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VOLUME:117 No.225, OCTOBER 20TH, 2020

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

WOMAN: HEARTBREAK AT THE END OF SEARCH FOR MOM

Minnis told Junkanoo funeral - no rushout Mourners advised ceremony feared to be ‘super spreader’ had to follow COVID rules

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told Junkanoo members not to hold a rushout that is now at the centre of claims that it contributed to the creation of a COVID-19 cluster.

The rushout was held earlier this month to celebrate Dr Philip “Slimey” Thompson, a prominent Junkanoo figure and member of the Shell Saxons Superstars who died in August.

Amid questions about whether the event facilitated the rapid spread of COVID-19 among

participants, Dion Miller, the chairman of the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence, said yesterday that he and Dr Minnis told participants not to engage in the activity.

“Persons,” he said, “are sending stuff around through social media claiming that this event spread COVID-19 but I don’t think it was an official document or action from the Ministry of Health that confirmed this. However, the prime minister nor the JCNP chairman gave any group the permission or green light to have such an event.”

SEE PAGE THREE

UNION BOSS WARNS - HOLD OFF CHASING REDUNDANCY

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A TRADE union leader yesterday urged frustrated hotel employees and other furloughed workers to “hang in there” and not seek termination packages due to the difficulty many will have finding new jobs.

Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress president and prominent labour attorney, told Tribune Business that while full severance payments were tempting to those enduring hardship they could ultimately endanger their longer-term welfare by accepting them.

He warned the pandemic’s economic impact, which has forced multiple businesses to close and/or furlough and permanently sever staff, makes it “much more difficult” for Bahamian workers to obtain alternative employment.

While the plight of furloughed workers, especially given uncertainty surrounding the tourism industry’s re-opening and cuts in unemployment benefit, was highlighted by a protest by Atlantis workers, Mr Ferguson said taking severance packages could be equivalent to taking short-term gain for long-term pain.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

HORSING AROUND NATHANIEL ‘Nate the Great’ McKinney has gone from representing The Bahamas on the track to helping children in the inner city - and using horses to do so. He has even made the most of the pandemic, bringing surrey horses that would normally pull tourists in cabs to meet children, and show the youngsters a world they had not imagined. See Face-to-Face with Felicity Darville on page eight.

NEW PLAN TABLED ON ANDROS MINING TIGER’S

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net NORTH Andros residents and individual Bahamian investors will own 100 percent of the company that will hold some 5,200 acres targeted for an aggregate mining project, it was revealed yesterday.

Cameron Symonette, The Symonette Group’s chief executive, and his joint venture partner were said to

have structured their proposal such that they will “never own the land” from which their Bahamas Materials Company Ltd vehicle will seek to extract calcium carbonate (limestone) for export to other Bahamian islands and internationally.

The development, which has been formally submitted to the Bahamas Investment Authority and other government agencies in a bid to obtain approvals, is instead planning to create a separate

entity, Morgan’s Bluff Development Ltd, to obtain a conditional purchase lease of the now-disused Water & Sewerage Corporation wellfield site in North Andros.

The proposed 40-year lease would be balanced to ensure the government could take back what is presently more than 5,000 acres of Crown Land should they fail to perform and live up to their obligations.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

‘SAMARITANS’ HELP EXPOSES HEALTH SHORTFALL’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE addition of a temporary Samaritan’s Purse tent hospital underscores that the government continues to lag behind in its ability to improve health facilities in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Senator Dr Michael Darville.

While he welcomed the

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis inspecting the facility yesterday. additional resources and thanked the organisation for its support, Dr Darville

told The Tribune yesterday the government continued to be ill-prepared.

His comments came after Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis toured the newly erected isolation and treatment unit on the grounds of Princess Margaret Hospital.

“Samaritan’s Purse did an excellent job to assist Grand Bahama post-Hurricane Dorian.”

SEE PAGE TWO

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

TOURNEY SHELVED

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

TIGER Woods’ TGR Foundation officially announced that the 2020 Hero World Challenge, traditionally hosted at the Albany Resort, will not be played this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the event looks to return in 2021.

