, as best as we could approach, and the Berry Islands. We are generally pleased with what we saw from an aerial stand point. Likewise the reports we are getting from technical officers in the Ministry of Works

and Social Services — the islands fared well.”

Captain Russell warned that Bahamians should not drop their guards as the hurricane season is in no way over. He said residents should continue to prepare for any system that might hit the country.

“Again, we still have not approached the peak of the hurricane season yet,” he said. “So we still have to remain on guard and where we need to strengthen our systems, we need to go ahead and strengthen them and where persons have not been preparing, we urge them to rush to complete their preparedness because we never know what is ahead for us in this hurricane season. Generally I

think we should be grateful for small mercies that we have seen.”

Trevor Ferguson in Grand Bahama said that, in his opinion, flooding on that island was minor.

“Flooding was minor and mainly along the south coast,” Mr Ferguson explained. “The inland flooding was attributed to canals swelling and high tide. Most of the rain came last night after the storm began to move away.

“Grand Bahama Power kept the power on until about early morning yesterday then poof, almost island wide, it went out.

But, we understand it was due to difficulties related to work around damage from Dorian. The water

Locals left in the dark over why power had to be off for so long

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT ts-cartwright @tribunemedia.net

current conditions and New Providence sees sustained winds of 40 miles per hour.

“Should it prove necesBAHAMAS Power and sary and storm conditions Light has left some locals deteriorate, a second conin the dark about why their trolled shutdown will be power was shut off for executed, targeting floodmore than 30 hours in some prone areas. Once power is cases despite winds from cut, it will remain off until it Hurricane Isaias barely at is safe to reenergize,” BPL tropical storm levels as it announced on Friday. churned over the country.

While some communities BPL said teams are in New Providence reported on the ground work- never losing power during ing on restoration, the storm, others had power however, regeneration was restored between Saturday slow in coming in some and Sunday. However, up to areas. yesterday, pockets of New Hurricane Isaias made Providence still complained landfall on New Providence about a lack of electricity. late Friday as a Category 1 “My power has been off storm. over 30 hours this is ridicuBPL announced it would lous what would be the case begin a controlled shut if we actually experienced down in certain areas a stronger hurricane. BPL beginning Friday night “of you suck,” one person comcertain high-risk areas in plained on BPL’s Facebook the New Providence grid” page. only if Isaias maintains Another person wrote: “.

. .I haven’t seen any lines down (in my area).

But three days later is unacceptable. BPL really need to do better and return the power. What if this storm was (worse)? BPL you are not prepared at all to handle it. Please restore our power!”

A resident of Stapledon Gardens said: “My power went off around 7pm on Friday.

Absolutely no breeze was blowing at the time they shut us down. In fact this hurricane or tropical storm was in no way worthy of any utility shut down. We had to suffer in the heat for no reason for a whole 36 hours. My power was restored at 8.15am on Saturday. BPL has to do better.”

Minister of Works Desmond Bannister said while some in the public might think the hurricane’s winds were not strong enough to warrant power shut

company also shuts down when power is lost and this was also because of work from last year.”

Shawn Roberts in Sandy Point, Abaco, said while he had not heard about any major issues with other settlements, he can safely say that Sandy Point fared well during Hurricane Isaias.

“From my experience we had slight tropical storm breeze and heavy showers for a very short period,” Mr Roberts said. “Most of Saturday and Sunday we had good, enjoyable breeze.

There was no flooding, thank God. “I heard nothing. I don’t think we had the wind for it. I guess I am not 100 percent sure of other settlements although sounds like

everyone was okay, but as for us we were okay.”

Andros native Herbert Rolle said the island endured Hurricane Isaias with ease.

“I’m sure you heard the words, Andros Island is big and long,” Mr Rolle said. “I would say Andros Island is big and strong. We are built Ford tough and we endured that wimp Hurricane Isaias with ease on Andros.

We were expecting much worse, but with all seriousness, we are glad that it was not that strong and didn’t have much affect on us.”

Although no major damage was reported in New Providence, some people still did not have power restored to their homes up to press time.

HURRICANE Isaias impacts New Providence over the weekend.

Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS downs, the storm presented danger. “You may not think that the winds were very high, but New Providence registered sustained winds of 37mph, with highest gusts at 56 (mph). As a result of those winds, flying debris, lightning, rainfall and fallen trees, BPL has had numerous breaches in its lines.

“Many of these fallen trees were permitted to grow into lines by homeowners who did not prune them. Whenever there has been a storm, BPL must follow all lines for their entire length before they reconnect power in any area. If they do not do so, they can endanger lives and lead to tragic outcomes. It is important for you to educate your readers on this issue, since so many people appear to believe that BPL has a duty to cut their overgrown trees.”

BPL customers are not the only ones who are up in

arms about the power company. The Tribune spoke to an employee of BPL located in one of the Family Islands who said workers are disgruntled.

The BPL staffer, who asked not to be identified, said, “We are sick and tired of how management treats us at BPL. We, on the out islands, are usually given some supplies like food, etc, when there is a threat of storm traveling. This new general manager don’t know what he is doing.

Nothing was sent to us; like we are dogs. No instructions and no supplies. They owe us thousands of dollars in overtime pay and want to talk about report to duty in a hurricane. That’s why half of us were not interested in working during no hurricane. If they still owe us overtime, what say they will pay us for the hurricane duty?

“We stop being stupid!

We have really lost all confidence in BPL management. I think this general manager should step down. He doesn’t care about the staff and he does not know what he is doing. He doesn’t listen to anyone.”

Another BPL Family Island staffer, listening in on the conversation, said, “What she needs to ask is if BPL has a proper hurricane planning committee.

We buy all this millions of dollars of equipment and brag to the Bahamian population that there will be no more outages and now look at us. Staff getting paid late. Staff owed overtime and the power off. We need a new manager. Well as for me, I ain’t checking. I only doing what I can do. Is BPL any better than it was 10 years ago? Lights out!”

Editorial View - Page 6

PAGE 6, Tuesday, August 4, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

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

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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

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The battle for our lives THIS is the moment none of us wanted.

All through the fight against COVID19, there has been the discussion of how to balance the needs of health and the needs of the economy – and all the while that has been a false choice.

The proof of that is today, with Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis shutting the entire nation down for two weeks from 10 o’clock tonight.

The truth is that surging COVID19 cases will shut down the economy anyway. We have already seen in the past few days how businesses have needed to respond to isolated cases involving their establishments, shutting the doors, warning customers and instigating a deep cleanse. The more cases there were, the more those incidents were likely to happen.

Dr Minnis’ measure will be tough for all of us, but the soaring number of cases in The Bahamas has made it inevitable.

Yesterday saw 22 more cases on Grand Bahama and nine on New Providence – we’re not seeing new cases by the ones and twos anymore but by the tens and twenties.

So tonight begins the lockdown.

Bimini has been through it. Grand Bahama has been going through it. If they managed, then so can we.

We must. Dr Minnis warned last night that intensive care beds are near capacity – although only 22 remain hospitalised according to the daily dashboard. That raises concerns about what our present capacity for COVID19 beds is and how we can expand it.

He also said that health experts say the lockdown will allow the healthcare service to “reposition” itself to deal with the crisis better.

No one wants the lockdown. No one is secretly lobbying for a lockdown to make money. This hurts us all. The only reason to do it is to shut this virus down.

There will be questions we need to ask – such as what do we do about opening the country again after the lockdown and how we do it so that we don’t end up back here again.

But for now, we have to take our medicine.

Please, for all our sakes, follow the rules. Wear a mask. Wash your hands.

Keep your distance. Don’t go out unless you need to.

Kill this virus to save our nation.

Good grief, BPL FOR anyone familiar with the Peanuts cartoon, there is a recurring joke where the lead character, Charlie Brown, is asked by his friend Lucy to kick a football. Every time she promises not to pull the ball away at the last minute, and every time she does, leaving Charlie Brown missing his kick, soaring through the air and landing with a cry of “Aaugh!”

This weekend, the Bahamian public was Charlie Brown, Bahamas Power & Light was Lucy and a dependable power supply was the football.

Ahead of Hurricane Isaias arriving, BPL overpromised on its ability to keep

the power supply up. There was confident talk about the state of the network, and the company said it would carry out controlled shutdowns in high-risk areas only.

More than 36 hours after the passing of the storm, a number of customers were still out of power, which looks anything but a controlled shutdown.

People have had to throw away food from their refrigerators – just in time for a two-week lockdown that leaves them needing the food they’re throwing away.

So next time, BPL, don’t put the ball down in front of us and promise it won’t go away. Only promise what you can deliver.

Don’t expose others EDITOR, The Tribune Fifty people die, and it’s a hoax says Dr. Trump.

