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The Tribune

Volume:116 No.196, OCTOBER 4TH, 2019

Established 1903

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WEEKEND: BAHAMIAN DESIGNS FOR REAL HOUSEWIVES STAR

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE massive destruction wrought by Hurricane Dorian a month ago is still visible in various East End settlements where some residents say they feel neglected and are eager for major debris removal to start in their storm-torn communities.

“I think more could be done after four weeks; I think more should have been done,” said an East End resident who did not want to be named. “We still waiting…we feel down, depressed, discredited, and discarded – we ain’t used to this. It’s been a month now.”

Many East End residents have been displaced after they were forced to leave their homes which were

ATTORNEY General Carl Bethel says squatters may be entitled to compensation when the government compulsorily acquires land that once housed Abaco’s shanty towns if they satisfy the law’s stringent requirements.

He spoke to The Tribune yesterday after Prime

Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced on Wednesday that he has instructed him to acquire The Mudd, Pigeon Peas, Sand Banks and other areas as part of a move to prevent rebuilding in the low-lying areas.

Meanwhile, Dr Minnis continued his tough talk on immigration yesterday, telling The Tribune his government will come after SEE PAGE THREE

Page 17

page 7

ROBBERY SUSPECT SHOT DEAD

BY POLICE

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net POLICE in New Providence are investigating the circumstances surrounding an officer-involved shooting that left a suspected armed robber dead yesterday.

Police said a firearm as well as suspected stolen property were recovered from the suspect.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash said shortly after 5am, police control room received a 911 call reporting two armed robberies that occurred at Hospital Lane, Baillou Hill Road and Rodgers Corner.

CSP Cash said: “Our dispatching unit responded to this 911 call, they spoke with both victims who gave the officers information relative to the incident. They were further directed to an area where the suspected person ran, those officers proceeded to that area where they saw an individual fitting the description given to them by both victims.

SEE PAGE TEN

TWO KILLED IN SEPARATE ATTACKS

GOVT MAY PAY SQUATTERS FOR LAND ACQUISITION

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

RUNWAY FOR RELIEF

In full bloom

SHAUNAE SHINES IN SILVER SPOT

destroyed to take shelter in Freeport. Gambier Point is one of several quaint communities in East Grand Bahama that was severely affected.

The Tribune visited the settlement this week and it was littered with huge amounts of pine forest debris brought in by the surge.

Destroyed possessions, furnishings, and appliances outdoors line the side of the road.

Despite the destruction, some residents have decided to remain, staying in tents on their property.

Others have relocated to Freeport temporarily.

Theresa Laing is one of several residents having to commute from Freeport daily to her house in Gambier Point.

SEE PAGE FIVE

Friday, October 4, 2019

history animals

Designer hits mark for Hou sewives’ Eva

NEGLECTED Residents of East End ‘still waiting’

food gardening puzzles

SHAUNAE Miller-Uibo crosses the finish line to win the silver medal in the women’s 400m final at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, yesterday. The Bahamian star ran a personal best time of 48.37 but was beaten by Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain in 48.14. See Sports for the full story.

Photo: Petr David Josek/AP

TWO people were killed in separate murders yesterday.

In the first incident, a man died after he was shot in Fox Hill yesterday afternoon, police said.

While last night, a woman died after being stabbed.

Details on both incidents were scant up to press time, however police said the victim in the first killing died in hospital shortly after he was shot.

SEE PAGE TEN

ASH DENIES CLAIMS OF POLICE BID TO ‘SYNCHRONISE’ GIBSON TESTIMONY

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A BUSINESSMAN yesterday denied assertions that a police officer had previously arranged for him and a woman connected to former Cabinet minister Shane Gibson to “synchronise” their

statements against the former parliamentarian.

Jonathan Ash denied claims by lead defense attorney Keith Knight, QC, that he and Deborah Bastian attended a meeting to “clear up” the “differences” in their respective allegations of bribery against the former minister.

Mr Ash acknowledged

that the meeting in question with police was arranged because, “I was saying one thing, Deborah Bastian was saying something totally different.” However, he distanced himself from Ms Bastian, as he maintained his truthfulness in the matter.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE EIGHT

ONE GIANT STEP TO SAVE THE BAHAMAS

SEE PAGE 11

PAGE 2, Friday, October 4, 2019

HENILEE MACKEY

Death toll now 61 - as more missing people named POLICE recovered the body of a man in the Pigeon Peas community on Abaco yesterday, bringing the official death toll from Hurricane Dorian to 61.

Police also released the identities of nine more missing people – including two children – from Grand Bahama who have not been seen or heard from since Hurricane Dorian pulverised the island last month.

Three of the missing are residents of Emmanuel Way in High Rock, Grand Bahama. They are Henilee Audrinique Laurenzia Mackey, 18, Howard Charles Bevans, 28, and Monique Nicole Munnings, 46.

Four people from McCleans Town in East End, Grand Bahama are also listed as missing, according to police.

They are eight-year-old Philip Livingston Thomas III, 31-year-old Philip Livingston Thomas Jr, sixyear-old Remeille Allicante Wave Thomas and 16-yearold Mateo Tamage Caden Bethel.

On Wednesday, police released the names and photos of five missing people from Grand Bahama due to the storm.

Last week the names of six people missing from Grand Bahama and one from Abaco were released.

Officials have said more than 400 people are reported as missing across Abaco and Grand Bahama due to Dorian.

Last week, Health Minister Dr Duane Sands said the bodies of some victims may still be trapped under rubble or were washed out to sea.

THE TRIBUNE

HOWARD BEVANS

MONIQUE MUNNINGS

PHILIP THOMAS JR

PHILIP LIVINGSTON THOMAS III

REMEILLE THOMAS

MATEO BETHEL

WSC RESTORING SUPPLY TO MARSH HARBOUR FACILITIES

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Water and Sewerage Corporation announced yesterday that it has commenced operations to restore interim water supply to “critical governmental facilities” in Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

In a press statement released yesterday, WSC suggested that this will allow for the ongoing cleanup and restoration efforts on the storm-ravaged island to run more efficiently.

Hurricane Dorian, a monster Category Five storm, devastated Abaco and Grand Bahama early last month and

obliterated scores of homes and businesses.

WSC noted that the corporation’s infrastructure, including its water and sanitation systems, on Abaco suffered major damage as a result of Hurricane Dorian.

“While our teams have been able to patch together an interim water system for Marsh Harbour, this

is only an interim or temporary arrangement as we commence major reconstruction works throughout the Abacos estimated to be in the $15m to $20m range,” WSC added.

The statement continued: “Given the devastation in our Marsh Harbour well fields and the surrounding area, our laboratory personnel

have taken two rounds of samples and these samples have been thoroughly tested at our local laboratory and at (an) international laboratory to confirm that our water supply meets all local and international standards for chemistry, microbiology, trace metals and hydrocarbons.”

This testing, as noted

by WSC, was completed

with the assistance of the Pan American Health Organisation.