FULL STORY - SEE SPORTS

TRUE JUSTICE IS BLIND TO PERSONAL VIEWS

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Tuesday, October 20, 2020

THE TRIBUNE PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis touring the Samaritan’s Purse facility at Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday.

‘Samaritans’ help exposes health shortfall’ from page one “Subsequently the Ministry of Health is still in the final stages of renovating the Rand Memorial Hospital and we are about to come out of the second hurricane season,” Dr Darville said.

“When I heard about Samaritan’s Purse coming to assist the government particularly now with the crisis at Princess Margaret Hospital, it became very clear that the government is still lagging behind in their ability to improve the physical plant at PMH and to ensure that we have sufficient beds for these individuals who are now presenting themselves to hospital with mild, moderate and severe complications of COVID-19.

“Yes, it is good to have the additional 28 rooms with the assistance of Samaritan’s Purse and their professional staff and it’ll prove to be beneficial to this country, but I believe at

this stage in the game, particularly the second wave, it only shows how ill-prepared the government has been in preparing us for what is about to come.

“So even though we accept the gift from the Christian society, the government itself now needs to look and focus on the necessity to get all of our healthcare infrastructure to a point whereby we are able to function effectively and

to be able to fight in this war against COVID-19 and win.”

Senator Darvile said the facility gives the government legroom to ready the nation for the further opening of the tourism sector on November 1.

“They have clearly indicated that they will be here for a period of time as part of the contract between the Ministry of Health and Samaritan’s Purse and then

after that they will be leaving the country and I think leaving the tent behind and some of the equipment, which will create a little leg room for the Ministry of Health, but these are only temporary things. These are things that should have been in place a long time ago.

“We have got to be proactive and four steps ahead of this virus in order to prevent person-to-person

transmission,” said Dr Darville, who contracted the virus in August and has since recovered.

The Samaritan’s Purse organisation offered assistance in Abaco and Grand Bahama in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. The New Providence tent facility has 28 beds and will help to increase patient capacity in the face of increasing COVID-19 cases.

It will also serve as a COVID-19 referral centre for The Bahamas. However, it does not include ICU treatment. No ventilators will be provided or operated by Samaritan’s Purse.

“This unit is being set up as a proactive and precautionary measure,” said Minister of Health Renward Wells recently. “The entire world, including The Bahamas, is experiencing the second wave of COVID-19. The Bahamas and countries in the Northern Hemisphere are in flu season and approaching winter.

“It is critical that The Bahamas has additional healthcare capacity as the global pandemic continues, with more waves of the virus likely, which is why we continue to augment healthcare capacity here at home.”

Samaritan’s Purse will provide the unit and all staffing to operate for three to six weeks. There will be 30 staff members, including medical professionals and operations staff.

The organisation will also provide infection prevention control training to protect Bahamian healthcare workers. Public health staff will work alongside Samaritan’s Purse. The treatment unit will be donated to the government upon Samaritan’s Purse’s departure. The set-up of the unit is expected to begin by the end of the week.

Samaritan’s Purse is an international, non-denominational, evangelical, Christian disaster relief organisation.

CONCERNS RAISED ABOUT INCREASING CASES IN ELEUTHERA

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AFTER health officials raised an alarm about an increase of COVID-19 cases in Eleuthera, one island official said some people are coming to the island and not adhering to the 14-day quarantine protocol.

Others are said to be having social gatherings which could also be a risk factor.

Gregory Knowles, South Eleuthera island administrator, said: “Persons who come for weddings or somebody comes for funerals from New Providence or

elsewhere that really have the virus and so really we are very concerned about that.

“We’re very conscious of persons who come into the island to ensure that they have the proper testing before they come and if they’re coming from New Providence they’re required to go into quarantine, that’s a must.

“For persons coming into the island of Eleuthera… to ensure they have their COVID test and they follow the safety protocols which is very important and if they have to go in quarantine they should be honest in terms of them going into quarantine and then abide

by it until the quarantine time is expired - because that’s one of the issues that we normally faced with people who come in, they have to go into quarantine, but some adhere to the protocol, but some don’t.”