500 people die, and it’s a hoax says Dr. Trump.

1,000 people die, and it’s a hoax, says Dr. Trump.

After all, many more die of cancer.

Fifty thousand people die and it’s still a hoax, says Dr. Trump.

After all, many more die of heart attacks.

One hundred and fifty thousand people die and it’s still a hoax, says Dr. Trump.

The numbers are fake, he now says.

Yes, it must be a hoax because Dr. Trump says so.

So let us look at this.

Many do die from cancer and heart attacks.

Cancer is not contagious and the treatment is chemotherapy and radiation.

A heart attack is not contagious and the treatment is prescribed by a heart specialist.

Chickenpox is contagious and many years ago, the treatment was isolation.

COVID-19 is highly contagious and the way to stop spreading it is the wearing of masks, washing of hands, social distancing or isolation until an effective vaccine or treatment is developed.

If you were to have any

of these conditions, who would you take advice from, Dr. Trump or Dr. Fauci?

Dr. Trump would call it a hoax; Dr. Fauci would recommend whatever is necessary to cure the problem.

Dr Trump refuses to wear a mask or practice social distancing and proudly flaunts this.

He refuses to take the recommendations from the doctor in charge. Thus, he knowingly endangers the lives of innocent people.

There is a law in the United States that states that it is a crime if you knowingly transmit AIDS to another person, thus endangering his/her life.

Are Dr. Trump and his allies knowingly endangering the lives of other people by not wearing a mask or practising social distancing?

I’d say yes.

But people are a lot like sheep. You put a Ram in front of a thousand sheep and they’ll blindly follow him.

If the Ram has several screws loose and he leads the herd of sheep into a crowd of hungry wolves, they’ll follow him.

This goes on until another Ram, seeing what is happening, separates the herd and takes them in a

safer direction.

In my opinion the Ram is the President of the United States of America. He is the Leader of the free world, aliens like me included.

Our nations look up to him for guidance.

He says COVID-19 is a hoax, and so people refuse to wear masks or social distance, and they also go to the beach and have parties.

Is this lead Ram, the President of the Free World, committing a crime by knowingly leading the sheep of the Free World to sudden death?

This Ram has some screws loose, and to save all of us in the free world from sudden death, a new Ram must separate the herd!!

Doctors have said that until a vaccine or treatment is found, the only way to stop the spread of this virus is to wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, and practice social distancing.

For God’s sake, if you don’t care about yourself, respect others and don’t expose them to death by foolish actions.

Wear a mask, wash your hands, and practice social distancing. Please.

Former MP PIERRE DUPUCH Nassau, August 3, 2020

Enlightened integration EDITOR, The Tribune OWEN Arthur, the late former Prime Minister of Barbados, wanted everyone to know that once his feet were on the soil of any Caricom country, he was home.

Mr Arthur had the persona of a serious intellectual, passionate about Caribbean integration. His knowledge of, and fondness for, every nook and cranny in the Caribbean was legendary.

He loved Barbados but was especially fond of Jamaica where he met his wife. It is also where he was educated at the University of the West Indies and where he got his first serious job as an economist.

High on his list of favourite places was the Bahamas enamored was he with our territorial vastness and limitless potential.

So, it must have come as somewhat of a disappointment to watch us continually resist attempts at closer economic integration with the rest of Caricom.

Arthur often said that only two topics – West Indies cricket and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy -- get Caribbean people hot under the collar and that both were often driven by inaccurate information.

Arthur was an economist by profession and a regionalist by conviction.

He reasoned that so long as we continue to have 14 separate micro markets and economies in Caricom we will never be able to meet the challenge of economies of scale, greater productivity, enhanced profitability and reduced red tape.

He wanted the Bahamas to join the CSME but in attempting to win us over he met his most skeptical audience ever. Bahamians wanted nothing to do with it even though our economy, more so than others, is dependent upon imports.

And therein lies the problem. Too many of us know so little of the Caribbean and that which we know is often mis-information, at best.

While music from around the Caribbean is a staple at any decent Bahamian party, our knowledge of the region is painfully lacking and that must have driven Arthur to distraction.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net For the Caribbean integration experiment to be successful, leaders must seek to introduce Bahamians to our Caribbean cousins and they in turn must come to appreciate us as something more than the islands they fly-over en route to the United States.

That is not to say that we haven’t been integrating for decades. Policemen, nurses, doctors, lawyers and civil servants from Guyana on up to the Turks and Caicos have been here working shoulder-to-shoulder with us building our country, often with very little thanks.

The idea of integrating the Caribbean had its genesis in the UK in the 1950s.

The global independence movement was brewing, particularly in the British universities where many of the Commonwealth’s future leaders matriculated.

Founding father Sir Lynden Pindling had taken his leave from the University of London and returned home to enter politics.

The British Caribbean Federation Act of 1956 sought to establish a political union in the Caribbean.

Two years later the West Indies Federation was formed and pointedly the Bahamas was not invited.

The UBP never wanted anything to do with the Caribbean and went out of their way to distance us.

The Federation collapsed for a host of reasons but mostly because Jamaica withdrew when it became clear that the other leaders were not as keen on independence from Britain as was Jamaica.

Jamaicans, by referendum, demanded the exit.

In 1967, with the arrival of Pindling and the PLP government, the Bahamas went all in with the Caribbean. Pindling jousted with Hugh Shearer of Jamaica, Dr. Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, Forbes Burnham of Guyana and Errol Barrow of Barbados.

Together they laid the groundwork for the Caribbean Free Trade Association (Carifta). Pindling pushed a regional agenda that included the formation of the Caribbean Examinations Council even though

he never formally joined the Association, again fearing a backlash at home. By 1976 he had asked Dr Bernard Nottage to organize the Fifth Carifta Games in Nassau and its success launched us as a sporting power highly respected around the region.

The Bahamas played a key role in pushing for the establishment of Caricom to succeed Carifta. On August 1, 1973, less than one month after our independence, Caricom was born, although it would take 10 more years before the Bahamas officially joined.

Despite the fact that the revised Treaty which authorized the single market was signed in Nassau at a Heads of Government conference in 2001, we stubbornly refused to even consider it.

We gladly take part in the Caribbean Development Bank, the University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Law Institute, among others, some of us blissfully unaware that these are associated institutions of Caricom.

The more we come in contact with others in the Caribbean at a peopleto-people level the closer we will come to living out Owen Arthur’s dream.

Bahamas TV is regular fare on broadcast TV in Barbados, Jamaica and elsewhere. Soca music superstar Machel Montano came here for our carnival but left suitably impressed with junkanoo, our conch shell and cow bells.

This year he collaborated on a popular song called, “Conch Shell”. Other artists have added cow bells to their rhythm sections. Look for the goat skin drum to feature alongside the tassa in the future.

Sandals has done more than other corporate entities to embed Bahamian employees around its many resorts, allowing them to integrate.

With integration comes enlightenment and that is what will finally lead us to an informed debate on our future with the CSME. Then perhaps we will add a Bahamian addendum to Owen Arthur’s rich legacy.

THE GRADUATE Nassau August 3, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 4, 2020, PAGE 7

MITCHELL SORRY DAY NOT MARKED

No-one hurt as car flips over Police deny McAfee gun allegations

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net POLICE officials have denied allegations made

by Bitcoin millionaire John McAfee, who claimed he had bribed a Bahamian officer with $1,000 to secure his weapons back in 2018.

In a series of tweets over the weekend, Mr McAfee alleged he attempted to bring in 31 military firearms into the country.

A video was posted on his Twitter account of him speaking with several Bahamian law enforcement officers, who can be heard questioning Mr McAfee about the weapons found on his yacht.

In the nearly one-minute long video, a policeman informs Mr McAfee that he is only allowed to possess a certain amount of ammunition while in the country.

“What happen now is in the Bahamian law is that you’re allowed three weapons and 250 rounds of ammunition. That would be a handgun, a rifle and a shotgun,” the police officer says in the video.

However, in response, Mr McAfee makes damaging claims about bribing a police sergeant with $1,000 “to take care” of his guns.

“The police sergeant, I gave him $1,000 in cash. He took it gladly and he said to take care of my guns and he said ‘you got it,’” he says in the video.

In a statement released on Sunday in response to

A GRAB from the video the video, police said all officials had acted appropriately in the 2018 incident and noted that the weapons still remain in their custody.

Police also maintained that no cash was exchanged between Mr McAfee and “any of the Bahamian authorities” despite allegations saying otherwise.

“The police are aware of a video circulating on social media where police and customs officials conducted an inspection of a Caucasian male at Bimini during entry to The Bahamas in December 2018,” RBPF officials said in a statement on Sunday.

