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VOLUME:115 No.206, SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2018
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1
WOMAN: DOCTOR’S DIAGNOSIS NEARLY COST ME MY DREAM
‘Enough - too many foreign workers’ Minnis warns labour permits must decrease By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday more must be done to decrease the “thousands” of work permits approved annually in the country. Dr Minnis did not reveal the exact number, but just last month, Immigration Minister Brent Symonette told reporters he approved 500 work permits over three days for Haitian nationals. Labour director John Pinder also said in July over 5,000 people apply for permits every year.
Noting the volume of approvals, Dr Minnis said there is nothing wrong with other nationalities seeking employment in The Bahamas but it should be done legally. Those who break the law, he said will be prosecuted and/or have their migrant status revoked. “The amount of work permits that we issue today must decrease,” Dr Minnis said during remarks he made at the opening a national skills symposium at the National Training Agency on Gladstone Road. SEE PAGE SIX
A WORRIED mother has asked for help to find her son - who she says went missing six weeks ago – a day before a woman allegedly claimed to having him killed. The woman admitted “putting a hit out” on Aaron Dudley Smith, 35, over a dispute about
$150, the 65-year-old mother, Sharon Butler, said. According to the mother, the woman claimed she gave her son $150 to steal a windshield to replace one broken in her whitecoloured four-door Honda. The mother said that her son would do nothing like that. She said she offered to return the woman’s $150. SEE PAGE SEVEN
By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister yesterday defended the decision to start a resurfacing exercise for Bernard Road tomorrow that will last for 21 working days. The Ministry of Public Works and Bahamix announced the resurfacing exercise yesterday, which will extend from the “Village Road/Wulff Road/ Soldier Road Junction” to the roundabout at Fox Hill Freedom Park. The work will take place from 9.30am to 2pm, Monday through Friday. When asked why this initiative wasn’t conducted in the summer and how the ministry expects school traffic to be managed, Mr Bannister said it is “simplistic” to think all roads can be paved during the season. SEE PAGE TWO
OFFICERS’ PROMOTIONS ‘DON’T ADD UP’ By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
MOTHER BEGS: HELP ME FIND MY SON By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net
MOTORING MISERY FOR FOUR WEEKS
UNDER ARMED GUARD
TIMOTHY Cole outside Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where he was charged with murder in connection with the death of Police Inspector Carlis Blatch. See page three for the full story. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
THE Correctional Officers Staff Association has taken issue with the Department of Corrections’ decision to promote just over 60 officers despite a lack of the minimum educational qualification. In a statement to The Tribune yesterday, COSA president Ryan Wilson revealed that a memo, which notified several dozen officers of their acceptance into a BJC programme being sponsored by the Ministry of Public Service and National Insurance’s Public Service Centre for Human Resources Development (PSCHRD) unit, had been accidentally sent to a majority of officers. SEE PAGE FIVE
ATLANTIS’ FAILURE TO HELP DISABLED WORKER By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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ATLANTIS failed to exhaust all options in finding a suitable post for a 30-year disabled veteran, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday, describing the case as a legal “first” in The Bahamas. The court, unanimously upholding an earlier Industrial Tribunal verdict, said the $91,279 wrongful
dismissal case brought by Cheryl Carey-Brown had exposed gaps in the Employment Act when it came
to determining whether employers had made reasonable efforts to accommodate disabled workers. Its ruling, delivered by acting appeal justice, Sir Michael Barnett, found that Atlantis had not shown it would suffer “undue hardship” in finding a morning shift for the assistant restaurant and bar manager after she suffered a “serious nerve injury” in an October 2009 car accident. FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS
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SEE PAGE EIGHT
PAGE 2, Tuesday, September 18, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
Motoring misery for four weeks from page one
“I have spoken publicly on this issue and explained what we do on several occasions,” Mr Bannister told The Tribune yesterday. “Before my Ministry paves any road we meet with every utility. These meetings happen every Monday. Water and Sewerage must confirm that they have completed all of their laterals. Same with BTC, BPL and Cable. “The purpose is to ensure that once we pave they do not come behind us to dig the road up after it has been paved. “It is simplistic to think that we can simply pave
roads during the summer. The paving goes on all year round as permitted by the work that the utilities have to do.” According to the Public Notice, Bernard Road will be divided into eight paving sections to minimise traffic congestion. The paving sections are as follows: Wulff/Village/ Sodier Road - Thompson Street, Thompson Street - Hillside Park Road, Hillside Park Road - Windsor Street, Windsor Street - Adderley Street, Adderley Street - Grant Street, Grant Street - Cockburn Street, Cockburn Street - Rahming Street, Rahming Street - Fox Hill Roundabout.
“There will be east and west bound lane closures implemented for the sections and for the duration of the works,” the notice continued. Traffic diversions will be implemented for each “section” and provisions will be made for residents and businesses where necessary, the notice added. Motorists are asked to avoid the area if possible and the public is also asked to be aware of and acknowledge the posted traffic paving signs in the area. “Bahamix apologises for any inconvenience caused,” the notice concluded. All queries of concern are to be directed to 3613886 or 341-3886.
MINISTER of Public Works Desmond Bannister.
Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, September 18, 2018, PAGE 3
TIMOTHY Cole outside Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
Suspect faces court over police officer’s murder By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net A 48-YEAR-OLD man was arraigned in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday and charged with the murder of Inspector Carlis Blatch,
the former aide-de-camp to Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling. Heavy police presence accompanied Timothy Cole as he was taken inside the court, with numerous armed officers working to ensure the scene
remained peaceful. It was alleged that Cole unlawfully caused Blatch’s death through intentional harm last week Wednesday. He was also accused of armed robbery, stealing the Hyundai Elantra that Inspector Blatch drove
which was worth $19,000 and a Samsung Note 8 worth $600. Cole was not required to enter a plea and his case will proceed to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment on October 20, 2018.
Cole’s lawyer alleged that his client was beaten in police custody and requires medical attention. He also said his client fears that being placed in a cell with other prisoners would pose a threat to his life.
Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt declined to recommend that he be given special accommodations, however, she said the commissioner of the prison would best know how to handle the situation.
GOVERNOR GENERAL PAYS HER RESPECTS TO OFFICER’S FAMILY By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
GOVERNOR General HE Dame Marguerite Pindling, greeted by Marcus Blatch, brother of late Police Inspector Carlis Blatch.
POLICE INVESTIGATE AFTER TWO BODIES DISCOVERED POLICE are investigating two suspicious deaths in separate incidents on Sunday. In the first death, police found human skeletal remains in a bushy area off the Eastwest Highway shortly after 9am. Investigators will await an autopsy report to determine the cause of death.
In the second incident, the body of an elderly man was found with visible injuries at a Coral Harbour home shortly after 5pm. Paramedics were called to the residence on Bailey Drive, but were unable to revive the man, according to police. Investigations into both matters are continuing.
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GOVERNOR General Dame Marguerite Pindling paid respects to the family of late Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General, Police Inspector Carlis Blatch at their home in Yellow Elder on Sunday. The widely-respected aide-de-camp was shot in front of his daughter
during a school pick-up last Wednesday and later died in the Princess Margaret Hospital from his injuries. Inspector Blatch was immediately remembered for his professionalism and decency, with the Office of the Governor General noting he was someone who served with distinction. Former Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes called him “a gentleman to the fingertips”.