The COVID-19 guideline for inter-island travel stipulates individuals travelling from New Providence undergo a RTPCR COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test and have a negative result prior to applying for a travel health visa.

Upon arrival on the other island, they must submit to mandatory quarantine at a government-identified facility or any other appropriate

facility as determined by the Ministry of Health, at the traveller’s expense, for 14 days or for the duration of stay if for a lesser period, guidelines state.

At a press conference on Friday, officials said some Family Islands are now demonstrating increases in new cases after a period of COVID quiet – in particular Eleuthera and the Berry Islands. Officials said they have already made recommendations to the government for more restrictions to be added on those two islands.

After the recent weekend lockdown announcement for Abaco and New Providence, the island

administrator noted a boat from the capital came to Eleuthera.

He doesn’t know, however, if those passengers were allowed to stay on the island.

According to Mr Knowles, appeals were made to the locals to make sure they take safe measures and precautions in terms of mask wearing and social distancing. While the majority of the people are really adhering to the emergency orders, he said some people are having little social gatherings.

He said: “Persons get within their community environment and congregate within that family setting. That’s

where problems start and that’s how problems have started.”

Meanwhile, Central Eleuthera administrator Whelma Colebrook said local officials have been having meetings and community patrols to ensure protocols are being adhered to.

She said if the government imposes stricter measures on the island, residents will have to abide by them for the benefit of the whole community.

Eleuthera recorded two new cases on Saturday and one additional case on Sunday. As of Sunday, the island had 35 confirmed cases overall.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 20, 2020, PAGE 3

Doctor: My near-death battle with COVID-19

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

A 75-YEAR-OLD retired psychiatrist with a “serious comorbidity” has recounted her near death battle with COVID-19.

Dr Jean Turnquest, a Grand Bahama resident, revealed in a post on Facebook that the virus ravaged not only her body, but also affected her mental state.

However, Dr Turnquest said she was officially considered recovered nearly one month after testing COVID-19 positive.

Her experience with the virus began in early September.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in The Bahamas, Dr Turnquest was urged by her two daughters to relocate to New Providence in the event that she got sick. The relocation was important to the family as Dr Turnquest had been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2011. She is also under active management by an oncologist.

Dr Turnquest suggested that both she and her family contracted the virus after two relatives went to license their vehicles on August 31. She contended that on that day, there had been no social distancing.

“During the next two to three days all members of the house started coughing, including me. On Friday, September 4, we all took a COVID-19 test, and everyone tested positive. I told my priest and all family and friends about my positive result and asked for their prayers. I knew that this

DR JEAN TURNQUEST was going to be a battle,” Dr Turnquest said.

“We were being monitored by our doctors and each day we measured our temperature, pulse, blood pressure and oxygen saturation several times and forwarded the results. We were all stable, eating and sleeping well, caring for ourselves, each other, and the home.

“On Saturday, September 5, my chest was bubbly, and I started taking Azithromycin for several days. I also contacted my grand-niece, Holly, a physiotherapist and asked for some exercises hoping to maximise my fitness and offset any lung

MINNIS TOLD JUNKANOO FUNERAL NO RUSHOUT from page one “They received communication from both myself and the prime minister advising them not to participate in such an event and the organisation made the decision to do what it had to do.”

A spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister confirmed yesterday that Dr Minnis advised members not to have the rushout. Without his permission, the gathering likely contravened Dr Minnis’ emergency powers orders.

A representative of the Saxons declined to comment yesterday and health officials did not respond to questions about whether the event is seen as a “super-spreader” of COVID-19.

“As the chairman of the JCNP I would recommend that all persons who were out there participating in that event do their due diligence if they can afford to to get tested and I would encourage everyone to wear their masks,” Mr Miller said.

He said to his knowledge the only person who participated in the event that is known to have contracted COVID-19 is a relative of Dr Thompson.

“As for actual members of the group, I have not heard reports of anyone testing positive for COVID19,” he said.

Gene “Sparky”

Thompson, one of the participants in the rushout and a friend of Dr Thompson, said Saxons leaders did not plan the rushout.