“Authorities informed the male that he had exceeded the amount of firearms allowed and seized six handguns, six shotguns, six rifles and a large quantity of assorted ammunition. The individual was granted a cruising permit and allowed to leave.

“The weapons remain in the custody of the

Bahamian authorities.

No cash was exchanged between the male and any of the Bahamian authorities. Both the Bahamas customs and police officers acted appropriated in this incident. The individual never returned to Bimini to collect his weapons and ammunition.”

Last year, Paul Rolle, who was acting deputy commissioner at the time, threatened to take action against Mr McAfee after he made several strong allegations about corruption in the US government and among Bahamian officials.

Mr McAfee, who is described on international news sites as a “fugitive of the law” for US tax evasion, named Commissioner Rolle and former Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commodore Tellis Bethel in his tweets.

In response, Commissioner Rolle said he planned to file a lawsuit as the tweets are potentially damaging to his reputation.

A CAR accident at Grosvenor Close Entrance at the Princess Margaret Hospital resulted in a vehicle being overturned and badly damaged Saturday evening, according to reports. Police officials could not confirm to The Tribune yesterday whether the driver or any potential passengers had been hurt. However, The Tribune was told that there no fatal car accidents that transpired over the weekend.

FORMER Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell lamented the lack of celebrations yesterday to mark the 186th anniversary of the end of legal slavery in The Bahamas.

“We continue to suffer the bitter legacy of racism and slavery these many centuries later,” Senator Mitchell said in a statement.

“It is a crying shame that our government is doing nothing to mark this occasion. It is certainly the first time in living memory that a government has neglected and ignored this day.”

He said the community of Fox Hill “will particularly miss this day,” saying the area residents “are denied the opportunity to publicly mark the day in the name of a health emergency.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a halt on large social gatherings and celebrations.

Mr Mitchell added: “However, while everyone appreciates the health emergency, something of a symbolic nature could have been done to mark the day if only a statement from the prime minister. Instead we have the sound of silence.

Today, we ask all Bahamians to say a special prayer to our ancestors for fighting the good fight with all their might to set us free. Parents tell your children the story.”

PAGE 8, Tuesday, August 4, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

ST Anne’s School is ready to introduce their new Cans for Kids bins BAHAMIANS throw away more than $1.5 million worth of aluminium cans each year – cans that could have been recycled and that could have brought money back into the country. With that amount of waste going into the landfill, being strewn across beaches, ending up in the sea and becoming litter on roadsides we have every reason to want to do something about it. Virginia “Ginny” McKinney has been doing something about it since 1998 – she has been turning those cans into useful cash for school kids. In turn, children are learning the importance and value of recycling, creating more sustainable habits for the adults of the future.

For Ginny, recycling is a passion and a way of life. She believes part of the answer to solving The Bahamas’ needs for sustainability and economic stability lies in a nationwide commitment to reduce waste and develop a culture of recycling.

“If everyone makes one small effort every day to recycle something, it will make a big difference,” Ginny explained.

“It’s the collective that makes the impact, but we all have to be willing to do our part every day. So many things we throw away can be reused. In this world of finite resources, we need to reduce our carbon footprint. Reduce emissions and recycle as much as possible instead of asking the Earth to give us more and more.”

By impressing these values in the minds of children, we stand a better chance of having a cleaner and greener future for planet Earth. When kids can make money for their education by being environmentally responsible, it gives them even more incentive to recycle.

The system has been working well across the Bahamas through the Cans for Kids programme. Ginny is a member of the Bahamas National Trust. One of her fellow members started encouraging BNT members to bring their cans to the Village Road retreat, to raise money for the kids.

But, the project became overwhelming and facilities there were not equipped for the load.

Initially, there was an attempt to set it up with

Ginny’s been peddling the recycling message for years - and it pays off the Bahamas National Pride Association, but it also did not have the capacity. Ginny, owner of Wastenot, was already in the recycling business. She decided to take on the project and 22 years later, it is still going strong. She made an investment and purchased a densifier to help compact the cans into briquettes. She then searched for a company to buy the crushed cans and found one in West Palm Beach, Florida, who turns them into new aluminium.

Schools got on board and teachers kept kids excited about keeping their schools clean, taking care of the environment and making money to buy supplies they need for programmes that matter to them. Coca Cola donates large sugar bags and Cans for Kids distributes them to various schools and associations. Once those bags are filled, a Cans for Kids driver collects them and takes them for weighing.

Schools and organisations earn 30 cents per pound and a cheque is issued every three months. The market price of aluminum can fluctuate between 20 and 65 cents per pound. Anything earned over the 30 cents is used to pay staff, operating costs, maintenance of the densifier and shipping and brokerage costs. Tropical Shipping and Coca Cola have been helping make the programme a success for years.

The three main goals of

Cans for Kids are to reduce the amount of solid waste that ends up as landfill, to enlighten the public on the long-term benefits of recycling and to raise funds for kids in the process. The hope is that the next generation of Bahamian children will make recycling commonplace, according to Ginny, who has been in the waste business for nearly 40 years.

“Wastenot has always been a home for Cans for Kids,” said Ginny.

“The machinery lives here. The personnel of Wastenot are also working for Cans for Kids. We now have a project manager, Lekeisha Thomas, and we are excited to get the word out and get everyone involved in recycling cans to invest in programmes that benefit kids. For the past five years, Cans for Kids has captured only two percent of our can consumption through participating schools, businesses and other youth programmes. The other $980,000 worth of cans end up in the landfill, threatening its long-tern ability to accept garbage, on our roadside creating a dirty appearance or in our ocean where they threaten sea life for 80 to 200 years.”

The world’s beer and soda consumption uses about 200 billion aluminium cans every year. This is 6,700 cans every second – enough to go around the planet every 17 hours. It takes more energy to mine

LEFT: Cans for Kids project manager Lekeisha Brown-Thomas presents Kai Bastian, along with his grandmother, with his award for collecting 3,000 cans; above: Stan the Can shows up at events to encourage kids to support Cans for Kids.

VIRGINIA “Ginny” McKinney, CEO of Wastenot and Cans for Kids and produce aluminium bauxite than any other metal. Producing aluminium from recycled cans takes much less energy than is needed to produce new aluminium.

Ginny wants to see her fellow Bahamians adopt recycling and environmental consciousness as a way of life: “Glass shouldn’t go into the landfill either.

Tires should be recycled, not thrown away. They can be used in road making, as adding them makes the roads last longer. The Ministry of Agriculture has chickens to donate. You could build a chicken coop and feed them all the vegetable clippings from your food preparation.”

During this COVID-19 pandemic when kids cannot collect cans together at school like they used to. So, Ginny is encouraging community leaders to take a stand and help the kids collect cans. Churches and businesses all could make it a point to separate their waste for this worthy cause. Cans can be dropped off at the Bahamas Humane Society, Ardastra Gardens, the Bahamas National Trust on Village Road, and the

New Providence Community Center on Blake Road.

Parents can help their children visit Cans for Kids on social media. St Thomas Moore School has managed to keep students collecting cans by hosting a competition, and Kai Bastian and his grandmother collected nearly 3,000 cans to win the competition.

Ginny has high hopes that the pandemic will not slow down the drive to clean up the Bahamas.

Maybe people will pay more attention to their environment with more time on their hands. It seems as if people are being forced back to a simpler time, one that reminds Ginny of her days growing up in the Bahamas when community and culture were bright, creating the pulse of Bahamian life.

She remembers a freer life, noting that the country was a vibrant, livelier place.

She loves her country and continues her passion to clean up her home, setting an example for her son and daughter, and now her 11-month-old grandson, with hopes that they will also be good custodians of this precious planet.

Aluminium cans can be recycled over and over as the material is not weakened or compromised by the process. Ninety-nine per cent of all beer cans and 95 per cent of all soda pop cans are made from aluminium. It takes only five per cent of the energy to recycle aluminium that it takes to produce it from Bauxite, its raw source! Aluminium cools more quickly than any other drink package, which cuts down on energy used by reducing refrigeration costs. It takes approximately 48,000 cans to produce one ton of recycled aluminium.

Cans for Kids has a limited number of indoor use receptacles suitable for a classroom, shed, garage, office lunch room or behind a bar or in a restaurant kitchen. These may be borrowed or purchased. If you would like to implement this programme at your school, workplace, residence or organisation, please contact Cans for Kids at www. cansforkidsbahamas.info, email cansforkidsbahamaislands@yahoo.com, or call 361-7510 or 812-CANS (2267).