THE GOVERNOR General sits with parents of the late Police Inspector Carlis Blatch, Mary Alice Blatch and Sidney McPhee, Sr.
PAGE 4, Tuesday, September 18, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
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Light years behind in alternative energy when the solution shines in our face IN YESTERDAY’S Tribune, reporter Rashad Rolle explored incredible advances in the means by which countries across the world are producing power, many of them using floating platforms for massive installations of solar panels. He noted as the price of solar panels continues to fall, solar panel platforms are rising in the waters of Asia, Australia, North and South America, Africa and Europe. From Japan to the Netherlands, water-based platform systems are contributing to the local power grid with a clearly defined goal, signalling a move towards the end of the era of environmentally destructive fossil fuels. As The Tribune reporter asked: “If Malta can do it, what is stopping The Bahamas from positioning itself at the forefront of research into open sea floating solar panels?” His question is a good one. It deserves a thoughtful response rather than a flippant dismissal as is often the case when something is proposed that is different from what is already being done. The Bahamas is well-versed in avoiding change, especially if it involves imagination. There is a name for the condition. It is called astrophobia, fear of imagination and it is all too alive and far too well here in The Bahamas. For example, just in the past several days Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest was meeting with Oban Energies, supporting a plan that, if it does pass the required Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan tests, is still reliant on doing things the way they have always been done - storing and distributing fossil fuels, though the company claims their methods are cleaner than any before. We understand Mr Turnquest sincerely wants economic recovery and jobs for Grand Bahama, his home and where his heart lies, but Oban’s proposal would be a lot more acceptable and appealing if it called for a gradual phasing out of storage for fossil fuels and dedication to research and installation of renewables, including land and sea-based solar power to add to the grid. There is no shortage of land in Grand Bahama and the private power company could provide a solid partnership. How long is the rest of The Bahamas, and particularly New Providence, going to suffer from a system riddled with antiquated equipment that is expensive to operate, challenging to maintain and undeniably unreliable in both consistency and quality of power? Over the past week, there have been no fewer than four fires at BPL, the most recent one two days ago leaving thousands without power for up to 12 hours even though there was not a storm in sight. The bitter truth is we are falling farther and farther behind the rest of the world in power generation. Consider the irony. We lead in tourism figures relative to size of population. Every day, The Bahamas population swells by more
than ten times, a country of roughly 400,000 with more than six million visitors a year. The same bright and steady sun that shines nearly every day of the year and powers our number one economic driver, tourism, should fuel our electricity needs for business, school, hospitals, hotels and our life as a people not burdened by high costs and low performance. We can safely sow the sea by installing floating solar platforms without harming marine resources and we can harvest its energy. Other nations struggle to find the right lake or river for a solar installation. We are blessed with the right waters all around us. The solution to our power problem is at hand and overhead, not just in the sea but on rooflines, an option that has not even been discussed. In many cities, business and apartment owners are renting rooftop space for the use of solar panels to power a nearby building. Between the surrounding sea and the buildings of Nassau and Freetown, the platforms for solar energy are plentiful. There are numerous ways to produce clean energy -- wind, waves, even natural resources that can be manipulated to generate heat. It is true solar farms are large and consume vast amounts of ground. When Minister of Works Desmond Bannister says land-based solar farms are difficult in New Providence where there is insufficient available land at an affordable price, he may be absolutely right. But we believe his intent is also correct – to find innovative ways to produce clean energy and to do so with the greatest speed possible. His concern about lack of suitable acreage on the country’s most densely populated island is all the more reason to explore sea and rooftop platforms along with innovative means to green energy. Floating platforms seem the most practical because similar to tourist vs. resident numbers, there is more than 10 times as much water as land in The Bahamas, a nation of islands scattered over 100,000 square miles of open ocean with only 6,250 square miles of it land. Much of the water is shallow, making installation and maintenance even easier. If others in government continue to play ostrich and bury their heads in the sand where they cannot see today let alone the future, the only solution is for civic organisations like those who are flexing muscle and showing their might trying to save Lighthouse Point in Eleuthera to take to the stage. The fight for the right electricity generation is one of the most important battles of the century if we want a Bahamas that is truly an enviable place in which to live, work and play. Otherwise, we who are blessed with year-round sun and ignoring its power are just kidding ourselves and we can take a back seat to civilizations from Australia to Africa who looked up, saw the sun and the light, recognised the potential of solar power and galloped ahead leaving us in their shadow.
Board chair should resign EDITOR, The Tribune. I WOULD title this “Being in the real world where you are required to uphold trust’ - the article headlined yesterday “Chamber endorses CEO over ten-year securities barring’ is incredible and exceptionally worrying. I don’t care who was part of the Board of Montague Capital they had a licence to provide guidance and trust to investors and in this case they failed, The Bahamas Securities
Commission handed down their judgment. To Chair of The Chamber, Mike Maura your comment is totally unacceptable and should call for your resignation. Is The Chamber willing to be called a hypocrite? So we yet again lower our standards if honestly we had any any more? In recent weeks we have seen how trust and compliance no longer means anything - The Government and Oban - BP&L with the 80 MW
generators - BP&L and Shell America - Hospital Authority - Nassau Cruise Port RFP and the list goes on and on and has been going on and on for years. What was once treasured 60 years ago is long lost and we ashamedly accept any level - ‘trust - honesty’ extinct like the dinosaur. To whom it concerns do the right thing. W THOMPSON Nassau, September 13, 2018.
Lighthouse Point must be saved EDITOR, The Tribune. I AM a man and I cry. There, I have said it. I cry for the inhumanity of human against human. I cry for all the parts and parcels of The Bahamas that Bahamians do not have access to. Please, please do not make Lighthouse Point one of them. Every time I learn of a little piece of this beautiful archipelago that is being developed without kind and gentle care for its future, I am torn between wanting to scream and shedding another tear. Like others who support Save The Bays, I am not anti-development. But development must be done by with care by those who care. It must be sensitive to the environment and sustainable for the future. Its footprint must be acceptable. At this moment in time, there is no area under more of a threat than Lighthouse Point and Lighthouse Beach in South Eleuthera. Disney Cruise Lines wants to buy either the 700-acre parcel or some substantial portion thereof to create a private destination for its passengers. I cannot blame Disney. Lighthouse Point is one of the most breathtaking places on the face of God’s green earth and that is only one reason why it must be preserved for Bahamians. It is also one of
LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net the highest elevations and with climate change and the accompanying sea level rise, researchers far wiser than I predict that many of our islands may be underwater in less than a century, making it even more critical to preserve key high elevation places for future generations. Fifty, 80 or 100 years from now, our great grandchildren and theirs may be searching for high land or living on the sea. And where will Disney be then? Will it have abandoned its pretty little piece of paradise like Gold Rock did when it finished the Disney movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, and left structures to rust, like a diseased ghost town in Grand Bahama? If you do not care about one senior citizen activist like me who wants to save Lighthouse Point, there are 28,382 other reasons, every one of them a person who cared enough to sign the petition as of 5pm on September 17, 2018. It is the largest petition in Bahamas history so far as I can tell. Before this, Save The Bays had amassed the most signatures with more than 7,000 for a broad spectrum of environmental measures. Bahamians are not great petition signers. We would
rather go on radio and talk or complain to anyone in general. But the children from a school in South Eleuthera who are leading part of Save Lighthouse Point drive and the crush of people signing every few seconds is jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring. Consider it relative to other drives. An oil pollution petition attracted 1,400 signatures, an anti-Oban Energies petition got 550 signatures. Save Lighthouse Point is at 28,000 and climbing. 28,000+ signatures – Mr Prime Minister and those who we elected to represent us, hear the voices of those who penned that petition and do the right thing. Not because one old man does not want to shed another tear for another piece of The Bahamas that will be lost. There are plenty of places to create a cruise ship play area, including right across the harbour from where the ships dock in Nassau or in Grand Bahama. But not at Lighthouse Point. Please, Mr Prime Minister, save Lighthouse Point for Bahamians and anyone who wants to visit and leave that craggy, rocky, green hills and white sand beaches canvas of Nature just as they found it, taking only memories of the beauty with them. JOE DARVILLE Nassau, September 14, 2018
Work ethic EDITOR, The Tribune. Re: Seeking to plug the skills gap. The Tribune, September 13, 2018. PLUGGING the skills gap is an excellent idea. Regrettably, it is
unlikely to realise its full potential unless a reasonably good work ethic is also cultivated. KEN W KNOWLES, MD Nassau, September 15, 2018.