But, given the fragility of power generation, water production, storage, pumping and distribution systems, WSC warns that there will be periods of low pressure and/or no water in the Marsh Harbour area.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 4, 2019, PAGE 3

CANADIAN-Bahamian retired NBA champion and actor Rick Fox and Grammy Award recording artist Kanye West visited the National Emergency Management Agency on Gladstone Road yesterday. Both held preliminary talks about the reconstruction phase of communities affected by Hurricane Dorian. They met John Michael Clarke of the reconstruction committee and Godfrey Rolle, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative at NEMA. Following the meeting, Fox and West joined people at NEMA’s operations centre to watch Shaunae Miller-Uibo compete at the IAAF World Championships Photo: Lindsay Thompson/NEMA

Govt may pay squatters for land acquisition from page one companies and private citizens who hire undocumented migrants. He said they will feel the full brunt of the law if discovered.

“Under the law, all legal owners and by implication any squatter who has lived continuously in undisturbed possession for the required periods of time will have to be paid, once they can prove their form of title, whether by documentary title or by operation of the Limitation of Actions periods,” Mr Bethel said.

“They must prove exclusive occupation for the limitation period. Now the legal issue is this: a right not to be evicted from a piece of land by legal action by the ‘true owner’ does not amount to a legal title to that land. It is merely a right not to be evicted by the true owner. The legal question the groups like Respect Our Homes may have to take to court is this precise question. If a squatter is no longer in physical

FOX Hill Community Centre.

occupation of the land, he has no right per se to retain it. Another squatter can enter and continue the occupation. The owner could enter. The question for a court of equity and justice would be whether the ‘possession’ could be deemed to continue in actual possession in law, because the squatter (who had gained the right not to be evicted under the Limitation Act) was evicted by a storm surge, and did not abandon the land of his own volition. These are complex issues.”

A Rights Bahamas official said yesterday thousands of people could qualify for compensation because of their squatter’s rights. A formal statement from the group is expected today.

After the government gazettes its intention to acquire the land, an assessor will be appointed to appraise them, their valuation dictating compensation.

“This is undivided land so it may be necessary to

divide a large sum amongst multiple persons who can prove title to parts,” Mr Bethel said, noting that acquisition can take a long time. “It depends on how quickly people can prove title and in some acquisitions there have been legal actions challenging the acquisition, which can lead to great deals sometimes,” he said.

Mr Bethel noted the law on compulsory acquisition makes no references to nationality in its application, saying: “All persons in The Bahamas enjoy the benefits accorded by the constitution.”

Establishing title to the lands could prove complicated. The Mudd, according to many, was built on Crown Land, but ownership of the Pigeon Peas is a more contentious matter.

Marsh Harbour resident Ricky Albury has said he owns the land but former Central and South Abaco MP Edison Key said yesterday that this is not the case.

The land, Mr Key said, was granted to an ancestor

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

RAW SEWAGE COMING FROM DRAINS AT SHELTER

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell said raw sewage is sprouting from the drains of the Fox Hill Community Centre, the shelter housing scores of people affected by Hurricane Dorian.

Last month, Fox Hill MP Shonel Ferguson told The Tribune the number of people staying at the centre posed problems for the centre’s sewage system, requiring the cesspit be pumped frequently.

Good Samaritans donated money to facilitate this, she said.

Mr Mitchell said in his statement: “I am advised that raw sewage is coming up through the drains of the Fox Hill Community Centre. This is because too many people are sheltered

there and the building was not meant to deal with long term sheltering of people.

The cesspit has required constant pumping and obviously something has now gone amiss. The day before, one of the air conditioning units reportedly stopped working because items of clothing were hung around the machinery.

“The building is privately owned. The government was granted the use of the building as a temporary shelter. This was done even though the government reneged on its agreement to maintain the building and staff. Now they have taken over the building and it has been wrecked with no end in sight and no idea how the damage and maintenance and repairs will be afforded.

I make this a public matter as the health and safety of the shelter occupants are now at risk.”

Ms Ferguson did not respond to a Tribune request for comment yesterday.

The property on which the centre resides was acquired by former minister of housing, the late George Mackey in the 1990s and conveyed to the Fox Hill Development to be held in trust for Fox Hill residents.

A multi-purpose auditorium, constructed after the Progressive Liberal Party regained power in 2002, was developed into a worldclass facility during the last Christie administration with help from the InterAmerican Development Bank and its Citizen Security Programme.

The Minnis administration has clashed with the non-profit organisation that owns the facility over its ownership structure and payment of its expenses.

many years ago.

“He was awarded 220 acres for his heroism during a war and the Crown gave him title to that,” Mr Key said. “He died without a will, leaving quite a few sons and nobody ever could figure out who was the eldest son so people just squatted on the land.”

For his part, Mr Bethel said: “In a similar case, where land was needed for the Black Point Exuma airport, former Prime Minister Lynden Pindling took the land and put the money in the bank, telling them that once the question was resolved, the owner would collect.”

On Wednesday, Dr Minnis told undocumented migrants to leave the country or be forced out.

Yesterday he reminded businesses and residents

not to hire undocumented workers or face prosecution.

“I am sending a warning to all companies and citizen who are hiring - if you hire any illegal (worker) we will come after you and there are severe consequences - we will not tolerate any hiring of any illegal (worker),” Dr Minnis said.

Asked what penalties such companies

will face, the nation’s leader said: “That company will be severely dealt with, the law spells it out, we will not bend with the law.”

He reiterated an advisory from the Department of Immigration, saying under the law applications for new work permits must be made from the applicants home country – not The Bahamas.

PAGE 4, Friday, October 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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Residents still left waiting for govt WITH much of the focus on Abaco in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, people in the East End of Grand Bahama are concerned.

They feel that there has not been enough focus – or help – for them as they try to recover from the monster storm that came to a halt over the island and churned away, creating destruction wherever it touched.

As they try to pick up the pieces, some are left waiting, and waiting, for government help.

The debris remains untouched, residents are left without transport to access supplies – and for some there has been little sign of assistance from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Pine forest debris litters the East End, while the roads are lined with what used to be people’s possessions – furniture and appliances rotting away in the sun.

Just as in Abaco, the personal stories are harrowing. One resident talks of six feet of water in her home yet somehow she was able to be “at peace the whole time”. Another family only survived by wearing life vests with the water level nearly at the ceiling in their home. The family put their niece, who is unable to walk or talk, on a mattress to keep her safe. A neighbour’s house was completely submerged.

There has been support - from the Lions, the Rotary Clubs, and the World’s Kitchen, but residents have been left expecting more from government.

As one said when a meeting was called in Freeport, how are people supposed to get there when their vehicles have been destroyed by the storm. If people can’t get to government, government has to go to the people.

This week, we also heard of conditions in Abaco with people saying there has been little support, and that there

was no law there, with residents taking defence into their own hands.