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 4, 2020, PAGE 9

WHY THIS ‘NEW NORMAL’ MAY BE REPLACED BY THE ‘OLD NORMAL’ IN THE early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, many hoped it was a type of seasonal flu prevalent in northern Europe during winter that would die away during the warmer summer months. But it is now clear, of course, that this has not happened and, indeed, the virus may have entered a new deadly phase globally. So people have become resigned to the fact that it is not going to disappear of its own accord and the only hope is development of an effective vaccine.

In such circumstances, it is interesting to read what is being said in the international press about the ‘new normal’, a term that has become almost a cliché.

Nearly all agree the seriousness of the economic crises in different countries is unprecedented – in the case of Britain it is said the nation is facing the worst economic situation since 1825 when the Bank of England was on the brink of collapse.

No sensible person underestimates the threat of the virus and most people have a sort of primal fear of such disease on a huge scale. So they are generally willing to accept the need for measures like social distancing. But this is difficult in crowded office spaces. As a result, one of the most significant manifestations of such distancing is the current

The

Peter Young column HAVING written at length last week about its lack of impartiality, I hesitate to return to the subject of the BBC today. But it may be worth commenting on what could turn out to be a massive miscalculation on the part of the corporation, since many people depend on Britain’s renowned public broadcaster for reliable information as a trustworthy global news provider and they are interested in how it is faring.

At a time when the BBC is facing growing public hostility at home for its liberal bias, lack of impartiality and inadequate respect for diverse opinions, it beggars belief that it should have entered into a new separate battle over the payment of licence fees by the over75s. In fact, in the current climate when it is under threat from a still relatively new Conservative government to make a change to its special status as a public broadcaster with state funding, some are now saying it is hard to imagine a more provocative and, possibly, even self-destructive act by the BBC. As I mentioned briefly in last week’s article, a row has been brewing for a while about the existing system of free TV licences for those over 75 years old.

Responsibility for these had earlier been passed by a previous government to the BBC which has now finally scrapped them with effect from August 1.

This means some three million households - with possibly as many as half a million exemptions in respect of those receiving a type of welfare payment called pension credit - will have to pay for the first time an annual licensing fee equivalent to some $200 which represents about

one week’s payment of the state pension; and for those on low incomes it may not be easy to find this extra money.

While many in Britain may not be much concerned about issues like impartiality and lack of diversity of opinion, if a body like the BBC - which is the largest media organisation in the UK with an annual licensing income of nearly $5 billion - is seen to be exploiting pensioners to pay for budget gaps instead of seeking savings elsewhere, public anger knows no bounds. What is more, this was made worse when it became known the BBC’s principal football pundit is paid - to widespread incredulity - some $2 million a year. Many regard such a sum for commenting on football as unacceptable in the case of a body funded by the taxpayer even though the person concerned is a former England international and extremely well versed in the game. Meanwhile, the BBC’s Director General himself rakes in an annual salary of more than half a million dollars.

To some people, the BBC has become like the hydraheaded monster of Greek mythology – as soon as one part of it has been held accountable for something and has been sorted out, another issue crops up in a sprawling, over-staffed and excessively bureaucratic organisation that seems both to be out of control and out of touch with public opinion. How else could such a counterproductive policy for relatively little financial gain be countenanced when the BBC is losing viewers all the time to streaming services and is now seen to be turning against the elderly who constitute a major part of its core watchers and listeners.

widespread practice of office staff working from home where technology allows tasks to be carried out remotely. Reportedly, this has now become practically the norm in London and other large European cities.

But, of course, it means there is already a surfeit of unwanted office space, particularly in those new high-rise buildings that have been springing up in London during the last few years – and that means a reduced need for security guards and cleaners and for shops and services in the centre of the city, not to mention less demand for public transport.

An important benefit for

Moreover, it seems no account has been taken of the importance of television for this group. Much more than younger people, they have become isolated at home during the virus crisis and the TV set transmitting their favourite programmes has become a friend and companion and a lifeline to the outside world for an estimated 2.5 million over75s living alone.

As resentment is likely to grow in the coming weeks, some commentators now wonder whether the BBC will swallow its pride, do a U-turn and abandon this misguided policy. If not, it could turn out to be a spectacular own goal for an organisation whose public funding may no longer be considered appropriate in a digital media world where the broadcasting landscape has changed with the rise of Netflix and others that has triggered a decline in traditional

THE British Airways staff involved with the repatriation making it happen. I imagine the logistics were more likely to have been something of a nightmare than simply challenging. But she was full of praise for the cooperation and assistance she received from all concerned, including the Airport Authority, Nassau Flight Services, Immigration and Customs and the BA staff here in Nassau.

This strikes me as a good example of adapting to the unusual and the unexpected and getting things done in difficult circumstances.

Quite separately, it was equally encouraging to learn of a meeting on July 27 hosted by the Minister of Financial Services, Elsworth Johnson, to discuss an increase of trade between the UK and The Bahamas.

It is reported that the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement signed in London in 2019 will be ratified soon by The

plans to fill their city offices again until next year at the earliest - or even never - as more and more people will continue to work from home. However, I for one am sceptical about this. On the thesis that the familiar can be the enemy of the new, it is hard to believe cities will remain empty after the pandemic has passed. What’s the betting that once a vaccine is available – which, according to the latest reports, could be by early next year - there will be a general return to the ‘old normal’ despite all the bluster. Perhaps, after all, that ‘new normal’ which everyone refers to will disappear just like the virus that spawned it.

A staggering own goal which could cost the BBC dearly

BRITAIN IN A BETTER LIGHT IT IS always pleasant to be able to write in a positive vein so I am glad to draw attention to last week’s repatriation charter flight to London operated by British Airways. In all the disruption of recent months involving border closures, travel restrictions and flight cancellations it was encouraging to learn about this special flight.

Earlier, of course, after coronavirus lockdowns started from about March onwards, the UK government had organised special charter flights in various countries in the Caribbean to get thousands of British nationals home in difficult conditions.

Last week’s flight was organised by the Government of Cayman, where the flight started, the Philippines Government and the British High Commission here in Nassau. 75 British nationals and those of ten different countries travelled on the flight which later went on to Manila to take Filipino seafarers home.

When I asked British High Commissioner Sarah Dickson about the flight, she described the whole operation as logistically challenging. Reading between the lines, it became clear it was her initiative and that she and her staff were responsible for

those working from home is the avoidance of a long and expensive commute into city centres.

It could also signal a revival of shops in local towns since goods and services move to where the people are, even though internet shopping is obviously here to stay. Some say remote working would have happened anyway in the modern digital economy and that the office tower block will not survive because this new practice is both efficient and costeffective for businesses which can avoid having to maintain expensive offices in city centres.

Already, large companies and banks are saying they have no

Bahamas. This commits the UK to provide immediate duty-free and quota-free access to the UK market for Bahamian exporters, as negotiated in the original CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. It is significant because Bahamian exports to the UK in 2018 amounted to $8.7 million, making it The Bahamas’s fourth largest export market.

As for trade in the other direction, it has always seemed to me that UK exporters have tended to underestimate the importance of the Bahamian market despite the country being the wealthiest in the region. So it was good news, indeed, that this meeting took place and that both governments will now be considering the provision of new support to the private sector with the aim of strengthening economic ties for mutual benefit.

TV viewing. That said, the BBC strongly defends its position as an independent broadcaster responsible for managing its own finances and takes exception to interference by the government.

Ultimately, however, the government has the power to end the BBC’s special status as a public broadcaster and to scrap the licence fee altogether. At present, this is payable by all British households, companies and organisations using any sort of equipment to receive or record live TV broadcasts. There are, of course, a range of other issues to consider before any changes might be made, but today’s Tory government has taken a strong stance in relation to the BBC which ultimately could even become a subscription-based competitor to Netflix - and such a development is not entirely fanciful though it is surely

BRITAIN’S PM Boris Johnson well down the road if it happens at all.

Be that as it may, many believe the BBC’s original ethos has been lost and the signs are the public wants it to be more accountable as an organisation. It has become too market-oriented and, as a publicly funded broadcaster, it should not be competing with private sector companies for ratings.

Perhaps the bosses at the BBC should be wary of criticism by no less a figure than Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself about the ending of free licences for the over-75s. His spokesperson was quoted as saying recently: ‘This is the wrong decision. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe they should be funded by the BBC’.

Whether Mr Johnson goes ahead with a shake-up of the BBC remains to be seen. But, at the very least, what he surely ought to do without delay is to decriminalise non-payment of the licence fee so that the BBC would have to take civil action to chase delinquent payers. One Tory MP is on record as saying that in the current atmosphere there would be a huge public backlash if over-75s were hauled before the courts or even sent to prison for failing to pay up.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, August 4, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

SPAIN’S FORMER KING JUAN CARLOS FLEES AMID CORRUPTION SCANDAL LISBON Associated Press

SPAIN’S former monarch, Juan Carlos I, is leaving Spain to live in another, unspecified, country amid a financial scandal, according to a letter published on the royal family’s website.