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, September 18, 2018, PAGE 5
War on crime ‘needs more than just words’ By RICARDO WELLS and KHRISNA VIRGIL Tribune Staff Reporters rwells@tribunemedia.net BISHOP Simeon Hall yesterday said the government, particularly Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, must set the pace if the country is truly expected to stand united against criminality. Responding to Dr Minnis’ recent plea for unity, Bishop Hall contended that a legislative review, inclusive of several constitutional changes, would be needed to jumpstart any true assault on crime. “The war on crime must go beyond words,” Bishop Hall said. “The Bahamian people have a right to expect the
BISHOP SIMEON HALL PM to lead a successful war on crime because he promised to do a better job than the PLP did.” Bishop Hall said while there has been much reduction in crime since the Minnis administration has taken the
reigns of government, the heinous nature of crime has remained a constant. “Criminals are not threatened by words, regardless who proclaims them,” said Bishop Hall, who serves as Pastor emeritus of the New Covenant Baptist Church. “Criminals know that there will be no capital punishment carried out and they still believe that they can beat the judicial system. “I will be the first to enrol in the PM’s war on crime if he were to lead Parliament in introducing draconian penalties for those convicted of crimes,” Bishop Hall added. Among his suggestions of “draconian penalties” Bishop Hall called for all persons convicted of murder to be sentenced to life in prison without
the possibility of parole; a three-strike law that would imprison any person convicted of three crimes to an extended prison term; and the doubling of all gun related penalties. On Sunday, Dr Minnis said that the country would be destroyed by the traumatic impact of violent crime unless its citizens and residents collectively waged war on criminality and dishonesty in every instance. The prime minister reiterated the call on the sidelines of the opening of a national skills symposium at the National Training Agency on Gladstone Road. “The public has to become involved. Families must turn criminals in,” Dr Minnis said yesterday. “Because there are two types of murder. We’re
looking at overt murder as we see individuals die. That’s what you call the open murder that we can see regularly. We’re not looking and concentrating on the closed murder that we don’t see in society until 10/20 years later. That is the psychological impact on the society so you can imagine what has happened to H O Nash School and the family members. Dr Minnis continued: “You can imagine when somebody is raped in their home or they’re robbed in their home the psychological impact. We are just looking at capturing the criminal but we’re not looking at what it has done psychologically, not only to that family but to the nation and then we see the impact ten, 20 years later and then
OFFICERS’ PROMOTIONS ‘DON’T ADD UP’ from page one
The memo was signed by a representative of the Permanent Secretary and directed to the Human Resources Manager at the Department of Corrections. According to Mr Wilson, the minimum education requirement was used in the past to disqualify scores of other officers from potential promotions. Referring to the August 24 memo yesterday, Mr Wilson said the document finally makes public the bias and unethical practice by which promotions at the facility are considered and determined. Mr Wilson in his statement contended that in a 2014 promotional exercise, scores of officers received suppression letters from the department advising that they could not be recommended for promotion, in most instances, because they lacked the professional qualifications required to be promoted to the next rank. “Officers have for
many years agitated for a review and overhaul of the irrational, arbitrary, and unfair practice which the promotion exercise appeared to be subjected to,” he said. “The August 2018 circular contains the names of over 60 officers who were promoted in the last promotion exercise notwithstanding that they did not have the minimum educational qualification, English BJC or equivalent, for the promotion.” Mr Wilson stressed that previous COSA administrations battled through years of poor communication on the part of the Department of Corrections. He added that the entity’s dismissive posture towards the grievances of officers, particularly those concerning promotions, are often ignored. Mr Wilson argues that as COSA President, he should be entitled to a seat on the promotions board. He claimed that promotional exercises are routinely conducted without notice to the President of the association.
Mr Wilson implored the Department of Corrections to reconsider its position on the policy given the stagnation it has caused in the lives and careers of many officers. Mr Wilson said he is only seeking justice for his members who have been superseded, whether intentionally or as a result of the policy. “Justice will not be served until they are restored; all seniority lost attributed, remunerated for the salary lost, perpetrators of this corrupt practice redeployed or terminated and this corrupt practice ends,” he said. “I expect that the public will join with us in this demand for fairness and full transparency in the decisions affecting the Corrections Officers and other loyal employees across the Civil Service,” he added. Mr Wilson was elected Correctional Officers Staff Association (COSA) President in March. The association was formally referred to as the Bahamas Prison Staff Association.
SOCIAL SERVICES STAFF GRIEVE FOR COLLEAGUE FOUND HANGED By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
THE Department of Social Services closed its offices in Grand Bahama yesterday following the suspected suicide of a colleague over the weekend. The body of chief welfare officer Patrice Mack was discovered hanging at her home in Malibu Reef shortly after 6pm on Saturday. It is believed that Mrs Mack suffered from a mental illness. Grief counseling was provided for griefstricken employees at the Department of Social Services. She has been described as an exemplary social worker. Lillian Quant-Forbes, acting director of social services, said that some workers are in shock. She said that Mrs Mack was very professional in the execution of her duties, but also noted that she was being treated for an illness. “The Patrice Mack
PATRICE MACK we knew and love did not commit suicide; the Patrice Mack we knew she was Christian and caring, and she would not have inflicted that on herself. It was the illness that she was dealing with, it was illness she was battling. She sought help and treatment for her illness. But the illness became much bigger than her,” Ms Forbes told ZNS news. Mrs Mack worked with children at the GB Children’s Home and Columbus House and
PACE programme at Tripp Circle. Paula Marshall, assistant director of DSS, Freeport, said they met with children at the various programmes with whom Ms Mack worked at Tripp Circle “She has touched so many lives; she worked with so many children, and families through Family Services, and the Courts,” she noted. She also worked closely with the adoption and fostering of children. She noted that Mrs Mack had a full understanding of her illness, which did not interfere with her job. Dr Gregory Swann, consultant psychologist to the DSS, held sessions with the staff to allow them to process any emotional issues they have been experiencing. He said it is important for them to express themselves, to grieve and start the healing process. The Tribune understands that Mrs Mack is survived by her husband and children.