It is now more than a month since the hurricane. The roads have been cleared enough to let relief teams access wherever they need to, and there has been a herculean effort to raise funds and provide donations for those who need it.

Which begs the question - why are so many on the affected islands left wondering where the government is?

Are there not enough resources available for the government? Is it not committing enough manpower into the affected areas? Between NEMA, public servants, police and the defence force, does the government not have enough people available to reach those who need assistance?

Or is it an organisational problem?

Are the resources there, but not being managed in a way that lets people in the hurricane zones see and feel the presence of government, and access the assistance that they need?

With similar stories coming out of both Abaco and Grand Bahama, this isn’t something that can be shrugged off as an isolated occurrence. People in both areas are feeling, as they say, neglected.

This isn’t a political matter - these people are as frustrated by the absence of the opposition members of Parliament as they are the members of government. It’s simply that they feel cut off, forgotten, that they have been left on their own to figure out how to rebuild their lives.

We must improve. The government must reach these people and make them feel that there is no Bahamian, no resident left behind.

The moment the storm hit these islands was our darkest hour. We must make sure that things are made better - not worse - in our response. For all of those affected.

Let us be kind after Dorian EDITOR, The Tribune.

PLEASE allow me a little space in your valuable newspaper to share a few words with your reading audience.

Ever since the passing of the hurricane Dorian, my heart has been touched with the thought that I should make a short motivational contribution to this country and all who might wish to read it.

I thank you for your kind consideration.

THE GREAT EQUALISER Every human being is equal in God’s sight. When The Great I Am sets out his ruling, no man or woman is greater than another. This fact was made clear during the passing of the storm Dorian.

Prior to that storm, can we deny that class was evident? Yes we had the people living like kings and queens, and yet there was another group of people who lived in The Mud. Can you believe that name? The Mud. How is it that we as a people did not considered this? Could we have not changed that name?

My computer’s Thesaurus lists the name Mud as Mire, Sludge, Muck, filth, Dirt and Grime Yes, The Mud was where many of our sisters and brothers resided once upon a time. Who changed that? The Great

Equaliser.

During that hurricane the rich, the poor, the good, the bad the pretty and the ugly were all caught in the hands of The Great Equaliser. Say what you like, Call it what you may. No man had the power to question, fight, deny or deter the power of The Great Equaliser. Every man, woman and beast, simply ran for cover. Simply no match for The Great Equaliser.

After the storm passed, everyone has had to take a good look at themselves and see themselves as they should. You are no better than the person standing near you. The rich, the poor, and everyone in between had one thing on their minds. I want to live.

The things you possessed that made you think that you were better than anyone else, has proven to be nothing but vanity like King Solomon stated in the Bible. (All is vanity).

I truly sympathise with all who have lost loved ones during the storm in Grand Bahama and Abaco.

But now, let’s look for that silver lining behind that dark cloud. Bahamians, let’s transform and build The Bahamas.

Let us show the world the manner of people Bahamians really are. We are kind, decent and loving people.

In all things we give God thanks.

The following is just a bit of food for thought.

Something my Father Lincoln Maycock taught me 50 years ago. He may have written it or learned it from someone else.

Nevertheless, six months before he died he gave me a manuscript copy to pass on to my children. I wish to share it with the world.

LET US BE KIND Let us be kind. The way is long and lonely And human hearts are asking for this blessing only That we be kind We may not know the grief that men may borrow We cannot see the souls Storms swept by sorrow But love can shine upon the way today, tomorrow Let us be kind LET US BE KIND, Around the world the tears of time are falling And for the love and loss those human hearts are calling Let us be kind To the aged and the youth Let gracious words be spoken Upon the wheel of pain So may wearied lives are broken We live in vain Who do no tender token Let Us Be Kind.

AL MAYCOCK JOHNSON Nassau, September 25, 2019.

Examining the causes of migrants EDITOR, The Tribune.

FOR years, we seem to notice that the Bahamian-Haitian issue has a pattern.

Every month. The anger against Bahamians or Haitians pop up, triggered by videos, social media posts and news articles. It dies down afterwards, but it gets worse.

In fact, if we continue like this, it will be an ethnic war and there would be no winners and all opposing sides lose big time.

Now, why are we having an issue like this? It’s all because of geopolitical issues.

When one wealthy country shares a border with a poor country stuck in extreme poverty and rampant wars, the migrants of the poor country would try to get to the more wealthy country by any means possible.

Even if they face certain death on the high seas or the treacherous lands to get there.

The examples would be the Bahamas bordering with impoverished Haiti in the Southeast, the Illustrious USA bordering with Narco-State Mexico in the Southwest, Trinidad and Tobago sitting above the failed state of Venezuela, the technological powerhouse of Japan sharing with the significantly impoverished people of the Philippines and the well-to-do European countries dealing with the escaping survivors from the wars in Iraq, Syria and Mali.

All of those countries have the same pattern, the poor citizens escape from the hellish conditions from their lands to make it to the next country that holds their only hope of a normal life.

But the wealthy citizens become fearful that the migrants would bring their problems on their shores

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net and despite pleas and true stories being shared to international news outlets, the 1st world citizens treat them like nobodies, even some countries deport legal migrants for no good reason.

As much as these right-wing people of Eastern Europe, Japan, America and Australia can tell me about the laws of their country, and while I don’t disagree with the law.

But what I definitely cannot stand is ignoring the problems of what the migrants face back home and treating them like they’re garbage and their opinions don’t matter.

With Bahamians on this matter, many rightwing individuals on social media see the Haitians as “parasitic persons” along with other disgusting comments and boast how wealthy we are compared to them.

Telling the migrants to go build their home is another insulting comment I hear about them. Many Haitians tried to build up their country and failed because of their massively corrupted government that fails the people on every level possible, and many of them gave up and left.

Because of extreme levels of poverty and unliveable inflation, it’s also impossible to buy a flight ticket, wait for any visa to travel or even get any food or water as their families are in danger. But telling them that they need to go back is very insulting and also ignorant to the person who said it.

The absolute worst comment about Haitians is the falsehood of immigrants invading The Bahamas. For starters, Haiti disbanded their army more than 20 years

ago, then it’s the fact that it is another terrible insult and even if those rumours were true, it would be a bloodbath that will turn our waters red with blood and gore.

Historically, Argentina tried to seize the Falkland Islands and were crushed

by British Forces, then Saddam attempted to conquer Kuwait and his loyal Iraqi forces were decimated by the US in Operation Desert Storm, and was captured 12 years later. If Haiti plotted to take the Bahamas by overpopulating the islands with migrants, the US military would have set up their new base decades ago.

This is where I have a very serious problem with nationalists and conservatives everywhere in the world. The practice of nationalism brings up one people, yet demonises another group of people outside of their community.

It’s just another legal outlet to preach hatred instead of unity.

We’ve been talking about stamping out illegal immigration once and for all. But there’s still the major problem of slave labour and human trafficking that feeds the problem, and as long as Haiti is poor, immigration will go on forever. It’s the same thing everywhere else in the world.