The letter from Juan Carlos to his son, King Felipe VI, said: “I am informing you of my considered decision to move, during this period, out of Spain.”

Juan Carlos, in the letter, said he made the decision against the backdrop of “public repercussions of certain episodes of my past private life.”

He said he wanted to ensure he doesn’t make his son’s role difficult, adding that “my legacy, and my own dignity, demand that it should be so.” Juan Carlos’ current whereabouts are not known.

Spain’s prime minister recently said he found the developments about Juan Carlos “disturbing.”

Since Spain’s Supreme Court opened its probe earlier this year, Spanish media outlets have published damaging testimony from a separate Swiss investigation into millions of dollars that were allegedly given to Juan Carlos

by Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah.

Juan Carlos allegedly then

transferred a large amount to a former companion in what investigators are considering as a possible attempt to hide the money from authorities. The companion, Corinna Larsen, is a Danish-German businesswoman long linked by Spanish media to the former king. Spanish prosecutors have asked her to provide testimony in the case in September in Madrid.

The 82-year-old former king is credited with helping Spain peacefully restore democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

But marred by scandals in the later years of his reign, Juan

JUAN CARLOS I

Carlos in 2014 abdicated in favor of his son Felipe VI, losing the immunity from prosecution Spain’s Constitution grants to the head of state.

After media reports claimed Felipe was a beneficiary of an offshore account holding an alleged $76 million gift from Saudi Arabia to Juan Carlos, Felipe renounced any future personal inheritance he might receive from the former king. Felipe also stripped his father of his annual stipend of $228,000.

The royal house has denied that Felipe had any knowledge of his father’s alleged financial irregularities.

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK HITS NORWAY CRUISE SHIP COPENHAGEN, Denmark Associated Press

A SHOP owner finishes boarding up the entrance to his business in North Carolina yesterday as Isaias approaches

Shops closed as Isaias nears the Carolinas Associated Press

COASTAL shops and restaurants closed early, power began to flicker at oceanfront hotels and even the most adventurous of beachgoers abandoned the sand last night as newly restrengthened Hurricane Isaias sped toward the Carolinas.

The US National Hurricane Center warned oceanside home dwellers to brace for storm surge up to 5 feet and up to 8 inches of rain in spots, as Isaias moved up the coast. The Carolinas weren’t the only states at risk.

“All those rains could produce flash flooding across portions of the

P O S I T I O N

eastern Carolinas and mid-Atlantic, and even in the northeast US,” said Daniel Brown, senior hurricane specialist at the US National Hurricane Center.

A tropical storm warning extended all the way up to Maine, where flash flooding was possible in some areas on Wednesday.

Isaias was upgraded again from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane at 8pm EDT. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 85 miles and was centered about 60 miles south of Myrtle Beach. It was moving northeast at 16 mph.

Isaias killed two people in the Caribbean and roughed up The Bahamas

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but remained at sea as it brushed past Florida over the weekend, providing some welcome relief to emergency managers who had to accommodate maskwearing evacuees in storm shelters. The center of Isaias remained well offshore as it passed Georgia’s coast yesterday.

President Donald Trump yesterday described Isaias as “very serious.”

“Storm surge and inland flooding are possible and everyone needs to remain vigilant until it passes,” Trump said.

Authorities in Myrtle Beach ordered swimmers out of the water to avoid rough surf and strong rip currents.

By nightfall, power began to flicker at beachfront hotels as Isaias crossed the last bit of warm water on its path toward the U.S. mainland.

Officials in frequently flooded Charleston, South Carolina, handed out

sandbags and opened parking garages so residents on the low-lying peninsula could stow their cars above ground. Forecasters had warned earlier of possible major flooding, but the storm passed faster than expected and only about a dozen streets were flooded.

Farther up the coast into North Carolina, the hurricane center predicted storm surges of 3 to 5 feet when Isaias moves onshore.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper warned residents that the storm could be dangerous regardless of its strength. He urged those evacuating to turn to shelters as a last resort, citing coronavirus risks and the need to operate shelters at reduced capacity to allow for social distancing.

“Whether it’s labelled a tropical storm or a hurricane, you should take this storm seriously, and make sure your family is ready,” Cooper said.

Ferry operators wrapped up evacuations from Ocracoke Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks yesterday, moving more than 3,500 people and 1,700 vehicles off the island over four days. Island officials were taking no chances after taking a beating less than a year ago from Hurricane Dorian. Evacuation orders also have been issued for Hatteras Island north of Ocracoke.

Since forming last week, Isaias has been buffeted by competing forces both trying to kill and strengthen it, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.

“Of all the places it could be, it found the warmest water it could,” which fuels storm development, McNoldy said. “And yet it is struggling.”

That’s because dry air kept working its way into the storm at low and midlevels, which chokes storms.

A NORWEGIAN cruise ship line halted all trips and apologised yesterday for procedural errors after a coronavirus outbreak on one ship infected at least five passengers and 36 crew.

Health authorities fear the ship also could have spread the virus to dozens of towns and villages along Norway’s western coast.

The confirmed virus cases from the MS Roald Amundsen raise new questions about safety on all cruise ships during a pandemic even as the devastated cruise ship industry is pressing to resume sailings after chaotically shutting down in March. In response to the outbreak, Norway yesterday closed its ports to cruise ships for two weeks. The Hurtigruten cruise line was one of the first companies to resume sailing during the pandemic, starting cruises to Norway out of northern Germany in June with a single ship, then adding cruises in July to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.

The 41 people on the MS Roald Amundsen who tested positive have been admitted to the University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsoe, north of the Arctic Circle, where the ship currently is docked.

The cruise line said it suspended the ship and two others — the MS Fridtjof Nansen and the MS Spitsbergen — from operating for an indefinite period.

“A preliminary evaluation shows that there has been a failure in several of our internal procedures,” Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam said in a statement. He added the company that sails along Norway’s picturesque coast between Bergen in the south and Kirkenes in the north is “now in the process of a full review of all procedures”.

Police in Norway are opening an investigation to find out whether any laws had been broken.

WOMEN HURT

BY HUMPBACK

PERTH, Australia Associated Press

TWO women have been injured by a humpback whale while swimming with the giant mammals off the northwest Australian coast.

A 15-metre mother whale was protecting her calf when she swam at a group of snorkelers and swung her tail at Ningaloo Reef near the town of Exmouth on Saturday.

A 29-year-old woman was struck by the tail and sustained fractured ribs and internal bleeding.

She and was flown to a Perth hospital on Sunday and remained in a serious but stable condition, the WAtoday website reported.

The second swimmer was struck by the same whale’s pectoral fin, which tore the swimmer’s hamstring.

The Western Australian state government licenses tour operators and sets conditions including keeping swimmers a safe distance from whales that they observe.

SPORTS SECTION E

TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2020

SEE PAGE 14

AYTON AND SUNS OFF TO HOT START, ‘BUDDY’ AND KINGS STRUGGLE

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

D

eandre Ayton got his Phoenix Suns off to a hot start while “Buddy” Hield and the Sacramento Kings struggled early on the opening weekend of the NBA restart in Orlando, Florida.

The Suns are off to a 2-0 start at the NBA clean site after coming in with the worst record among Western Conference teams in Orlando, while the Kings are on the opposite end of the spectrum winless at 0-2 thus far.

The Suns are now 28-39, 0.5 game behind the Kings at 28-38.

Both teams return to the court tomorrow when the Suns take on the LA Clippers at 4pm and the Kings face the Dallas Mavericks at 2pm.

Ayton played just 21 foul plagued minutes and finished with

seven points and eight rebounds in the Suns’ 117-115 win over the Mavericks Sunday night.

“It was a great look for us to see what we’ve got, see what we can be. Us trying our best to see where we end up, trying to compete every game. We’re just going to go game by game, not settling for mediocre,” Ayton said.

Despite the loss, the Mavericks clinched a playoff spot with the Memphis Grizzlies loss to the San Antonio Spurs. It will be their first postseason appearance since 2016.

In game one, Ayton finished with a double double - 24 points, 12 rebounds - and made the first official three-point field goals of his career in a regular season game. He shot an efficient 11-14 from the field and 2-3 from threepoint range.

“Like I just told them, this is what I wanted to experience in

this bubble was something like this where we just had our backs against the wall and across the board we got efforts from everybody,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said. “I was just wanting them to experience something like that so we can grow as a team.”