THE MEMO from the Department of Correctional Services.
we wonder why individuals are disturbed, why they are disturbed psychologically, why they are behaving this way. “Therefore if we are to save the nation families, Bahamians must not just look at overt criminality, but they must look at how they can help to stop what will occur 10, 20 years from today and that’s what we must declare war on.” On Sunday, Dr Minnis told The Tribune all law enforcement agencies have been put on full alert. He said the entire Bahamas is needed to declare war on criminality and dishonesty if it truly intends to save itself. According to The Tribune’s records, 67 murders have occurred across The Bahamas this year.
PAGE 6, Tuesday, September 18, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis speaking yesterday.
Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff
‘Enough - too many foreign workers’ from page one “Statistics from the Department of Immigration confirmed that thousands of work permits are approved on an annual basis for foreign workers. “Many of these applications are approved primarily because employers claim and provide justification that in many instances Bahamians lack the requisite skills and or certifications to fill various vacancies.” When he was asked to explain his position on the granting of work permits, Dr Minnis said: “An
individual comes to your country because they are seeking opportunities, they’re seeking job opportunities. There’s nothing wrong with that but do it legally. “We need employees and yes we will accept them legally but if you allow illegals to continue to be employed under the radar and establish an underground economy then that has great effects on your society and they would continue to come here once there are opportunities. Dr Minnis continued: “Therefore, as mature citizens we must respect the
law and apply for them properly, there is a system and they will be dealt with fairly. So all we’re saying is we have a responsibility and if we break the law we should not only inflict the law on the illegal immigrant but we must also apply the law to those who are breaking it. “Bahamians and others and if you are here as our guests as permanent residents and you’re breaking the law then that should be revoked.” Asked how soon there would be convictions for these immigration-related offences, Dr Minnis said they have already begun.
“They are prosecuting, believe me they are doing that,” he said. “If you follow the immigration department they have taking Bahamians before the courts to be prosecuted and they will become even more aggressive because the message must be loud and clear. “We cannot have a system of catch and release catch and release. We must become involved. We must become law abiding citizens. We must apply for individuals legally and they will be dealt with properly and legally, but if we continue to break the law and the message goes out
that hey Bahamas is an open society, individuals will come from all over the world.” Mr Pinder, in July expressed a desire to review the application process of long-term work permits, telling The Tribune there should be increased stipulations to guard against abuse. A former trade unionist, Mr Pinder stressed the need to strengthen labour policies related to work permits, telling this newspaper he had received at least 100 vacancy notices per week. He said at the time: “The amount of NOVs (notice of
vacancy) that come to my office – there are thousands of people on work permit applying for vacancies. Sure most of them are handymen or maids; we have to encourage Bahamians to take these jobs. It’s minimum wage but when you add all the benefits – the job they advertise could see someone potentially take home $20,000 annually. “At least 100 a week,” he continued, “that’s over 5,000 people every year applying for work permit.” He also underscored the need to strengthen NOV criteria – particularly stipulations concerning the training of Bahamians.
By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net
now, ‘Negativity’ with a capital N.” These remarks are fairly new from the prime minister who has in several weeks only repeated that an investigation would be done to look into reported infighting among BPL’s former board of directors. Press secretary Anthony Newbold recently confirmed the body responsible for carrying out such a probe had not yet been constituted. Dr Minnis yesterday was responding to PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell who on Sunday again called on the Minnis administration to provide Bahamians with a “full, frank and honest” explanation on the circumstances surrounding the latest fire at the BPL’s Baillou Hill sub-station. The PLP has also repeatedly called for Mr Bannister to resign from his substantive Cabinet post. “With four fires in one week,” Mr Mitchell noted,”the public is understandably losing confidence in the current
administration’s ability to competently manage BPL and facilitate the much needed energy sector reform this government promised.” “If the substantive minister is not up to the task, he should be mercifully relieved of this duty in the public interest. “To date,” Mr Mitchell continued, “the government has managed to politically interfere with the work of the BPL board and needlessly incurred additional expenses in excess of one hundred million dollars in equipment damage stemming from these fires.” “This total break down in leadership is inexplicable and inexcusable,” he said. “Dr Minnis said he had no plans or vision for BPL and the voluntary separation exercise, followed by these catastrophic fires are turning out to be a self fulfilling prophecy. We pray that God helps us all in the midst of this haplessness and crisis in leadership,” Mr Mitchell said.
MINNIS HAS ‘ABSOLUTE’ FAITH IN BANNISTER PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday that he “absolutely” still has faith in Public Works Minister Desmond Bannister despite several fires at Bahamas Power and Light Company, triggering power outages in the country. The most recent of these happened over the weekend leaving some areas in darkness for up to 12 hours. The prime minister rejected the Progressive Liberal Party’s criticisms on Sunday saying the Official Opposition is only opposing the government because it has nothing else to say. “Absolutely, I have great faith in the minister,” Dr Minnis said in response to a question from the media. “The opposition has a job and that job is to oppose. They have nothing else to say so they just speak pure negativity. “That word is top and priority on their lips right
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, September 18, 2018, PAGE 7
Mother begs: help me find my son from page one “She was very rude,” said Ms Butler, “and told me she wanted nothing from me.” Ms Butler said that her son was still at home. It was shortly after 8am when she had just prepared him bacon and eggs for breakfast. The woman yelled for him to come down, his mother said. Ms Butler last saw her son on August 6th when he got into a self-drive car and drove behind the woman who drove ahead in her four-door white Honda (AD4459). Ms Butler did not know who owned the car her son was driving, but speculated that it was one that the woman had rented. “That night I threw out
his Sunday dinner which he never came and eat and I had to throw out his breakfast, I had to throw all them out and give it to the dogs,” she said. She reported him missing from August 6 at the South Beach Police station. Ms Butler said on August 7th the same woman – a regular visitor to her neighbour’s’s homes – came around and started “yelling out that she wants her $150 that he took from her”. “She cursed me and told me I must suck her –––.” She said to me “he’s dead, he’s dead, I already put out a hit on him.” She said: “I went all over Soldier Road and tell everybody to take him out.” Ms Butler said she went immediately to the police station because she
took the threat very seriously. “I haven’t had any updates on that investigation since then,” she said. She said she filed a missing persons report with the police last week on Tuesday, September 11. Police officials confirmed yesterday evening that the man had been reported missing. “Monday past she came back in the yard throwing a remark that what done happen already happened and that can’t effin change,” Ms Butler said. “I didn’t ask her a question. She came out her car carrying on in that manner.” Mr Smith, his mother said, has no history of mental illness. Mother and son live together on Stock Avenue, Nassau Village. Ms Butler said her son has at times been gone for
a week, but never has he been away for this long - 42 days. “I went looking where I know he usually be at times when he go, I went Cowpen Road where he be down Cowpen Road with a friend or two and I went Carmichael Road,” she said. “Nobody say they’ve seen him.” “I really don’t want to think the worst of the worst,” she continued. “I still have some hope that I will see him. We all love him. Everybody is upset, but everybody is trying to cope and pray that we have some safety in this and something turns up. I spoke with my brother and daddy and they told me just hold on and pray. I’m still here so upset,” she said.
AARON DUDLEY SMITH
MINISTRY TO INVESTIGATE ABANDONED ABACO BUILDINGS By RIEL MAJOR
THE FORMER home of Water and Sewer original manager Newell Malone. It was last used to house a police inspector.