“There was no organisation of any Junkanoo march by the Saxons organisation,” he said.

“The Saxons organised that by themselves. Nobody was around me without masks.

The Junkanoo group came out of the Ministry of Health yard, they lined up ahead of me and they started the Junkanoo rush.

“Nobody organised that.

They started marching…all of the fellas around me had their masks on.”

Mr Miller said he is not surprised that some disobeyed official orders.

“Dr Slimey Thompson was one of the leaders of that organisation and was like a father figure to many members of the community,” he said.

“I knew they would’ve still tried to recognise him in some way despite what we told them. If you go through Mason’s Addition today you’d still see the gigantic banner they have celebrating him.

“Traditionally in the Junkanoo world when a Junkanoo (member) passes away we honour that person with a traditional Junkanoo rushout.

“He was a giant in the community and had such a positive impact so they held this event in his honour.”

involvement.

“On Friday, September 11, I was encouraged and prayerfully I hoped that I was over the hump as it was now almost 14 days post infection. Then I started to decline. Saturday was my worst day ever: fuzzy thinking, no appetite, poor energy, cold spells, patches of my skin felt hot, and I was very sleepy.

“Then on Sunday, September 13, I started sleeping a lot, had no appetite and stopped eating.

I have no memory of the next few days. On Thursday morning, September 17, (a relative) came to check on me and found me in the

bathtub — I thought I was in bed — partially dressed.

I went in bed, then had a bout of diarrhea.”

Later, the mother of two daughters was taken to Doctors Hospital where she had a CT scan and other tests before being admitted.

“I was told that I was near death on admission. I know that I was very, very, sick. As there was no space in Doctors West, I was fortunate to have a spot in Doctors Hospital. I was not in a traditional patient room; however, the area was managed by the medical team from the fourth floor which was away from my haven and our systems were monitored by a nurses’ station, nearby.

“I had a roommate who was in better condition than me and she knew the routine. She had a cellphone and would call the medical team when needed. The first few nights I did not have my cellphone to call for assistance. The first night I woke up and needed to use the bathroom but could not reach that area with all of my tubes. So, I took them all off. Afterwards I opened the doors and tried to figure out where I was and get help.

“Eventually I got out to an area where there was staff and I was told by a nurse ‘Miss you can’t be here, you have to go back in the room.’ He took me back to my room and connected me to all of my tubes.

“The second night I woke up with a pain in my groin and realised that I was bleeding from my arm because I had lost a catheter.

I could not stop the blood.

I knew that our machines

were being monitored so I disconnected all my tubes again, hitched the bleeding arm up high, held on tightly and passed out. When I woke up the next morning I was reconnected and had been taken care of. There was a huge light in this room right over my bed that could not be turned off. “At this time, I had poor memory, confusion, no smell, no taste, and dry eyes. The room was noisy when the other doctor came and talked to his patients’ daughter on speakerphone. I complained loudly that it was too much noise and too much light.”

Dr Turnquest described her mind as having two distinct components during the ordeal.

“My COVID mind had two distinct components.

Confusion with an associated sense of helplessness and another state of combined grandiosity, irrationality with hyper focus.

In the latter mental state, I became fixated on this huge light and thought about it all the time. I was certain that I could put it out by climbing up and stabbing it with a knife or hitting it with a chair. “Finally, I decided that this would not be wise as I might electrocute myself or blow the whole electrical grid.”

But by September 20, Dr Turnquest said she wanted to give up her fight.

“I felt helpless and unable to fight to survive.

I was tired and beat. I told my family and friends that I wanted to go to Jesus and started to say my goodbyes.

I got into the tunnel and at the eastern gate waiting, was my mother, father (and other loved ones).

“However, there were some nuances that were different. The light in the tunnel was not as bright and my family were not animated but quiet and waiting. . .I realised that they had no power, no vote.

“At the same time, I also understood that I had some unfinished business to complete first. So, I went back and phoned my children and told them what funeral arrangements I wanted and to ‘dress me up’. I also told them that I wanted to go to Jesus. Then I went back to the gate, my family was there but again I could not get in. I realised that my children were holding me back.