The Kings suffered a lopsided 132-116 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Hield went for 12 points on 5-13 shooting from the field and 2-7 from three-point range. He also added five assists in 20 minutes but also committed three turnovers.

The Kings suffered a 129-120 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in their Orlando opener on Friday.

He scored just six points on 2-13 shooting from the field, 1-8 from the field three while adding four rebounds, an assist and a steal in 20 minutes off the bench. “We’re in uncharted territory right now,”

Kings head coach Luke Walton said following the loss.

“The season stopped, we’re in a bubble, we played in this highenergy, high-intensity opening game that both teams need. We end up coming out on the losing side of it. And like a team that isn’t there yet, hasn’t made it, doesn’t know what that’s like, as far as experience, now you’ve lost this big anticipated game and now you have a letdown.”

As the Kings search for answers, Walton also told reporters that the starting lineup and rotation would be revisited. “We’ll look at it, as soon as I get back to the hotel and I get into the film,” he said. “That was disappointing. Disappointing to say the least.”

In the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, the No.8 Grizzlies are 32-35. Prior to Monday night’s games, the five teams behind

- the Spurs (29-36), Trail Blazers (30-38), Pelicans (28-38), Kings (28-38) and Suns (28-39) are within two wins of each other.

If the No.9 seed is more than four games behind the No.8 seed, No. 8 will make the playoffs. If they are fewer than four games behind, the teams will compete in a play-in tournament for the final spot.

The Suns go on to face the Indiana Pacers (August 6), Miami Heat (August 8), Oklahoma City Thunder (August 10), Philadelphia 76ers (August 11) and the Mavericks for a second time (August 13).

The remainder of the Kings’ schedule includes matchups against the New Orleans Pelicans (August 6), Brooklyn Nets (August 7), Houston Rockets (August 9), Pelicans (August 11), and Los Angeles Lakers (August 13).

Lakers beat Jazz, clinch top seed in West LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Anthony Davis had 42 points and 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs by beating the Utah Jazz 116108 last night.

The Lakers (51-15) own a six-game lead over the second-place Los Angeles Clippers and have five seeding games let before starting their first playoff run since 2013. Utah (4225) has clinched a playoff berth and is fifth in the West, a half-game behind Houston and a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City.

Davis’ final basket resulted in a 4-point play

with 42 seconds left, as he sank a 3-pointer while getting fouled by Rudy Gobert and made the ensuing free throw to give the Lakers a 114-104 lead.

Utah’s Donovan Mitchell answered with a 4-point play of his own that cut the margin to 114-106 with 36 seconds remaining, but the Jazz couldn’t get any closer.

Davis made two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to wrap up the scoring.

LeBron James scored 22 points, Dwight Howard had 11 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 10 for the Lakers.

Mitchell scored 33 and Mike Conley had 24 for Utah. Gobert added 16

points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.

The Lakers were coming off a 107-102 loss to Toronto in which Davis shot just 2 of 7 and scored 14 points. Davis was much more active Monday right from the start, as he scored 13 points and shot 6 of 14 in the first quarter alone.

Davis had 24 points by halftime, marking the 20th time this season he’s scored at least 20 points in a half.

Utah stayed close and only trailed 58-56 at halftime because it got its own stellar start from Mitchell, who scored 21 points in the first two periods.

Mitchell then connected on a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0

run by Utah to open the second half.

But the Jazz got increasingly careless with the basketball as the third quarter progressed, enabling the Lakers to seize control of the game. The Lakers scored 14 straight points and went on a 19-2 run late in the third quarter.

Even after Utah’s Emmanuel Mudiay snapped that run by hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer, the Jazz still trailed 86-76 heading into the final period.

The Lakers stayed in front the rest of the way.

TIP-INS Lakers: The Lakers had shot below 40 per cent in

each of their first two games since the restart. “Our shooters haven’t shown up yet,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said before the game.

“That’s the only thing.

We’re playing really good basketball. We’re playing extra-pass basketball.

We just had a couple poor shooting nights.”

Jazz: Utah was swept by the Lakers in the regular season. The Jazz lost to the Lakers 95-86 at Los Angeles on October 25 and 121-96 at Utah December 4.

a T-shirt with the message 8:46, the amount of time prosecutors initially said a Minneapolis police officer had a knee on George Floyd’s neck before Floyd’s death on May 25.

Although prosecutors later said Derek Chauvin’s knee was actually on Floyd’s neck for 7:46, the 8:46 figure has become a major symbol in the protest movement that followed Floyd’s death, with some demonstrations including periods of silence that last that length of time.

MAKING A STATEMENT ESPN cameras showed James arrived at the arena before the game wearing

UP NEXT Lakers: Face Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Jazz: Face Memphis on Wednesday.

Phenom Challenge: Bahamian 1-2 punch helps Defenders shine

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamian 1-2 punch of Deyton Albury and Garreth Edgecombe helped the Defenders 2020 to split their four games at the Phenom Challenge over the weekend in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

The team, with Bahamian Jamal Smith as an assistant coach, played out of pool E where they finished with a 2-2 win-loss record in the four games they played at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.

In their opener on Friday, they lost 79-76 to the Charlotte Royals 2021. They came back on Saturday to win their double header, 99-87 over Team Synergy 2021 and 73-70 in overtime against Team Durham 2021 before they fell 84-71 to the TLBA 2022 in their finale on Sunday.

Smith, who formerly coached both Albury and Edgecombe, both 18 years old, when they

played for the Temple Christian Suns, said both players played extremely well despite encountering some minor injuries.

Edgecombe, a 6-foot, 3-inch forward, had a left elbow injury in their second game, while Albury, a 6-2 guard, went down with an right ankle injury in their last game.

“The competition level was definitely higher than the previous week,” Smith said. “In the first game, I felt we didn’t match the energy of our opponents, but in the next two games, we stepped it up.

“Overall, with their performances, I would say that each and every game they got better with their performances. The work that they are putting in during practice and watching and studying the films is paying off. The work they do on their own to manage their presence on the court has helped them tremendously.”

Albury, producing his best game with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, said this was probably the

toughest tournament they played in so far. “It was a good weekend.

We had a lot of exposure and stuff like that,” said Albury, who just recently graduated from Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas where he starred in basketball and football after he left Temple Christian two years ago.

“Most of the division one players were around my position so it was good to match up against them. Although you are playing against them, it’s still good to learn from them and what to do in certain situations when you get to the division one level.”

In his best game where he came up with 10 points in their second game as well, when he suffered the injury, Edgecombe said if he hadn’t suffered the injury, he could have done better.

“I still felt we did good even though we both had some injuries that held us back from performing 100 per cent,” said Edgecombe, a graduate of Galilee Academy.

“Although we pushed through it, I felt we did very good. I feel

like the most we play as a team, the better we get. We have one more tournament coming up, so I feel like the way we are playing, we should do very well.”

The Defenders, who have been playing in the AAU Tournaments since July, will have this week off before they play in their final showcase next weekend in the Big Shots Summer Classic in South Carolina.

“The following weekend, schools are expected to open so you will see a lot of these players for the final time next weekend as they prepare to transit to their respective schools,” Smith said.

“So I expect this to be a very competitive event that will be watched by a number of collegiate coaches from division one and two as well as junior colleges. I believe the recruitment for both Deyton and Garrett will just shoot off.”

Smith said Albury has already received offers from three division one schools, but they are still looking at all of their options as to where he will end up in 2021 after

he plays, along with Edgecombe, in a prep college programme this year.

As for the protocol measures taken for the coronavirus, Edgecombe said he’s pleased with the way the organisers have ensured their safety. “They are taking precautions by marking out where people can sit, they make sure everybody has on their masks and they sanitise all of the doors,” he said. “I feel very secure with the measures they are using.”

And Albury agreed that the protocol measures are strictly adhered to. “After every game, we have to sanitise our hands and we have to walk around with our masks on,” he stated. “After games, you don’t get to handshake anymore, so that is something too that we have to deal with.”

Both noted that they are living out their dreams of playing basketball, even if it is under some adverse conditions in the new norm as sports slowly makes it way back after taking a break in March due to Covid-19.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 4, 2020, PAGE 13

TWO RAIDERS OPT OUT OF NFL SEASON (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders defensive back D.J. Killings and defensive end Jeremiah Valoaga have chosen to opt out of the 2020 season over concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Raiders announced the decision yesterday.

They are the first two Raiders to choose to sit out this season because of the coronavirus.

Killings has spent time on practice squads in Indianapolis and Green Bay but hasn’t played in a game.

Valoaga has played 13 games for Detroit and San Francisco.