A VACANT works compound, located very close to the Newell Malone house. The derelict building and yard are not visible from Don MacKay Blvd due to thick shrubs, and is behind a mostly contained chain-link fence.
THE vacant clinic in Abaco.
THE OLD nurses’ residence on the road to the administrator’s house on Stede Bonnet Road.
HEALTH minister Dr Duane Sands said yesterday his ministry will investigate the state of two abandoned buildings in Abaco to determine if they can be salvaged. His comments follow suggestions by residents that at least six abandoned buildings in the Marsh Harbour district could be used to meet housing challenges. Of the six buildings, a former nurse’s residence and old clinic belong to the Ministry of Health. However, Dr Sands noted yesterday the buildings were not a “top priority.” “Now that I’m aware, because it wasn’t brought to my attention before,” he said, “I have now incorporated it in my planning, but it is not a priority right now.” “The two abandoned buildings were damaged in 2009 and haven’t been occupied since.” Dr Sands said the ministry will consider all possible options. “The options are we can sell it, demolish it, or repair
them when the ministry has the capital in the ministry to do so.” “I don’t know what the buildings would cost to be able to be used again because they were never repaired,” he said. “I don’t know if they can be salvaged and the premises are overgrown. “So we will look at cost and try eliminating waste, but i don’t know if it will cost 10,000 or 50,000 to repair the buildings so until we have that information i don’t know if we will be in any position to make any decisions. “We will deal with it and make some determination to what brings the most value to taxpayers,” he said. Concerns over the status of the six abandoned buildings were sent in a letter to the Marsh Harbour Town Committee. The letter was also sent to The Tribune. It was suggested the buildings could be renovated to benefit the island in the form of housing for government workers, office space, or air freight terminals.
TWO FACE COURT AFTER $30,000 COCAINE FIND AT AIRPORT By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
AN American man and a Bahamian man were both arraigned in Magistrate’s Court yesterday over allegations they were found with $30,000 worth of cocaine at the Lynden Pindling International Airport last week. Tony Dexter Pickett, 30, of Port Charlotte, Florida, and 38-yearold Leonard Lafrance, of Chippingham, stood before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain on four drug related charges stemming from the September 11 incident. It is alleged on the day
in questio, both men conspired and were found to be in possession of dangerous drugs with the intent to supply the same to another, and had conspired and were taking preparatory steps to export the drugs. According to reports Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) officers, assisted by K-9 unit Officers and US Border Control Officers, acting on information, proceeded to the US Departure Lounge at LPIA and conducted a search of a flight prepared for departure, where they discovered a quantity of suspected cocaine. All passengers were made to disembark and a further check of the
aircraft was made. Officers subsequently conducted a search of one of the male restrooms in the departure lounge, and recovered a quantity of suspected cocaine. The drugs weighed 4.6 pounds with a value of $30,000. Both Pickett and Lafrance plead not guilty to the charges and the matter was adjourned to November 22 for trial. Bail was denied and the two were remanded into custody until that time. They have the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail. Meanwhile, two Bahamian men, ages 46 and 36, were arraigned before the assistant chief magistrate
in connection with the seizure of nearly $40,000 worth of marijuana over the weekend. Brian Bullard, 46, of Pinewood, and 36-yearold Clyde Dawkins of Lowe Sound were both charged with one count each of conspiracy to possess dangerous drugs with intent to supply and possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply concerning the September 15 incident. According to reports, shortly after 5pm on the date in question, DEU officers conducted a search of a home at Craig Street, Leslie Estate and recovered seven packages of suspected marijuana. The drugs weighed 38.2
READERS RESPOND TO ISSUES AT BPL AFTER there was an electrical fire at Bahamas Power and Light’s Baillou Hills sub-station over the weekend, readers gave their reaction on tribune242. com. Tell_it_like_it_is got straight to the point: “The government needs to get this BPL situation in order because this is just ridiculous!” That view was supported by Geostorm: “Agreed, the government needs to get a hold on what is going on with BPL. For the life of me, why are we not using solar power? We are spending money on equipment when we can invest in solar energy. Goodness, collaborate with other countries who are successfully using this form of energy and follow suit. All of this sun
we have around us, why are we not there yet?” But that prompted this response from Ohdrap4: “Because it costs oozes and caboozes to store said energy. Solar energy stored in batteries actually increases consumption and CO2 emissions. Lithium battery disposal is a problem too. Solar energy and wind energy just ain’t there yet. Only talk show callers believe so. As to these other countries, go ask them – turns out solar energy is more expensive to deliver.”
ThisIsOurs said: “The presence of a CEO and board where not one member has ten years or more experience successfully running a power plant at the executive levels is gross negligence on the part of the Minnis administration.” And there was this from Proudloudandfnm: “This is getting ridiculous now. BEC just cannot get its act together. Maybe the DNA was right with their drop cord idea. Bahamians obviously cannot manage a power company.” Former Bahamas Chamber of Commerce chairman Robert Myers told Tribune Business the Government’s drive for full WTO membership by mid-2020 is “unnerving” for Bahamian firms.
That prompted this response from DDK: “I truly get the impression that, apart from the bullying from the WTO and the like, The Bahamas joining this mammoth oppressive entity is really an ego thing for Government and they will be in way over their collective head if they proceed with this ‘ascension’. “I also get the distinct impression that for many lesser informed Bahamians, the paying of VAT means ‘We reach. Now we pay taxes like they do in Miami!’. VAT has not helped The Bahamas and there is nothing to indicate joining WTO will either. The big member countries will swallow us whole!” • Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.
pounds and were worth $38,000. An adult male was subsequently taken into custody. Both men plead not guilty to the charges and the matter was adjourned
to November 21 for trial. Bail was denied and they were remanded in custody in the interim. They have the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.