The true solution is for Haiti and the poor countries to grow to 1st world status and living standards.

Everyone from wealthy to 3rd world nations must take part in burning out the corrupt government and rebuild those countries from the ashes. When the wealth and security is ensured in those places, the issue will stop altogether, and everyone wins.

AMMAKA RUSSELL Nassau, October 3, 2019.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 4, 2019, PAGE 5

DEBRIS in East End, above and below, in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.

Residents of East End ‘still waiting’ from page one “I am in and out,” she said. “I come here in the day and stay at the house and go into town (Freeport) in the evening.”

Her family is staying with their priest in Freeport.

Mrs Laing’s house was under six feet of water during the storm, but she did not panic.

“I was at peace the whole time; the water did not come in too fast and we went into the manhole in the ceiling.”

Even though her house sustained significant damage and her family lost most of their possessions, she said the important thing is that they are still alive.

“All is well; we are still in the land of the living,” said Mrs Laing, who added that her brother-in-law, George Laing, of McLean’s Town, is still missing.

Several groups have been in the area dropping off food, water and other items for residents there, however, Mrs Laing said that she has not seen anyone yet from the National Emergency Management Agency in the area.

She noted that it is difficult for residents to travel to Freeport to get relief supplies from NEMA. “I know they (NEMA) have a place in Freeport for East End people to get supplies, but some people don’t have a ride to get there to get anything,” she said.

Another resident, Terrence Laing, and four members of his family also stayed in Gambier Point during the storm. The water level had nearly reached their ceiling.

They were able to survive, he said, by wearing life vests.

“It was the five of us here at the time, including my niece who is a special child that cannot walk or talk. When I see water start coming in, I tell everyone to put on their life vest.”

He said they placed his niece on a mattress.

Mr Laing’s neigbour’s

house was completely underwater. “You could not see the roof, the water was over it, but, luckily, he was not there,” he said.

A portion of his roof was torn off, and a window was blown out. All of their possessions were destroyed.

“All my life, I never seen it like this, he said. “This is the first time. I stayed because I did not know it was going to be bad like this.”

Another East End resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, feels more should have been done in terms of debris clean-up after a month.

The resident’s house had eight feet of water during the storm.

“It is something you could only look back at and try to move forward,” the resident said. “A lot of people lost their lives.”

The resident was appreciative for the relief supplies from the Lions and Rotary Clubs, and World’s Kitchen, which came into the area.

“I can’t say whether NEMA had been here yet because a lot of people came by and drop off supply, and so we don’t know if they from NEMA,” the resident stated.

The resident expected more from both local and central government. “I am not impressed about local government in this area, someone should come around to the people, and let people know what is going on.”

The resident also complained of having no transportation to get to Freeport.

“You can’t call your meeting in Freeport and expect for us to be there. They got to come meet the people,” said the resident.

Hurricane Dorian pummeled Grand Bahama for nearly two days in early September, after leaving a trail of devastation and death in Abaco. Police have said the official death toll is 60, however that number is expected to rise. Some 400 people are officially reported as missing.

TERRENCE LAING, whose family survived thanks to life vests.

PAGE 6, Friday, October 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

GER3 representatives Norwood Scott, second from left, and Richard Philips, far right, and a team of local Bahamians hired, completing repairs and restoration work at Hugh Campbell Primary School, in partnership with UNICEF.

Hugh Campbell school may be open in days

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE Hugh Campbell Primary School that was severely damaged during

Hurricane Dorian is being repaired and readied for students and teachers who could be back in the classrooms in just a matter of days.

This is being made

possible by Global Emergency Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction (GER3), which is spearheading the school repair and restoration efforts there, and at others schools

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in Freeport, through partnership forged with UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund).

The school, situated on Mahogany Street, saw over four feet of flooding in classrooms as a result of storm surge that came through the island.

Mould had overtaken the walls, and there was also significant paint and roof damage to the building, which comprises 30 classrooms and administrative offices.

Norwood Scott, a GER3 representative, said that in addition to providing repairs, the organisation also provides employment opportunities to local Bahamians who they hire to work on the projects.

GER3 is a non-profit organisation based in Virginia that responds to global crisis and disasters. During the first week after the storm, a response team led by its president and founder, Langdon Greenhalgh, was one of the first on the ground in Grand Bahama helping out at the Rand Memorial Hospital, which was also severely affected.

The group has now turned its efforts to restoring schools in Freeport.

“We want to thank to UNICEF for the funding that they give us to come down here and do these projects,” Mr Scott said.

“We have a slightly different model than other NGOs in that we hire

locally and try to put some money back into the local economy. And while we do that, we are also giving our crews some technical assistance and capacity building on the island.”

Mr Scott stated that the whole purpose is to get the children back in the school at Hugh Campbell, and at the other schools, in a safe environment.

GER3 representative Richard Philips said they have been carrying out repairs at Hugh Campbell for a couple of weeks, first starting with debris removal and general clean-up of the exterior and interior of the building.

The water level, he said, had reached to about four-and-a-half feet in the classrooms. “I never seen floodwater like this before. I have seen lots of trees and roof damage, but never seen a flood surge anything like this… before.

It is devastating to imagine all the teachers’ desks and classroom books - everything is just ruined, and all the school supplies are gone.”

The team has bleached all the walls and floors because of mould, and then used scrapers to remove all the bubbled paint where water had been sitting.

They then applied a thick layer of primer with mould retardant on all the walls.

The team will carry-out a final bleaching on the floors.

The team also sorted through textbooks to

determine which ones were not damaged.

Bahamians Evan Powell and Lily Knowles were among several local persons hired to work on the project at Hugh Campbell.

Mr Powell is a taxi driver who has been out of work since the storm. He said he was happy to be earning an income to repair his home which sustained severe roof damage during the storm.

“We lost the top of our roof and so everything got ruined, so I don’t have a home, but this job helps out as a form of income which I will use to start repairs on my home,” he said.

He believes the work that GER3 is doing is very critical to the community.

“GER3 is doing a lot of positive work and it is very important to get the kids back in school because they have exams to prepare for; so, they need to get back to the classrooms because they have missed so many days already.”

Ms Knowles, who is employed at Taino Beach by the Sea restaurant, said that she is also out of work right now.

“I thank God for GER3 that hired me. I am enjoying it, and I don’t think the kids would have gotten in school this fast without them,” she said.

GER3 has responded to other global crisis in other countries, including Haiti following Hurricane Matthew, and also the earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Indonesia.

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THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 4, 2019, PAGE 7

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis led a delegation of Cabinet ministers to Abaco on Wednesday to assess recovery and reconstruction, including security manpower.

Photo: Yontalay Bowe/BIS

BOTTLING COMPANY AND PARTNERS OFFER SUPPORT IN the weeks post Hurricane Dorian, many Bahamians are suffering devastating losses and now find themselves displaced and reliant on other for their basic needs.