MEMBERS of the St Louis Cardinals wait to be introduced before the start of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in St Louis on July 24. The Cardinals’ 4-game series against the Detroit Tigers was postponed yesterday after more Cardinals players and staffers tested positive for COVD-19. The series was to have been played in Detroit from today through Thursday.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

St Louis series at Detroit off after positive Cardinals tests NEW YORK (AP) — Seven St Louis Cardinals players and six staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, causing Major League Baseball to postpone the team’s four-game series at Detroit.

The series was to have been played at Comerica Park from today through Thursday.

“You think about how quickly something like this can spread,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. “Until it touches you, you sometimes might not believe it, but needless to say we know this is very real and we know it moves quickly and it moves silently, but it can infect a lot of people fast.”

Mozeliak said that five of those who tested positive did not show symptoms. Mozeliak said the others did — headaches, cough,

sniffles, low-grade fever. “And of those eight, it’s a variety of symptoms but nothing at this point requiring anything like hospitalisation,’ Mozeliak said.

St Louis has been in quarantine since Thursday in Milwaukee, where the Cardinals’ last series was also postponed due to positive tests.

While all the members of the Cardinals’ travelling party who tested positive have been returned home, the rest of them remain isolated in their Milwaukee hotel rooms. The team is being tested daily. “The hope would be to travel back to St Louis Wednesday morning, work out Wednesday afternoon and allow players to get their feet moving again, their bodies moving again,” Mozeliak said. “And then on Thursday have

a more robust workout and then play Friday.”

St Louis last played July 29 at Minnesota and is tentatively set to resume its schedule this Friday at home against the Chicago Cubs.

Mozeliak said he wasn’t sure how the team might reschedule some of these games that have been wiped out with two series getting postponed.

“I haven’t really even thought about our schedule much other than hopefully playing Friday,” Mozeliak said. “It’s hard to think about the future when you’re literally trying to just get through the day.”

The Cardinals are the second team sidelined by the novel coronavirus since the season started July 23. The Miami Marlins are set to resume play Tuesday in

Baltimore following an outbreak in their travelling party that sidelined half the players. Miami has not played since July 26.

Because the outbreak occurred in the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies were sidelined for a week while they were tested daily.

In another virus development, the Field of Dreams game in Iowa was postponed until 2021. The game at a new ballpark on the cornfield adjacent to the site of the 1989 movie had been planned for August 13 in Dyersville.

The White Sox originally were to host the New York Yankees, who were replaced by St Louis because of MLB’s new schedule.

The White Sox will be one of the teams next year. The opponent has not been determined.

ON FOOTBALL: OPT OUTS SHOULD NOT HAVE DOUBTS OR A DEADLINE

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer WHAT seemed like a simple enough process of players deciding whether to skip the 2020 NFL season due to the coronavirus pandemic has turned into a major story.

It’s a story that will affect team makeups and, perhaps, the relative peace the clubs and players’ union had reached.

The latest contentiousness has been over the deadline for opt outs. It originally was Monday, but pending signing of the changes to the labour agreement the NFL and the NFL Players Association reached to get training camps opened. Otherwise, the deadline would be pushed back to seven days after the agreement became official.

That hasn’t occurred yet, and star Patriots safety Devin McCourty accused the league of playing games with the deadline, targeting it for Wednesday.

“I think it’s an absolute joke that the NFL is changing the opt-out period, mainly because they don’t want to continue to see guys opt out,” he said.

“I’m sure they’re shocked about how many guys have opted out. But it’s the same thing when we sign a (collective bargaining agreement), sometimes some of those things that we think are good sometimes backfire.

“So to act like guys are making a decision based on something other than virtual meetings is a joke. But I think it’s something that we go through as players, and when players understand how much power we have, we’ve seen things change. Primarily on this deal with the COVID-19

and trying to get everything back we saw some of that strength.”

Thus far, nearly four dozen players have decided to skip the upcoming season, with New England far and away impacted the most with eight opt outs. The theory that Bill Belichick can plug in players and win will be tested severely with so many Patriots walking away for 2020, including starting linebacker Dont’a Hightower, safety Patrick Chung and tackle Marcus Cannon.

Other teams facing huge challenges are the Super Bowl champion Chiefs without running back Damien Williams and guard Laurence Duvernay-Tardif; the Jets with linebacker C.J. Mosley declining to play; the Broncos minus tackle Ja’Wuan James and defensive tackle Kyle Peko; and the Eagles without newcomer WR Marquise Goodwin, who was expected to provide a significant downfield boost.

But this should not be about roster deletions; it’s about health and safety.

For players and their families. For coaches — two have tested positive for COVID-19, Sean Payton of New Orleans in March, Doug Pederson of Philadelphia this week — and trainers and all other team personnel.

While it’s understandable that team management seeks to know who will be on hand for the season, it also needs to recognise that in such a volatile health environment, opting out ought to be a consideration at any time.

Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark admits he’s surprised at how many players are passing on 2020. Although he is not

considering it, he understands why the number of NFL opts outs surpasses the total for Major League Baseball, the NHL and NBA combined.

“It’s a lot of players opting out,” Clark says.

“You go back and you think about it, everybody is going through different things.

“I know a lot of guys have kids and all that kind of stuff. I don’t know how that feels yet, I don’t have any kids. My family, they’re pretty healthy. A lot of guys are just living in different situations. They got a lot of people living with them and they don’t want to bring that stuff to their kids and to their loved ones. I totally understand that.

“That’s just the crazy part about it. You just don’t know, man. You don’t know what somebody else is going through.”

What all sports are going through, from those that have had successful restarts such as NASCAR and the PGA Tour to the struggles of MLB, is an unprecedented level of uncertainty.

Pro football is at the very beginning of a journey whose outcome in some ways is dependent on forces it can’t control.

And no coach or player can ever be comfortable with that.

Given the requirements of the sport, then, as well as the unpredictability of the coronavirus, should there even be an opt-out deadline?

Rams coach Sean McVay notes the “different approaches” for each player, and the need for each team to “have that clear, open and honest dialogue with those guys.”

He’s correct — that’s essential.

“A lot of these guys that you’ve seen opt out, their family and things like that, those are things you would never question,” McVay says. “It’s about putting your arm around guys.

And in a lot of instances, it’s about being empathetic

and understanding and making sure they know we support them. “I also think it’s our job to provide them with the right resources and the right information to make an educated decision based on all the medical parameters.”

• The Northwestern football team has paused workouts after a player tested positive for COVID-19.

The player is isolating and several teammates are quarantining, the school said yesterday. The team’s most recent workout was Friday. The next one will be Wednesday at the earliest.

Northwestern went 3-9 overall last season and 1-8 in conference play to finish last in the Big Ten West.

• The Raiders will play their first season in Las Vegas without any fans at their home games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team sent a letter to season ticket holders yesterday saying that after discussion with health care officials and local leaders, the decision was made not to allow fans.

Officials last week declared “substantial completion” of 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium after nearly 1,000 days were spent building the $2 billion home for the Raiders.

PAGE 14, Tuesday, August 4, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Thomas holds off Koepka to win WGC in Memphis, reclaim No. 1

By TERESA M WALKER AP Sports Writer MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Justin Thomas wants to make his second stint as No. 1 in the world last longer than the first time around.

“I hope so,” Thomas said Sunday after winning the FedEx St Jude Invitational to take the No. 1 spot for the first time since June 2018. “I feel like I’m a better player, and I feel like I’m more complete of a golfer now than I was then.”

Thomas duelled defending champion Brooks Koepka down the final holes, sealing the World Golf Championship victory on the par-5 16th. Thomas took the lead for good with his second straight birdie, while Koepka bogeyed the hole.

Koepka pulled within a stroke with a 39-footer for birdie on No. 17. But Koepka put his tee shot into the water along the 18th fairway on his way to double bogey, allowing Thomas to finish up an easy par putt for what wound up a three-stroke victory.

Thomas closed with a 5-under 66 to finish at 13-under 267 and take the $1.8 million winner’s check from the $10.5 million purse for his 13th PGA Tour title. At 27, he became the third-youngest player since 1960 to reach 13 PGA Tour wins, trailing only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a good career so far, but I plan on playing out here for a long time and have a lot of things that I still want to accomplish,” Thomas said.

“And every milestone and steppingstone is hopefully something that I can learn from and something that will help me even more in the long run.”

One sign of Thomas’ growth was this was the fifth time he rallied to win, and he matched his biggest comeback after starting the day four strokes back of third-round leader Brendon Todd. Thomas has three wins this season, two since the start of the year.

The last time Thomas was No. 1, he spent four weeks at the top of the ranking. He will supplant Jon

NHL: ZERO POSITIVE CORONAVIRUS TEST RESULTS (AP) — The National Hockey League says there have been zero positive coronavirus test results since 24 teams entered quarantined bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta.