JOB VACANCY
Wholesale Pharmaceutical Sales Representative A leading wholesale company requires the services of an experienced Wholesale Pharmaceutical Sales Representative. It is a fulltime position. Applicants must possess the following MINIMUM qualifications; Associate Pharmacy degree or higher 3 or more years working experience in Wholesale Sales, Marketing, & Trade Promotions Must have an automobile and be 25 years of age or older with a Valid Driver’s License Must be able to multitask and have strong organizational skills Proficiency in Word, Excel, Power Point, & Popular Web-Based Platforms (Face Book, Twitter, etc.) Good Communication Skills (Verbal & Written) Be able to work with little supervision Please do not apply if you do not possess the minimum qualifications Only successful candidates who are short-listed will be contacted Submission deadline is: Friday, September 21, 2018 Submit resume to peter@pghrbahamas.com
PAGE 8, Tuesday, September 18, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
It’s never too late to turn your life around A
Face to Face
MEIN Burrows has completely turned his life around and believes if he has done it, so can the countless young men in this country who find themselves in a revolving door By FELICITY DARVILLE situation with the cops and the courts. He found the Chipman) and his siblings life he was chasing after Aaron and Beko Burrows, – quick, fast money, nice as well as Shakima, Sharif cars and girls – came with a and Josh. price too heavy to bear. But for Amein, growing Amein grew up in the up in Englerston in a fiveEnglerston community in bedroom home with his the home of his grandpar- grandparents, aunts and ents, Wilfred and Priscilla uncles and all of their chilForbes - where he and his dren meant he came from mother lived until she was an entirely different atmosable to purchase her own phere from his private house and move to the schoolmates. “Back in those Coral Harbour area. As days, my mother would get a single mother, Deborah letters from the school, not Forbes did all she could even a paragraph long. It to provide a good educa- basically said ‘don’t come tion for her son. Amein back’,” said Amein. was a twin, but his sister “Knowing I came from died at birth, meaning he Englerston… going to would grow up as an only school with kids who were child. Deborah, a barber rich, whose moms and dads by profession, poured her could give them this and earnings into Amein’s that… I was probably lookschooling. He attended pre- ing for attention. I know I school at St John’s Native had the book smarts. When Baptist Church and then I was at HO Nash, they put attended and graduated me in an all boys class and I from Xavier’s College for graduated at the top of that primary school. class. My private school “My mom and I had to education benefitted me.” wake up early before the sun Amein was lucky to was up sometimes,” he said. have been employed by “She would give me a Caribbean Bottling in the cup of cerasee before I get merchandising department my oatmeal and then drop me to school. She worked after he was kicked out at Cliffie’s barber shop for of school. He had gained most of her career. The summer employment there barber shop opened at during his schooling years. 7.30, so mom had to be to Mentors there like Nathaniel Adams and Highland work early. Smith gave Sometimes ‘I ended up in him “posiI would be tive words of jail charged with the first child inspiration” there and I a firearm and and encourwould have conspiracy to aged him to wait with despite the commit armed the security hard road guard. She robbery, almost that brought did what she ready to do 15 to him there. He had to do to actually loved life (imprisonment). help me sucworking ceed in life. I was locked up She put a lot with six of my boys, there as he was responof effort in to sible for pay for my not knowing they erecting Coca school fees all were saying Cola signs but I was a ‘Amein did it’. I at business mischievious establishboy. I wasn’t was thinking they ments and a dumb boy; I were my friends.’ national stayed in my events, ensurbooks and I ing the brand was good at sports, but boy looked good and was well I was mischievious.” Amein first attended St represented. “I was there for years and Anne’s for his high school education, but he got in a I worked hard; I even got fight with one of his best my driver’s licence while friends, Keil Cartwright, working there,” Amein said. One day, he was lured to a who is still a best friend of his to this day. While at better paying job at a gaming the office on punishment house and informed his awaiting parents, the two supervisor’s secretary, Rosie boys found out their fathers Major, that he was going were actually best friends. to leave. Ms Major warned This led them to bury the him he was leaving for a few hatchet. However, he had dollars more instead of staytoo many suspensions ing with a company where at that point and he was he would have a chance to educate himself, move expelled from the school. He went on to Faith up the ranks and eventuTemple Academy, but ally demand more money. ended up in a fight that It turned out she was right. landed him in hospital. Over the years, Caribbean After spending most of Bottling would give him two his schooling years in pri- more chances before the vate school, Amein had to human resources departfinish up at HO Nash for ment had enough and he junior high and CR Walker was no longer re-employed. for senior high – but a fight Looking back, he wishes he there led him to drop out of had stayed with the company that supported him school before graduation. Growing up, he did not from the start and took back get to see much of his dad, a hard worker even after he Henry Burrows, but his pursued other ventures and paternal grandmother, returned. In one instance, he was Doris Burrows, made sure to be a part of his life and working for a landscaping to push him to be his best. company that was paying him Later on, he also benefitted so little money and workfrom spending time with his ing him so hard he couldn’t father’s family at the prod- take it. He spent three weeks ding of his wife, Arlene (nee on the job and saved up and
bought his own tools: a lawn mower, cutlass, weed-whacker, clippers and a rake. His mother allowed him to drop her to work each morning and he would use her truck to go out making money. “I would put my tools on the truck and drop her to work,” he said, “and wherever I saw a heap of trash in a yard I would stop and ask the owner if I could move it and clean up the yard.” “At first, I was really underpricing myself. It would look like a small heap but once you get into it, it was a lot of trash. I had to work very hard and I was beating up my mom’s little Isuzu S10 truck. I lost a lot over the years until I learned how to properly price my jobs.” One day, Amein was on his way in Englerston after a hard day’s work. His mother’s truck was overheating and it broke down just a few corners away from his grandparents’ house. Some friends he knew from one of the private schools he’d attended, guys he used to run with in track and field, were hanging out at a vacant lot nearby and helped him push the truck off the road and into the lot. This would be a life-changing event for him, and not for the better. “They helped me push the truck into the yard and there they were, my friends from school just hanging out and chilling,” he recalls. “They had on big chains and were riding fresh cars and motorbikes. All these girls were around. My boy yuck out a big gunk (of money). He was making in an hour what I would make in a week. I was thinking about how hard I was working and I said to myself, ‘boy, I need to try this’. From that day on, I started to wear my white T-Shirt, blue jeans and my fresh kicks (tennis). I was hanging out on the corner smoking, trying to stand up on the corner and sell drugs. We were getting into home invasions, stealing other people’s drugs… that real stuff… the kind of stuff that you do tonight and tomorrow morning you are a thousandier. “Doing all of that, I ended up in jail charged with a firearm and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, almost ready to do 15 to life (imprisonment). I was locked up with six of my boys, not knowing they all were saying ‘Amein did it’. I was thinking they were my friends. But I put it together when I saw this one getting out in four months, then the next one in five, and I was still locked up. I wasn’t seeing them (in prison) like that because the police had beat me up and I was pissing and vomiting blood so I would be on the medical block. “I went to court one day and the judge pointed out that there was a difference
in me. They would come to court in blue jeans and T-shirts and I would always be in a button-down shirt, jacket on and sticky mouth shoes. The judge asked me why everyone was pointing a finger at me, and I said I don’t know. She said ‘But you call them your friends’. Eventually she let me out on bail and my mother and aunt came to bail me out.”
It was the look on his grandfather’s face when he came out of jail the second time that impacted him. The disappointment was a lot to bear. He remembered the days when he would follow foot to foot behind his grandfather on his farm on Cowpen Road. His grandfather
AMEIN as a baby with his mother, Deborah, and as a smart yet mischievous boy in grade eight. After that experience, Amein would still end up getting locked up and charged again, this time for drug possession. When he got out of jail the first time, he returned to the blocks despite the pleading of his mother. His uncle, Tilly Burrows, a well-respected prison officer, would always check on him and chide him for his actions, reminding him of the sacrifices his mother made for him and encouraging him to be the person he was destined to be. His grandfather, aunts and uncles all implored him to make a change.
would tell the children to stay when he went on his farm trips, but Amein would hide on the back of the truck and his grandfather wouldn’t know he was there until he arrived at the Cowpen Road farm. His grandfather taught him how to plant and care for trees – a skill which remains with him to this day. “I notice when I plant something, it doesn’t die,” he said, “And when I plant it, the rain comes right after.” He decided to turn his life around and focus on
AMEIN with a group of boys he mentored at TG Glover primary school, working at the landscaping business he loves, and, right, Amein’s grandfather, Wilfred Forbes.
something he was naturally good at. Today, he is a certified horticulture professional and a foreman at Caribbean Landscaping. He is also the proud owner of AA Burrows Landscaping, Painting and Restoration with the motto “The Client’s Perception is Weighed Entirely on Our Scale of Action”. He thanks Bernie Minnis of the Artistic Group (landscaping) for teaching him much in the profession and encouraging him to become certified. Amein is now a grateful member of Toastmasters Club 1600. He has helped to steer young boys away from the life of crime he experienced. At TG Glover, he ran a club for a couple of years, where he focused on 13 young boys who were at risk, teaching them literacy and life skills. Parents thanked him because they saw great changes in their children. He also is a mentor for the Moral Recognition Therapy Group, where he gets to share his experiences and help motivate young men, some his age (32) and even older. He thanks his mother for never taking any of the drug money he made, telling him that she would only accept money from him if he worked hard for it. She set a good example; she earned a doctorate degree in cosmetology and now runs her own salon – Debbie’s Barber and beauty, in the same spot on Market Street in the downtown area where the famous Cliffie’s once operated for decades. His advice to those wishing to get out of a life of crime: “Don’t ever think if you want to make a change in your life and go in a different direction that you can’t. Hang with different people. Look for people who would push you into doing something positive with your life instead of doing things that could cost you to end up in jail or cost you your life. Don’t ever think that because you did so much negativity in the past that there is no hope for you. Leave it in the past. Find something you are naturally good at. Anything can sell. Give it a try and watch your dream come to life.”