Recognising the enormous need for supplies, funds and assistance, Coca-Cola partners have mobilised to support, relief and recovery efforts for Bahamian communities.

First to react was CocaCola Puerto Rico Bottlers (CCPRB). As the local bottler of Coca-Cola in Puerto Rico, CCPRB understood firsthand the damage a storm of this magnitude can do. Puerto Rico was ravaged by Hurricane

Maria back in 2017. Mere days after the passing of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, CCPRB organised donation and supply drives with both the Puerto Rico business community and general public.

Less than a week after the passage of the storm, the first plane of relief items arrived into Nassau.

Another four planes quickly followed. Coca-Cola Puerto Rico Bottlers has also served as a collection point for relief supplies, and received four containers worth of relief items. These materials were imported last week by Caribbean Bottling, local Coca-Cola bottlers, and distribution between

Abaco, Grand Bahama and New Providence shelters has commenced.

Dedicated members of the Caribbean Bottling Company team have been working tirelessly to sort and distribute the supplies received. Working with local organisations and shelters, the supplies received are given directly to those in need. The swift response of the people of Puerto Rico and the local partners has made an incredible impact to the ongoing relief efforts.

“We thank Alberto de la Cruz, president and CEO of Coca-Cola Puerto Rico Bottlers, for his personal donation as well as

organising the donation drives. We also thank the people of Puerto Rico for their selflessness in our time of need.” said Caribbean Bottling Co CEO Walter Wells. “Receiving this level of support from our CocaCola family is a testament to the company’s mission to support the communities in which we operate.”

Caribbean Bottling Company has been instrumental in the distribution of supplies locally and continues to work closely with the Salvation Army, Red Cross, local shelters and private donors to hand out beverages, food items, baby items, batteries, generators and more.

BAR PLUCKS DOLLARS FROM WALLS TO GIVE AS AID STAFF members at a Florida bar have pulled nearly $15,000 in bills from the walls to help victims of Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that Siesta Key Oyster Bar, which is known for its dollar bill decorations,

has been collecting the money since the massive storm hit the Bahamas last month. Customers have been stapling bills to the walls for years.

SKOB, as it’s known to locals, also teamed up with three other local businesses, Daiquiri Deck, 3.14 Pi Craft

Beer & Spirits and Gilligan’s Island Bar, to raise about $10,000 this past weekend. Attendees paid a $20 fee to see musicians play and get a free drink at each location. T-shirts were also sold for $20, with the event’s proceeds going to Bahamas Red Cross.

Death Notice For Ramona Cynara Percentie, 42 a resident of Gilbert Street, Kennedy Subdivision, died at the Princess Margaret Hospital on Wednesday, September 25th, 2019 She is survive by her 3 sisters: Elmira Hunter, Janice Taylor of Exuma and Nathalie Wallace of Sidney Australia; 8 brothers: Junior Green, Wade, Andy, David, Deron, Sears, Mario and Quinton Percentie; God-mother: Gloria Wallace; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to THE NEW COMMONWEALTH FUNERAL HOME and will be announced at a later date.

PAGE 8, Friday, October 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

JONATHAN Ash outside court being escorted by police yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Ash denies claims of police bid to ‘synchronise’ Gibson testimony from page one “She (the officer who arranged the meeting) wanted to know the truth, sir,” Mr Ash told Mr Knight. “I speak the truth.

Now whatever Bastian was dealing with, that on her. I only say what I know what happened.”

Mr Ash further admitted that his lawyer at the time, Alecia Bowe, made “suggestions” during the meeting on how best to “clear up” the unspecified differences. However, Mr Ash said he instructed her otherwise. “…I told her what I say, that’s what it is. Don’t add nothing, don’t put nothing in,” he testified.

It was also revealed yesterday that despite claiming that he met Ms Bastian for the first time sometime in January 2017, Mr Ash was in regular telephone contact with the woman from November 2016, and had called her some 33 times between that month and January 2017.

In fact, Mr Knight said Mr Ash had Ms Bastian’s number saved in her phone as “NEMA Bastian”, alluding to the position she held while Mr Ash was being contracted by the government to conduct various clean-up efforts

after Hurricane Matthew’s passage.

But despite that, Mr Ash maintained that he “probably” knew Ms Bastian’s name, but didn’t actually know her at that time. He also insisted that he did not recall calling Ms Bastian prior to first meeting her in January 2017.

Nonetheless, Mr Ash admitted to “blessing” Ms Bastian with lunch money sometime in January or February 2017. Mr Knight asserted that he gave her anywhere between $800$900 for that purpose, while Mr Ash said he couldn’t recall if he gave the woman that much money.

He maintained that there were “no strings attached” to his gesture.

“If I see where someone helping me out, I say here’s some lunch,” he said, adding that he was “just being nice”.

Mr Ash also said he gave then-Ministry of Works Chief Engineer Leyton Rahman somewhere between $12,000 and $15,000, also as a “blessing” with “no pressure” attached to the gesture.

However, Mr Ash said he told Mr Rahman on a particular occasion that no one could “dictate” to him how much he “should pay out or what I should give”. When Mr Knight asked Mr Ash

FORMER MP Shane Gibson is embraced by a PLP supporter outside court. why he told Mr Rahman that, the witness said it was because he “wasn’t interested in being corrupt, and I know how people go”.

Mr Knight asked Mr Ash if Mr Rahman told him

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“look out for me”, which Mr Ash denied. In any event, Mr Ash said that had Mr Rahman tried to pressure him, he would have reported him to Gibson, whom Mr Ash claimed was Mr Rahman’s boss at the time.

That led to Mr Knight asking Mr Ash who Gibson’s boss was at the time, to which Mr Ash replied: “I would say the highest man in the country,” which at the time was former Prime Minister Perry Christie.

Mr Knight suggested that Mr Ash “knew” Mr Christie. In response, Mr Ash said he initially knew the former prime minister only from television and from him “being all over the place” as a public figure.

However, he said he got to know Mr Christie after working in the Centreville constituency in 2016 postHurricane Matthew.

Mr Knight subsequently asked Mr Ash if he supported the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), of which Mr Christie was leader at the time, to which Mr Ash replied: “I support both parties. PLP and FNM. I’m Bahamian.”

When asked if he contributed to the campaigns of both parties, Mr Ash said he only contributed to the PLP during the last election. However, he said he contributed to the FNM during a previous election cycle.

Mr Ash also confirmed that he attended a recent PLP convention.

He

confirmed that while he didn’t go on stage with Mr Christie, he was “close” to the man and “right up on him” as he walked down the aisle with Mr Christie and others.

Mr Ash was subsequently shown a picture of the PLP convention in January 2017, where he identified himself amongst the crowd.

Gibson is charged with 15 counts of bribery. It is alleged that between January 16 and 19, 2017, and being concerned with Bastian, he had solicited more than $200,000 from Mr Ash as an inducement to or a reward for him giving assistance or using his influence in approving outstanding payments owed to Ash by the government.