“I returned and talked to (my daughter) and she said ‘Mummy we are not letting you go. You cannot go to Jesus now.’ The decision had been made. I asked my family for the armour of God and decided to fight with them in the battle for my life.”

Dr Turnquest said it was then when she began to turn the corner and was discharged from hospital on September 28.

She praised the efforts of Dr Nikkiah Forbes, Dr Ilsa Grant-Taylor, Dr Duane Sands, Dr Paul Ramphal, Dr Nelson Clarke, Dr Devaughn Curling, and the support from all “my family and friends”.

Despite full recovery, Dr Turnquest said she still has certain after effects.

These include poor concentration, problems with memory and word recall, little smell, little appetite, limited taste, and impaired hearing. However, she said there is regular improvement in her condition.

70 NEW CASES AND MORE DEATH SEVENTY new cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Sunday along with one additional death.

According to data released by health officials yesterday morning, 68 of those cases were in New Providence, while there was one case in the Berry Islands and another in Eleuthera.

As of Sunday, there were 113 cases in hospital with 11 of those in intensive care.

Thirty-nine cases were

categorized as recovered on Sunday with 3,339 recovered cases overall.

The country’s death count rose to 123 on Sunday after it was confirmed that a 74-year-old New Providence man, who died on October 16, had died from the disease.

The Ministry of Health said 31,007 cases have been completed thus far.

Monday’s data was not released up to press time.

TOTAL CASES TOTAL DEATHS NEW CASES

5,773 123 70

LOCATIONS OF NEW CASES

NEW PROVIDENCE 68 BERRY ISLANDS 1 ELEUTHERA 1

PAGE 4, Tuesday, October 20, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Face-to-face learning the goal in GB, says education chief

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net ALL public schools are open in the Grand Bahama district and the ultimate goal is the engagement of face-to-face learning at all institutions, said Ministry of Education District Superintendent Ivan Butler.

While most institutions are providing face-to-face instruction, some have adopted the hybrid model, which utilises both face-to-face and virtual online learning.

“We are pleased with what we have seen to date, and all schools are near capacity,” said Mr Butler.

“In the GB district, we aim to engage students in faceto-face instructions as much

as possible.”

He said that several schools are using the hybrid model that allows students to be in the classroom three days a week with two days of online learning.

“Eventually, we want all the kids in GB to be face-to-face and at school five days a week, but we are very pleased with how the school has started, and parents and students are excited,” Mr Butler said.

He said that all schools are observing the COVID19 protocols, wearing masks, sanitising, and practising social distancing.

“We worked with the Ministry of Health and the Department of Environmental Health Services in keeping the environment, students, and teachers safe.

And so, we will continue to improve on the protocols we have in place, and we are hoping we have a very successful term and school year.”

Public schools across the country opened on October 5, however the first week was reserved for orientation with the second week for timetable execution.

When asked about the institutions for students not in the mainstream school system, such as Genesis Academy/Programme SURE for troubled teens, and the PACE Centre for pregnant teen girls, Mr Butler said those schools are still undergoing repairs following severe damage by the Hurricane Dorian storm.

In the meantime, students at Genesis Academy

are attending mainstream school until their facility is completed and turned over to the Ministry of Education.

“Those two facilities have not been turned over to us as yet. They are being repaired by the Grand Bahama Port Authority, and so we expect to receive those as early as next week,” Mr Butler said.

As a result of significant damage to schools in East Grand Bahama, those institutions are not open and students there are being transported to schqools in Freeport.

“Those schools suffered severe damage during Dorian, and we decided to bring those students from EGB to Freeport. But, plans are in

discussion to have a comprehensive school for the east to encompass all the students in the East End. In a short while that bid may go out to tender, and we are looking to put a new school in the east,” he explained.

In West Grand Bahama, Mr Butler also noted that the construction of a new school in Holmes Rock is progressing.

The new $12m Holmes Rock Junior High School has been under contract since 2016.