The league announced it had administered more than 7,000 tests to players, coaches, staff and officials over the past week. Teams with 52-member travelling parties entered the bubbles July 26.

There were also zero positives the previous week when teams were still in their home cities for training camp.

JUSTIN Thomas holds the trophy after winning the World Golf Championship-FedEx St Jude Invitational on Sunday.

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Rahm, who became No. 1 after winning at Memorial two weeks ago and tied for 52nd this week.

Koepka will go to TPC Harding Park in San Francisco looking to defend his PGA championship title, and he said he’s feeling good about how he’s playing. He finished with a 69 and tied for second with Phil Mickelson (67), Daniel Berger (65) and Tom Lewis (66).

“I thought I hit a good chip on 16,” Koepka said. “I don’t know what it did. Then another minute I thought it was in for another second. So to make bogey there was disappointing. Obviously drained a big one on 17, and then you’re down one. You’ve got to take an aggressive line on 18, so it is what it is.”

Thomas had Jim “Bones” Mackay on his bag, playing in the same group with Mickelson for the first time since Mickelson split with his longtime caddie. Mackay was a late fill-in for Thomas’ usual caddie, Jimmy Johnson.

“I feel like he knows enough about my game to where he can contribute and be a help, and he was,” Thomas said about Mackay.

Thomas made up the deficit with four birdies on the front nine and just missed another birdie chance on No. 8. His 20-footer on No. 9 tied Todd at 12 under.

Todd, whose putting had carried him through the first three rounds, three-putted for bogey from 23 feet on the par-3 eighth, leaving Thomas alone atop the leaderboard.

Thomas put his second on the par-4 12th into a greenside bunker near the back edge and chopped it out to the rough. He chipped out from an awkward stance to salvage bogey.

That created a five-way tie at 11 under with Koepka, Berger, Lewis and Todd.

Koepka took the lead to himself on the par-4 13th. He hit his approach from 133 yards to 10 feet of the pin, and Koepka sunk

the putt for his third birdie of the round to go to 12 under.

After hitting his tee shot 321 yards to the rough 51 yards short of the hole on No. 15, Thomas hit to 6 feet for a birdie, tying Koepka at 12 under with three to play. Thomas found the rough far right of the cart path on the par-5 16th, then hit his third from the left rough 65 yards to 3 feet for his second straight birdie.

Koepka, in the group behind Thomas, tried to answer 42 yards from the hole. His shot landed close to the hole only to keep rolling to the back of the green.

Koepka wound up two-putting from 8 feet for bogey.

Finishing on No. 18, Thomas made sure to avoid any danger before Koepka’s final birdie.

“I saw that I had a two-shot lead, hence the reason I hit it right of the universe,” Thomas said of a tee shot that went right of the cart path. “It was not going left, I promise you that.”

• Results of COVID-19 testing conducted Sunday show there were no new positive results for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The team was travelling to New York to resume its schedule against the Yankees in a night game.

The Phillies (1-2) have not played since July 26.

Their opponent in that opening series, the Miami Marlins, had at least 18 players test positive for the coronavirus. Although the Phillies didn’t have any players test positive, their games last week were postponed as a cautionary measure.

• Danish organisers say the Tour de France start due to take place in Copenhagen next year has been moved to 2022 to avoid being held in the same month as the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics and the European Championship soccer tournament.

Copenhagen Mayor Frank Jensen says the move means the three-stage Tour start in his city will now be planned for July 1-3, 2022, adding that he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will have passed by then.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, August 4, 2020, PAGE 15

PAGE 16, Tuesday, August 4, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Eagles excited to add Franco Miller Jr

Joel Embiid had 27 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers, who opened a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter and then recovered after falling behind by four in the final minute.

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Florida Gulf Coast Eagles are excited to add Franco Miller Jr to their programme and look forward to the incoming transfer combo guard to have an impact whenever he steps on the floor.

Eagles head coach Michael Fly discussed several issues, including Miller’s recruitment process amid the COVID-19 pandemic “There’s a recruiting ban on guys right now and for the foreseeable future. We weren’t able to truly scout [Franco] in a traditional way. We watched all the high school tape we could.

Actually, coach Davis’ staff at Ole Miss sent us practice tape of him so we could evaluate him more.

They were extremely complimentary of him on and off the court. We do a lot of our recruiting based on connections we have made and continue to make and we have a great relationship with his prep school and Coach Davis‘ staff,” Fly told Screecher Report in their Summer Flyer/Fresh Faces Series.

“We are excited to add a student and player of Franco’s calibre to our programme. He is an experienced guard who can play the point guard position or slide over to the wing as a scorer.”

Miller’s tenure with the Ole Miss Rebels came in March when he announced he would be leaving the programme. He will have three years of eligibility remaining in his NCAA career. “The three years of eligibility was huge for us.

We were looking at other

Brandon Ingram scored 24 points and New Orleans got a much-needed victory over Memphis. Williamson had 23 points and seven rebounds.

Jokic had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

He scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help Denver strengthen its hold on third place in the Western Conference standings.

transfers who had one year as well but Franco having three was a factor. We think it gives him time to join the programme and get his feet wet and really contribute in big ways over the course of his time with us. His addition should strengthen our backcourt for the foreseeable future in combination with our other newcomers and young players.” Fly said.

“We think he can play both positions (PG & SG/ Wing). In high school he was a scoring combo guard and we think he can get back to that. He’s got a pure shooting form. We’ll see, when we get the guys back [on campus], how he does with the ball in his hands and taking charge of the offence vs how he does without it.”

According to the Eagles, Miller becomes the 6th newcomer for the Eagles roster heading into the 2020-21 season, joining four early signees and one graduate transfer. Eagles will return 70 per cent of its scoring back in the lineup along with seven players who saw significant action in 25-or-more games during the 2019-20 season.

“We’re finally at a place, from a roster standpoint, where we could have Jalen [Warren], Caleb [Catto], Cyrus [Largie], Sam [Gagliardi] and Justus [Rainwater] start for us and they would all be starters from last year. But we like what our newcomers bring to the table,” Fly said. “We think Eli [Abaev] can contribute right away for us and we like the new guys we got coming in and we like our returning players.

It’s safe to say that there will be a lot of competition in a lot of different areas.”

VANVLEET SCORES CAREER-BEST 36, RAPTORS TOP HEAT 107-103

TORONTO Raptors’ Fred VanVleet (23) shoots as Miami Heat’s Goran Dragic tries to draw the offensive foul during the second half yesterday.

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) — Fred VanVleet scored a careerhigh 36 points and made seven 3-pointers, and the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors added to their strong restart with a 107-103 victory over the Miami Heat yesterday.

VanVleet finished 7 of 12 from beyond the 3-point arc and was a perfect 13 of 13 from the foul line, besting his 34-point total against the Pelicans last December.

Pascal Siakam added 22 points and Kyle Lowry had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Raptors, who are 2-0 since play resumed last week. Toronto resumed its season by beating the Lakers and remains in second place in the Eastern Conference.

Goran Dragic had 25 points for the Heat.

Miami beat Toronto twice this season, but the Raptors avoided the season sweep behind VanVleet, who poured in deep 3s and repeatedly found his way to the foul line in the third quarter with strong drives.

The Raptors led by 17 midway through the third quarter before the Heat pulled ahead on Dragic’s corner 3 with 10:11 remaining in the game.

The Raptors regained command when Serge Ibaka, who had 15 points, added two dunks on backto-back possessions.

Still, Miami wouldn’t go away.

Jae Crowder hit a 3 and Dragic drew a charge on VanVleet to give the Heat

a chance. Dragic scored on a drive on the ensuing possession and drew a foul, but missed the potential gametying free throw with 40 seconds left — Miami’s first miss in 16 attempts.

The Heat still had a chance when Lowry missed a reverse layup.

But two late turnovers cost the Heat a chance to win.

Jimmy Butler couldn’t handle a pass from Dragic on a backdoor cut and the ball scooted out of bounds with 17,.4 seconds left.

Then Butler turned it over after a side inbounds play when his pass was deflected

by VanVleet.

TIP-INS Raptors: Siakam carried his team early with 15

points in the first quarter on 5-of-7 shooting, including three 3s.

The rest of the team was just 3 of 16.

Lowry drew his leagueleading 32nd charge of the season. Lowry also passed Michael Jordan in career assists.

Heat: The Heat made just 5 of 23 3-pointers in the first half, but trailed only by four. Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Bam Adebayo, Jae Crowder and Butler started for the Heat for the second straight game. Duncan Robinson has made a 3-pointer in 52 straight games.

UP NEXT Raptors: Play Magic on Wednesday.

Heat: Play Celtics today.