The Crown further asserts that on various dates between January 19-31, 2017 Gibson, still concerned with Bastian, consequently accepted $100,000 worth of payments from Mr Ash. Then between January 30 and February 28 of that year, Gibson accepted several cash payments from Mr Ash totaling some $100,000.

Between February 10 and March 27, 2017, Gibson solicited and accepted a total of $80,000 each from Ash, but this time he was not concerned with Bastian, the Crown maintains.

The Crown claims Mr Ash initially made the payments to Gibson through Bastian for the first set of payments totaling $200,000, but made them directly to Gibson for the remaining $80,000.

Gibson denied the allegations.

Yesterday, British forensic accountant Phillip de Nahlik said Mr Ash had no headroom on his bank account to make the bribery payments. However, Mr de Nahlik, who the Crown retained to analyse Mr Ash’s banking information, said that was given the assumption that the man was value added tax compliant and paid his national insurance contributions.

According to Mr de Nahlik, Mr Ash received a total of $5,432,580.76 in cheques from the Public Treasury. The total amount of cash Mr Ash retrieved from those cheques was $443,748. According Mr de Nahlik, Mr Ash’s VAT payments totaled some $379,000.

It was said his NIB contributions totaled $27,440.

Defense attorney Damian Gomez, QC, had suggested that the money Mr Ash cashed from his various cheques was used to satisfy his value added tax (VAT), National Insurance Board (NIB) and other financial obligations.

However, in response to a question from lead Crown attorney James Guthrie, QC, Mr de Nahlik said, based on his experience, someone walking into a government agency with, for example, a “suitcase full of money” to pay taxes is not only “dangerous”, proving its legitimacy could be difficult.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 4, 2019, PAGE 9

Potter’s Cay stallholders say parking ban hurting business

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net GREGORY Bowles used to pay his $900 monthly rent with ease but is now three months behind and waiting to be evicted from his apartment along with his wife.

The 54-year-old has also laid off three employees since police officers began enforcing a government policy disallowing parking in front of stalls at Potter’s Cay dock, which vendors blame for a crushing drop in business.

He and others protested the policy yesterday around East Bay Street, shouting that they can’t pay their bills and demanding that Gregory Minnis, Potter’s Cay dock’s manager, be fired.

The Ministry of Agriculture said in June that loading zones are

POTTER’s Cay Dock.

Photo: Shawn Hanna /Tribune Staff designated for offloading down and the area on the supplies and services and weekend bears no resemwere never intended to be blance to the bustling used as parking spaces. It centre of activity it used to added that police are con- be. cerned that parking in “We normally used to front of stalls pose safety have like 1,500 to 2,000 and security challenges people out here on a Friday, and the ministry said it now we have more police would work to renew here than customers,” said public confidence in Pot- Henry Bannister, 51, owner ter’s Cay in collaboration of the Conch Venue stall. with vendors. However, He said before the rules two months later, vendors about parking he could say 15 stalls have shut make up to $300 or $400 a

day but now brings in about $50.

In May, two men were killed at a stall at Potter’s Cay dock. When The Tribune visited the area yesterday, cars were parked in loading zones contrary to the rules. A vendor said the reprieve was because police had simply not shown up yet.

Edward McPhee’s fouryear-old son, Jorron, stood on a wooden railing and played with anyone who paid attention to him.

“I’m not even able to find his school fee,” his father said. “He’s out of preschool because of that.”

Mr McPhee, 60, said he had owned his stall for 25 years.

“Before the rule I could make, especially on a weekend, up to $1,000,” he said. “Now on average I’m making about $75. The deficit has been enormous.

I’m down with my national

insurance, light bill, water bill, I just barely managing to feed myself. I’m a few months behind on bills to the Ministry of Agriculture as well.”

Vendors guessed that up to 60 people have lost their jobs since the policy change earlier this year.

Dwayne Bastian, owner of the Tall Boy stall and president of the Bahamas Docks and Allied Venues Association, said he has let go five people. Mr McPhee said he has done the same.

Mr Bowles said he believes the government wants them off the dock and has implemented the parking policy change to accomplish this.

“It seems everybody more concerned about the Haitians than us,” he said, alluding to Abaco shanty town residents affected by Hurricane Dorian. “We’re hurting here at Potter’s Cay and no one seems to care.”

PATRICIA MINNIS TO LAUNCH MENTORING FOR GIRLS

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

WHILE celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child, Patricia Minnis, the wife of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, will launch a women and girls mentoring coalition next week.

In 2011, the United Nations declared October

11 as the International Day of the Girl Child.

Speaking to reporters yesterday at the Office of the Spouse of the Prime Minister, Mrs Minnis said after the opening on Wednesday October 9 at Government House, young girls from various schools will view organisations, learning what each organisation has offer them.

“We are here with Dr

Jacintha Higgs, we have Ministry of Youth, (Ministry of) Health and (Ministry of) Education. We are partnering to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child and also to launch the women and girls mentoring coalition,” she said.

“It is my esteemed privilege and pleasure to join forces with this awesome body in regard to

celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child.”

Mrs Minnis said the mission of this coalition is to train, motivate and empower women and girls through mentorship organisations and assist in funding in their programmes through national and International partnership.

She said: “The purpose of this coalition is to bring

more effective and efficient delivery of programmes, to design and obtain funding for and or run a needed intervention in the community.

“To increase communications between groups and break down stereotypes, to revitalise the sagging energies of member groups who are trying to do much and create long time social change.”

TWO MEN SAVED AS VESSEL CAPSIZES

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force’s Harbour Patrol Unit yesterday confirmed the rescue of two men last week after their vessel capsized in waters near New Providence.

A statement released

by RBDF noted that the 26-foot vessel was sinking about ten miles south of Rose Island with two Bahamians aboard on Wednesday, September 25.

The RBDF added that shortly after receiving reports about the sinking vessel, RBDF Patrol Craft P-40, coxswained by Leading Seaman William Burns, was then dispatched to the area to assist with the rescue efforts.

The statement continued: “…Two men were spotted in the water. One of the men was clinging to a cooler, and the other to a gas container about a mile away from their partially submerged vessel.

“The crew of P-40 retrieved the men from the water and transported them to the Harbour Patrol Unit for further processing.”

According to Senior Lieutenant Andrew Bowe, the commanding officer of the Harbour Patrol Unit, 31 persons have been rescued by the unit so far for the year. Last year, the unit rescued 139 people.

He said “the unit remains resolute in saving lives.”

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PAGE 10, Friday, October 4, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

POLICE at the scene of the officer-involved shooting just behind East Street Gospel Chapel.

Photos: Terrel W. Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

Robbery suspect shot dead by police from page one “As they engaged the suspect, he ran along several streets which ended up in the Lewis and East Street area. The suspect ran across East Street east onto the property behind me. Once the officers again engaged the suspects behind the building, the suspect pulled a weapon and the officers, being in fear of their life, they engaged the suspect, opened fire (and) fatally shot the suspect.”