Brickhouse Construction was awarded the contract to build a two-story, 28,108 sq ft structure in the main building area. It comprises an administration block, staff room and support spaces, student sickbay, computer classroom,

library, 16 classrooms, covered walkways, four fire stairwells, and electrical rooms.

RCL was awarded a contract to build a twostory, 10,095 sq ft structure in the main building area that would comprise eight classrooms, four student restroom blocks, covered walkways and breezeways adjacent to the classrooms, in addition to other works.

When asked about that school Mr Butler said: “Work has progressed very well in the new school in the Holmes Rock area.

Presently, landscaping is going on and that is a good sign, meaning it should be finished soon. But we made a commitment that as soon as that is handed over to us we will occupy it.”

STUDENTS ARE WARNED ABOUT DANGERS OF JOINING GANGS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Solomon Cash recently visited Jack Hayward High School where he spoke to 80 to 90 senior students about the dangers of gangs.

ACP Cash said that gang leaders tend to recruit young people to commit crimes because the law is lenient on juveniles. He warned them not to join gangs, and if approached by gang members to tell someone such as a parent, pastor, or the police.

He told them gangs identify with colours, symbols, signs, type of clothing, and shoes.

Two known gangs operating in Freeport are the NikeBoys and Grand Bahama D-Block, which are spin-offs of gangs in Nassau.

When asked about the prevalence of gang violence, ACP Cash, the officer in charge of criminal investigations, said that gang violence is not really prevalent.

“There are some areas in society where you can see some resemblance to gangrelated activity. In New Providence, there are some areas we have to consistently monitor because we know there is some tension between rival misbehaved individuals,” he said.

As it relates to Grand Bahama, ACP Cash said there is some gang activity, but nothing that police can’t control.

“The behaviour of gangs in other countries has not reached that level here in The Bahamas, but we still have a lot of concern; we don’t want our young persons to end up getting involved in these things, and we have to sensitise our young people about them.”

On the point of school violence, ACP Cash said there are a handful of incidents in New Providence, but nothing that is out of control.

“And, we cannot say that it is because of gangs,”

he added. He indicated that school violence is a concern.

“Any misbehaved student is a concern because we know where it could lead us. So, instances like those will be addressed and are being addressed.

“We were on lockdown for quite a long period, and so hopefully with the new school year, our involvement with the youth is one of the principal initiatives in the commissioner’s policing plan. We want to engage them, and so you will see a lot of that used as a preventative avenue.”

When asked about police presence in schools, he said: “I cannot speak to police being stationed at schools, but I can assure you every police commander for every district will ensure they visit the schools and will intervene where there are reports of misbehaved students.”

School principal Bronwen Smith was pleased that ACP Cash decided to visit the school to raise the awareness of gangs. The visit took place earlier this month.

“I am sure that our students are familiar with some of those, and maybe one or two of them are involved. But it helps them to have a greater awareness of what they are getting involved in and what the legal consequences are, and to be empowered to make wiser choices when persons approach them and try to get them to be involved in a gang by offering them money,” she said.

When asked about school violence, Ms Smith said that it is not an issue at Jack Hayward High anymore. She also noted that they do not use corporal punishment as a means to discipline students.

“I think this school had a reputation many years ago, but it has changed its policy about ways of dealing with young people,” she said.

“We show them you don’t have to use violence with them to solve problems and we get them to think on a higher level.”

HELPING OUR VETERANS THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force Veterans Association recently partnered with the RBDF Veteran Affairs Department to provide grocery items to retired personnel and dependents of former members who had died.

More than 100 parcels were distributed at Defence Headquarters on JFK drive last week. the president of the Veterans Association, Chief Petty Officer (retired) Harold Bosfield, said: “During these times of uncertainty, we thought it fitting to provide some relief of need, hardship or distress to our members. It is but a little gesture, but as a former member of the Defence Force, we are still one family.”

Defence Force commander Commodore Raymond King was present, and commended the association for its support.

Photos: Able Seaman Fredrick Russell/RBDF

PINERIDGE MP DONATES TO CONSTITUENCY SCHOOLS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

REV Frederick McAlpine, FNM MP for Pineridge, presented cheque donations to six schools in his constituency recently.