THE TRIBUNE
Tuesday, September 18, 2018, PAGE 9
WHO WANTS TO GO TO THE MOON?
JAPANESE billionaire Yusaku Maezawa speaks after SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk announced him as the person who would be the first private passenger on a trip around the moon. Photo: Chris Carlson/AP LOS ANGELES Associated Press JAPANESE billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said Monday that he plans to blast off on the first-ever commercial trip around the moon and will invite six
to eight artists, architects, designers and other creative people on the weeklong journey. The SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket is scheduled to make the trip in 2023, Maezawa and company founder Elon Musk
announced at an event Monday at its headquarters near Los Angeles. Maezawa, 42, said he wants his guests to be inspired to create once they return to Earth “to inspire the dreamer in all of us”. “I wish to create amazing
works of art for humankind,” Maezawa said. “Just thinking about it now gets my heart racing.” Musk said the billionaire will pay “a lot of money” for the lunar orbit but he declined to disclose the exact amount.
He said Maezawa, founder of Japan’s largest retail website and one the country’s richest people, came to SpaceX with the idea for the flight. SpaceX founder Elon Musk says the BFR is still in development and will
make several unmanned test launches before it takes on passengers. The reusable 118m (387ft) rocket will have its own dedicated passenger ship. The mission will not involve a lunar landing.
Florence death total reaches 32 CHARLOTTE, North Carolina Associated Press
FLORENCE — which was once a hurricane and now is a tropical depression — is being blamed for at least 32 deaths in the Carolinas and Virginia. 25 were in North Carolina. Officials in those states are still worried about what’s to come, because it’s still raining and rivers are swelling. Several of the people who died in recent days were swept up in stormwaters. Three small children have been killed, two from falling trees. A one-year-old boy was swept into floodwaters on Sunday when the car his mother was driving came upon rushing water. The water from a nearby
creek in Union County had risen quickly, and the current was swift. Dazia Lee told local media that she isn’t from the area and was unfamiliar with the roads. The water pushed her car off the road and left her stuck in a group of trees, authorities said. Lee was able to get Kaiden Lee-Welch out of the car, but the water caused her to lose her grip, she told Fox 46 WJZY . “I was holding his hand, trying to hold him, trying to pull him up,” she told the TV station. “I couldn’t hold on anymore and he let go.” Little Kaiden’s body was found Monday. Three-month-old Kade Gill, who was born on Father’s Day, was in his mother’s arms. They were
HOPE FADES FOR TYPHOON VICTIMS ITOGON, Philippines Associated Press
DOZENS of people believed buried in a landslide unleashed by Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines probably did not survive, a mayor said yesterday, although rescuers kept digging through mud and debris covering a chapel where they had taken shelter. Of the 40 to 50 miners and their families believed inside the chapel, there is a “99 percent” chance that they all were killed, said Mayor Victorio Palangdan of Itogon, the Benguet province town that was among the hardest hit by the typhoon that struck on Saturday. Mangkhut already is confirmed to have killed 66 people in the Philippines and four in China, where it weakened to a tropical storm as it churned inland Monday. Palangdan said rescuers have recovered 11 bodies from the muddy avalanche, which covered a former bunkhouse for the miners that had been turned into a chapel. Dozens of people sought shelter there during the storm despite warnings it was dangerous. “They laughed at our policemen,” he said. “They were resisting when our police tried to pull them away. What can we do?” Police and soldiers were among the hundreds of rescuers with shovels and picks searching for the
missing along a mountainside as grief-stricken relatives waited nearby, many of them praying quietly. Bodies in black bags were laid side by side. Those identified were carried away by relatives, some using crude bamboo slings. Jonalyn Felipe said she had called her husband, Dennis, a small-scale gold miner in Itogon, and told him to return to their home in northern Quirino province as the powerful typhoon approached Friday. “I was insisting because the storm was strong but he told me not to worry because he said they’re safe there,” said a weeping Felipe, adding that her husband was last seen chatting with fellow miners in the chapel before it was hit by the collapsing mountainside. She said she screamed after hearing the news about her husband, and their four-year-old son sensed what had happened and cried too. Palangdan said authorities “will not stop until we recover all the bodies”. Itogon resident Roel Ullani helped search for the missing, including several of his cousins and other relatives. “For me, it will just be retrievals,” he said. Many of those who sought cover in the twostory building thought it was sturdy but the storm was just too severe, with the avalanche covering it “in just a few seconds”.
sitting on the sofa when a tree crashed through the roof of the family’s mobile home, killing the child. “The tree had divided us,” said father Olen Gill, who talked to The Gaston Gazette when he returned to the destroyed home with his wife after her release from the hospital. “I’m in the kitchen and she’s in the living room on the couch.” The tragedy happened on Sunday in Dallas, North Carolina. Leasha Murphy-Johnson and her eight-month-old son were the first fatalities reported from the storm. Murphy-Johnson, her
husband Zac and their son were in bed on Friday morning when a massive tree fell into their house in Wilmington, North Carolina. Authorities said it killed mother and baby, and trapped Zac Johnson. Rescuers worked for hours with airbags, saws, heavy lifting and other specialised equipment to free him. Zac Johnson was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries and will survive, according to the Port City News . Rhonda R Hartley, 30, died early on Sunday after driving a pick-up truck into standing water near
Gilbert, South Carolina, losing control and hitting a tree, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety. Jeffrey B Youngren 42, of Elgin, South Carolina, also died on Sunday when a pick-up truck hit a bridge piling in Kershaw County, said Coroner David West, who added that weather “played a big part” in the death. Michael Dalton Prince, 23, died on Sunday after the truck he was riding in lost control on a flooded two-lane road in Georgetown County, South Carolina, said Coroner
Kenny Johnson. The driver and another passenger escaped after the truck landed upside down in a flooded ditch. Officials caution people not to drive down barricaded roads and to be cautious of any standing water. What seems like a small puddle can escalate into a raging current within seconds. “Our hearts go out to the families of those who died in this storm,” North Carolina Gov Roy Cooper said yesterday. “Hurricane Florence is going to continue its violent grind across our state for days. Be extremely careful and stay alert.”