He added: “I can tell you (based on) the crime scene that there were several bits of properties that were found on the suspected individual that we suspect came from both victims. We also recovered an alleged firearm that was

found in possession of the suspect.”

CSP Cash said the suspect appeared to be in his early 20s but could not say if the man was known to police.

He said officers were able to respond so quickly because they are “strategically placed throughout New Providence.”

CSP Cash said: “When you have issues like this, our officers are there in the area ready to respond to such incidents and you can see that played out this morning. The officers stuck to our strategy, they are placed in strategic areas and as a result of that they were able to bring this matter to closing.

“Her Majesty’s coroner visited this scene and will continue investigations into

this matter.”

According to The Tribune’s records, there have been five fatal police shootings this year.

In May, the police killed three men during a shootout at a home off Eastern Road. The deceased men were Jamal Penn aka “Foolish”, Valentino Pratt aka “T-boy” and Trever Cooper aka “Coopz”.

In February, the first police involved shooting occurred in a shanty town located in the Joe Farrington Road area when a man was shot after he allegedly attempted to attack an officer with a silver coloured knife.

The Tribune understands the deceased was Ben Joseph, however his identity was not released by police.

A BODY is taken from the scene following the police-involved shooting early on Thursday.

TWO KILLED IN SEPARATE ATTACKS from page one The woman, meanwhile, was stabbed at Emmanuel Way off St Vincent Road at about 8pm.

The killings brought the country’s murder count to

80 for the year.

This comes after a driveby shooting on Monday left one man dead and another one injured in hospital.

Shortly after 4pm on Monday, two men were sitting outside a business on Charles Saunders Highway

and Buttonwood Street when two armed men, in a grey car, opened fire in their direction, hitting them before fleeing the scene.

One man died at the scene while the other was taken to hospital and is listed in stable condition.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 4, 2019, PAGE 11

Three Bills, hundreds of clauses, one giant step to save The Bahamas

By Diane Phillips IN the 1960s, long before the Queen Conch was the subject of conservation debate, the mollusk was so plentiful that some considered it a pest.

“Go for a swim in Nassau harbour, stand for a breather and your foot could land on the pointy end of a conch shell. They were everywhere, so annoying and you had to watch where you stood,” recalled someone who now relishes a fresh conch salad and fears her grandchildren may never know the taste of the fresh sweet meat.

On Wednesday, conch along with the declining environment in which they once thrived, and the environment in which we all live, got the biggest boost in the history of The Bahamas.

Minister of Environment and Housing Romauld ‘Romi’ Ferreira introduced three environmental protection bills that together, once regulations and penalties are established, will revolutionise how the environment of The Bahamas is managed.

One of those bills, the 54-page environment Planning and Protection Act

(I know bills seem boring, but please don’t stop reading now) may just be one of the most important pieces of legislation in our generation.

Rather than pointing fingers solely at a Carnival Cruise Line for dumping in Bahamian waters, or an Equinor Oil for an oil spill that we still have no idea how to measure, nor any of a hundred other offences caused by non-Bahamians doing business in The Bahamas, it assigns responsibility for the environmental to all of us.

In Clause 18 of its 77 Clauses, it tasks to everyone “a general duty to protect the environment”. Those few innocuous sounding words are leviathan in responsibility – assigning to every single man, woman, child, business, institution and organisation the awesome responsibility to protect the environment and to report any man, woman, child, business, organisation or institution that fails to do so.

We’ve said before in this column that it is a crying shame the environment is not sexy and climate change

QUEEN Conch - a pest in days gone by, now a rare treasure to be preserved for our future generations. doesn’t arouse the senses like low lights and hot jazz, but the environment is all we have.

It’s the blazing sun, the blue sky, the crystal-clear waters, the white and pink sands and majestic trees, the brilliant flowers, the birds, it’s the very air we breathe. We just took it for granted for so long it never occurred to us it needed to be babied until years of violating its integrity resulted in its being despoiled.

We had to almost lose what we had before we

SMALL THINGS I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND ON THE lighter side, you’ve got to wonder who in their ultimate wisdom designed those tiny pads that waitresses in places like truck stops and diners write your order down on.

You know the ones – 17 numbered lines on a recycled paper maybe three inches by four when everyone knows that writing two eggs sunnyside up, side of bacon, reg toast, hold the butter, takes half a page.

Or who, in this day and

age of digital wallets, was the decision maker in one very popular bank in The Bahamas who voted that customers should still be required to use carbon copy paper in deposit books, as if handling paper money wasn’t dirty enough.

Carbon copies in 2019?

That’s like trying to download an app on a rotary dial phone.

To its credit, that’s the same bank that is the most

understood how important it was to wake up, rescue and protect it. Storms like Irma, Joaquin, Matthew and Dorian helped to wake us from our slumber.

Recent warnings from the Prime Minister about the potential impact of climate change now send shivers down our back but where were we 30 years ago when the first warning signals were sent?

We are late entering the environmental protection arena, but we are finally there with proposed

legislation that is comprehensive and futuristic.

Kudos to Ferreira, the AG’s office and the team that assembled the long-awaited Bills that also call for a National Youth Environment Conservation Corps.

So even if legislation isn’t glamorous, it has its redeeming features for each of us.

Once passed, and we urge soon, it means if I see someone destroying a mangrove, I am obligated to report the creep. Pardon the editorialising but honesty is important here because now

the individual destroying that mangrove is not just a creep, he’s a legally reprehensible bad guy who will pay a price for his stupidity.

And the fine he gets will go into the new Environmental Fund. Ferreira also took time to thank all those environmental groups and civic society organisations who contributed to the draft bills.

“History will judge us by what we have done today,” said Ferreira when he laid the bills on the table in the House of Assembly. I agree wholeheartedly.

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advanced when it comes to those up to the second account activity alerts.

So if someone is standing in line (like you) and making a deposit into your account, you get a signal on your phone and in your email instantly with the new account balance. But to check your phone, you have to do something about the ink from the carbon paper.

A tale of two ages with easy resolution, folks.

THANK YOU, DR BAIN AND UK RESCUEGLOBAL BAHAMIAN-BORN veterinarian Dr Teja Bain’s Atlanta clinic became the central collection point for thousands of dollars’ worth of medical and food supplies for domestic pets that poured in for The Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian.

Dr Bain, the Atlanta vet of the year in 2016, was thrilled by the response.

Freezers filled with penicillin and other medications that had to be kept at a certain temperature. Splints, sutures, bandages, and healthy choice foods, lots of it.

But as the supplies grew so did her worries.

Every avenue she tried for transporting the animal medical supplies led to a nearly impossible obstacle.

That was, until the UK based RescueGlobal.org team stationed in Nassau got wind of the challenge and used its connections to arrange a flight. Supplies and food arrived the following day.

Another example of the worst of times bringing out the best in people, even strangers who may never meet.

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PAGE 12, Friday, October 4, 2019

MGM RESORTS COMMITS UP TO $800M TO VICTIMS OF VEGAS SHOOTING

By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two years after a shooter rained gunfire on country music fans from a high-rise Las Vegas Strip hotel, MGM Resorts International has agreed to pay up to $800 million to families of the 58 people who died and hundreds of others who were injured, attorneys announced Thursday.

The out-of-court agreement will resolve lawsuits in at least 10 states seeking compensation from the hotel owner for physical and psychological injuries received in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Publicly traded MGM Resorts acknowledged no liability or guilt with the agreement that attorneys said was reached Monday and made public just two days after the second anniversary of the Oct. 1, 2017, massacre at a country music concert.

No one wanted to upstage victim memorials with the settlement, said attorney Robert Eglet, who represents about 2,500 of the 4,400 people with claims against publicly traded MGM Resorts.

And no one wanted to go through protracted litigation, he said.

Victims accused the casino giant of failing to protect 22,000 people at the concert venue it owns or stop the shooter from amassing an arsenal of assault-style weapons and ammunition over several days before opening fire from a suite at the company’s Mandalay Bay resort.

Dr. Heather Melton, an orthopedic surgeon in Big Sandy, Tennessee, whose husband, Sonny, died shielding her from gunfire, said she had mixed feelings about the agreement.

“There’s some good that comes from it: It will help give families closure and alleviates their ongoing medical costs,” she said.

“But there’s no amount of money I would take to not get my husband back.”

The settlement creates the third-largest victims compensation fund in U.S. history, said Kenneth Feinberg, a claims administrator who distributed $7.1 billion in victim compensation after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and $6.5 billion following the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The final amount of the Las Vegas settlement will depend on the number of claims and decisions by one or more independent administrators who will be appointed by a court to allocate money from the settlement fund, plaintiffs’ attorneys and MGM Resorts said.

“Our goal has always been to resolve these matters so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process,” said Jim Murren, company chairman and chief executive.

THE TRIBUNE

NOT JUST UKRAINE: TRUMP NOW CALLS FOR CHINA TO PROBE BIDENS

By ZEKE MILLER AND JILL COLVIN ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday publicly encouraged China to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden, snubbing his nose at an impeachment inquiry into whether a similar, private appeal to another foreign government violated his oath of office.

Trump declared at the White House, “China should start an investigation into the Bidens.” He said he hadn’t previously asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to investigate the former vice president and his son Hunter, but it’s “certainly something we could start thinking about.”

By publicly egging on China, Trump was amplifying the message he’d delivered in private to the president of Ukraine.

That message, revealed by a government whistleblower, has spawned the impeachment investigation by the House. Trump, who has defended his contact with Ukraine as “perfect,” went further in expanding his request to China, a communist world power that has much at stake in its relationship with the United States in an ongoing trade war.

The boldness of Trump’s call Thursday also suggests he will continue to act as though requests for other countries to investigate potential opponents in the 2020 election are normal, even in the face of broad condemnation from Democrats and some Republicans.

Tactic It’s a tactic Trump has used successfully before, pushing questionable secret conversations into the open, helping to inoculate him against charges that he is engaged in nefarious action, coverups or obstruction of justice.

Trump doubled down on his comments later Thursday, saying in a tweet: “As the President of the United States, I have an absolute right, perhaps even a duty, to investigate, or have investigated, CORRUPTION, and that would include asking, or suggesting, other Countries to help us out!”

Vice President Mike Pence stepped in to defend Trump earlier in the day, saying Americans

PRESIDENT Donald Trump speaks to the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

have a right to know about the wrongdoing the president alleges, despite no evidence to support wrongdoing by Biden, a top contender for the 2020 Democratic nomination.

Biden’s campaign chairman said Trump’s assertions merely show he’s afraid of facing Biden in next year’s election.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, who has a leading role in Congress’ impeachment inquiry, said Trump’s comments suggest “he feels he can do anything with impunity.”

Trump’s appeal to China evoked his public call in 2016 for Russia to track down his then-rival Hillary Clinton’s emails — a move that was seen as an unprecedented appeal for foreign election interference. It is a violation of federal campaign finance law to solicit anything of value from a foreign government to help a campaign.

In the case of both Ukraine and China, Trump has made his allegations against Biden without evidence of any wrongdoing.

The president and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have for days been raising suspicions about Hunter Biden’s business dealings in China, leaning heavily on the writings of conservative author Peter Schweizer.

On Monday, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, called the allegation that Chinese government business gave Biden’s son $1.5 billion “totally groundless.”

Trump’s unprompted reference to China on Thursday came moments after he was asked about trade negotiations with the country.

Options “I have a lot of options on China, but if they don’t do what we want, we have tremendous, tremendous power,” Trump said.

He later alleged without evidence that China had a “sweetheart deal” on trade with the U.S. because of the Bidens.

“You know what they call that,” Trump said.

“They call that a payoff.”

Speaking to reporters in Arizona, Pence, whose aides had previously tried to distance from the impeachment drama, echoed Trump’s call for investigation of the Bidens.

“The American people have a right to know if the vice president of the United States or his family profited from his position as vice president during the last administration,” he said.

Trump’s requests for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate the Bidens, as well as Giuliani’s conduct, are at the centre of an intelligence community whistleblower’s complaint

that sparked the House Democratic impeachment inquiry last week.

Biden campaign chairman Cedric Richmond dismissed Trump’s assertions as a reflection of the president’s concerns about facing Biden in a general election. “This president is scared, and he’s acting out,” the Louisiana congressman said.

Federal Election Commission Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub responded to Trump’s remarks, tweeting a reminder that it is a violation of campaign finance law for anyone to “solicit accept or receive” anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election.

The agency polices campaign finance laws. But after a recent resignation, its board does not have enough commissioners to legally meet and take enforcement action.

Trump himself has faced multiple allegations that he and his children have enriched themselves through his presidential candidacy and time in office, including spending by the U.S. and foreign governments at his properties. Trump has contended that his political life actually has cost him money, though he is the first major presidential candidate in modern history to refuse to release tax returns that would provide more detail.

Trump has sought to implicate Biden and his

son in the kind of corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, Burisma, at the same time that his father was leading the Obama administration’s diplomatic dealings with Kyiv. Trump encouraged Zelenskiy to work with Giuliani, and also volunteered the assistance of Attorney General William Barr to investigate the Bidens.

Testimony On Thursday, House lawmakers heard testimony from the former special U.S. envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, whose conversations with Trump officials and Giuliani have made him a central figure in the Ukraine inquiry.

Ahead of the 2016 election, Trump publicly called on Russia to release Hillary Clinton’s emails if they had obtained them by hacking – which U.S. intelligence agencies later determined to be the case.

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump said during a July 2016 press conference.

He later claimed in written answers to questions from special counsel Robert Mueller that he made the appeal to Russia “in jest and sarcastically, as was apparent to any objective observer.”