PAGE 10, Tuesday, September 18, 2018
THE TRIBUNE
John Bull raid suspect granted bail by court
20-YEAR SENTENCE FOR SHOOTING QUASHED
By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
THE Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction and 20-year sentence of a man previously found guilty of attempting to murder another man as he and his friends sat in a car outside his residence five years ago. Appellate Justices Jon Isaacs, Roy Jones and Sir Michael Barnett set aside Franklyn Edgecombe’s sentence concerning the March 11, 2013, shooting of Leonardo Kirkwood Rolle on Anderson Street. The judges said Edgecombe’s conviction was “unsafe” and thus worthy of being quashed because of, but not limited to, the trial judge’s failure to give a direction to the jury on how to treat evidence that Edgecombe had been in jail and that his photo was in a “rogues gallery”. The judges also dismissed the Crown’s invitation for the Court of Appeal to order a retrial, stating that as it was the Crown’s witnesses that “improperly” revealed the “prejudicial information” that Edgecombe was known to the police, a retrial would not be in the “interest of justice”. According to the ruling, at about 8.30pm on the date in question, Rolle was shot while seated in the front passenger seat of a car on Anderson Street in New Providence. A week later, while at the hospital, Rolle told the police it was “Chilly” who shot him. Rolle gave evidence to that effect at the trial and identified Edgecombe as the person he knew as “Chilly” and the person who shot him. The Crown cited the evidence of two other witnesses who saw the incident, but could not identify the person who shot Rolle because that person was wearing a hood and his face was covered. Jerome Young, in the driver’s seat of the car when the incident occurred, said that evening, he, Rolle, and his cousin Samuel Johnson were sitting in his car, which was parked outside his house on Anderson Street, chilling out and smoking. Young said he went upstairs to take a bath and returned at about 8.30pm. He said as he attempted to sit in the vehicle, Rolle asked him for a lighter. Young in turn then searched for the lighter, and as he
ONE of two men accused of stealing over $900,000 worth of merchandise from a John Bull store in Grand Bahama while disguised as women, was granted $20,000 bail by a Supreme Court judge. Justice Bernard Turner granted Corradon Cockburn bail yesterday before his trial on October 4th concerning his role in the alleged daytime robbery of John Bull’s Port Lucaya location on July 23. Cockburn was further
ordered to be outfitted with an ankle monitoring device, and is only allowed to go out between the hours of 7am and 9am, and 2pm and 4pm from Monday through Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays, he is only allowed to go out between 8am and noon. Additionally, Cockburn must sign in at the Fox Hill Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Friday before 6pm. Last month, Cockburn, of Mangrove Avenue, and 23-year-old Diego Carey of Soldier Road, were arraigned on a conspiracy to commit robbery. It is alleged that on July
23, both men, with others who are unknown, conspired and stole 35 men’s and women’s Rolex watches and two Breitling watches valued at $427,000, the property of John Bull Limited. According to initial reports, two men disguised as women, wearing long wigs, entered the John Bull Store at Port Lucaya Marketplace on the morning of July 23, smashed a glass display case and stole a number of high-priced watches, escaping in a stolen vehicle. Police later said the stolen merchandise was valued at more than $900,000.
Cockburn was also charged with possession of proceeds of criminal conduct. It is alleged that on July 29 in New Providence he had $21,281 cash of both US and Bahamian currencies. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. Carey was also charged with receiving. It is alleged that on July 31 he dishonestly received five Rolex watches in Grand Bahama, valued at some $58,400, the property of John Bull Limited, knowing they were stolen. Cockburn is represented by attorney Bjorn Ferguson.
By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net
was telling Rolle he did not have it, saw a “fire like a gunshot came through the car glass”. After noticing the gunshot hit the vehicle, Young told the Court he had just enough time to sit in the vehicle. He did not see the gun, and he did not see the shooter’s face. Nonetheless, Young eventually saw his car being driven by Johnson, whom he flagged down. On hopping in the back seat, he found Rolle suffering from a gunshot wound. When interviewed by police officer Desmond Rolle, Edgecombe denied he shot (Leonardo) Rolle, and at the trial Edgecombe exercised his right to remain silent. Nonetheless, he was still convicted. Edgecombe appealed his conviction and sentence on the grounds that given the inconsistency in the identification evidence, the trial judge ought not to have allowed the case to go to the jury; as the case was based upon identification evidence the judge ought to have given and failed to give a Turnbull direction; the trial judge failed to give any directions to the jury as to how they should treat the evidence that suggested he had been in jail or was otherwise known to the police. Edgecombe’s first grounds ultimately failed. On the second ground, the judges noted that while the trial judge did give a Turnbull direction, which relates to identification evidence, it was “not specific to the evidence lead at the trial so as to enable the jury to satisfy itself that the caution given by the judge had been met by the evidence”. The appellate judges said the trial judge’s direction did not, for example, give any direction to the jury concerning the “varying distance of the various eyewitnesses to the shooter”, nor the “fleeting time” in which Rolle would have seen Edgecombe. Concerning the third ground, the appellate judges noted that during the trial, there was more than one reference to the fact that Edgecombe had been in jail and that his photo was in a “rogues” gallery, thus implying he was known to police. One example of this was Officer Rolle testifying that Edgecombe told him he knew Rolle “because they were in prison together”.
TWO HURT IN DRIVE-BY SHOOTING TWO men are in hospital following a drive-by shooting in the Fox Hill area on Sunday. According to police, occupants in a silver Toyota Paso opened fire on a group of men sitting in a vacant lot at the junction of Blueberry Hill Road and Armbrister Street. The incident took place shortly after 5pm, and police indicate the shots were fired by someone sitting in the back seat of the car, armed with a handgun. The injured men were taken to hospital and are in stable condition. Meanwhile, police are investigating three Sunday armed robberies – two in the capital, and a home invasion in Exuma. In the first incident, two men armed with firearms entered a pharmacy located near Baillou Hill and Carmichael Roads, held up
an employee and robbed the establishment of cash shortly before 9pm. The culprits escaped into a nearby residential community. Less than an hour later, police say the driver of a silver coloured Nissan pulled up to the service window of a fast food restaurant on Prince Charles Drive and pulled out a shot gun. The second incident took place shortly before 10pm, according to police, who say the gunman held up an employee and robbed the establishment of cash before speeding away. In Exuma, police say two armed men entered a home in Bahama Sound #11, west of George Town, and held residents hostage as they robbed them of cell phones and other undisclosed items. According to reports, the incident took place shortly after 3pm on Sunday.
FIREARM FOUND BY POLICE By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahama police discovered a firearm in the Freeport area on Sunday. According to reports, Central Detective Unit officers were on mobile patrol in the area of Tasman Close sometime around 3pm Sunday when they saw a group of men standing in the area. ASP Terecita Pinder said that the men fled in different directions on seeing the officers. When officers checked the area, she said they found a black Smith and Wesson pistol with no ammunition. Meanwhile, Abaco Police are investigating an armed robbery that
occurred at a residence in Leisure Lee, Abaco, on Sunday evening. Reports are that shortly after 8pm, police were called to a home where three masked armed men had held up the residents and robbed them of jewellery, a shotgun, and a 2013 champagne-coloured Buick Lacrosse vehicle. Ms Pinder said police are actively investigating this matter and appealing to anyone for information that could assist them with their investigation. Persons can call Abaco police at 367-2560/367-3437, the Central Detective Unit in Grand Bahama at 3503107 through 12, 919, 911 or call the nearest police station.