“Grand Bahama is still in a state of economic hardship,” Rev McAlpine said during the presentation held at the Pineridge

Constituency Office in the Kipling Building.

The recipients were Tabernacle Baptist Academy, Jack Hayward Junior High, Hugh Campbell Primary, the Beacon School, Genesis Academy, and the Grand Bahama Children’s Home.

The MP stated that the contribution is to assist the schools which have reopened following two

very challenging events of Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I thought it was more than appropriate to take the opportunity to contribute to the schools that are in my constituency. The schools’ principals understand the needs of the children better than I would as an MP on the outside,” he said on Thursday.

He noted that students

are in dire need of tablets, uniforms, and other school supplies.

“It is difficult, and some cannot find it (the funds) at this time.”

He commended the Ministry of Education for reopening schools in Grand Bahama.

“I am very happy with the Ministry of Education for allowing schools to actually open because

everybody cannot learn from a tablet or computer.

Some students need to be in the classroom,” he said.

He encouraged institutions to put in place protective measures such as the installation of plexiglass in classrooms as he has done at the Pineridge Education Centre.

Rev McAlpine also noted that schools can operate on a shift system if they cannot

accommodate all students at one time from 9am to 3pm. He suggested school rotations from 8am to noon and noon to 4pm.

“We have to get our children in school. It has been difficult and rough and we have to take the pressure off the parents as well because many of them need help themselves and are not academically inclined,” he said.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 20, 2020, PAGE 5

‘$20m on sidewalks to give jobs for Bahamians’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister says sidewalks are needed around New Providence and that an ongoing project to construct them has provided jobs for Bahamians during the difficult COVID-19 crisis.

The Minnis administration has implemented budget cuts as government revenues take a hit, prompting some to question why $20 million is being used for sidewalk construction when even the government’s food assistance programmes have received a reduction in funds.

Mr Bannister said yesterday: “Firstly, it means that in these difficult economic times the government is still able to provide jobs for many Bahamians. Secondly, sidewalks are desperately needed in a number of areas, and they play a vital role in providing a safe pathway for pedestrians to walk along the street separated from motorised traffic. This greatly reduces the risk of them being hit by a vehicle. It also helps with the pedestrian’s sense

FOOTPATH construction in Mason’s Addition. of safety, as there is more have provided work for distance between them and some 200 contractors. vehicular traffic.”

The Ministry of Works The initiative is said to recently released a

statement highlighting the experience of several contractors and workers who have been paid to construct

Photo: Donovan McIntosh the sidewalks.

Latorna McPhee, the owner of Landscaping and General Maintenance, said

she was grateful to be able to hire eight young men to carry out the work.

“I’m grateful, one to God then to Minister Bannister for awarding me this contract in such a hard time.

Before I got the contract, it was very difficult to provide for my family. There are a lot of people complaining and saying that the money could have been used to feed people, but I don’t think they notice how many people are employed due to these contracts,” she said.

“This opportunity is providing for so many different homes. I encourage the government to give out more contracts so we can boost our economy and uplift our Bahamian people.”

Earlier this year Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said the government would implement 20 percent cuts across institutions because of COVID-19.

The Ministry of Finance is expected to release its quarterly report at the end of this month and will host a press conference to discuss the state of the government’s finances then, Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson said yesterday.

LEGAL ACTION THREATENED IN WATER CORPORATION ROW

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net THE general manager of the Water and Sewerage Corporation said he has instructed attorneys to pursue court action over a scathing letter written by the “disputed” president of the utility provider’s management union.

The letter, written by Ednel Rolle of the Water and Sewerage Management Union, made several accusations about WSC General Manager Elwood Donaldson and Executive Chairman Adrian Gibson.

The letter was circulated on social media on Sunday and was briefly published on a media outlet’s website before it was removed after a lawsuit threat, insiders said.

Mr Rolle is in a leadership dispute with Montgomery Miller, who says he is the “elected” president of the Water and Sewerage Management Union. The Tribune

previously reported that Mr Miller’s claims of being the elected WSMU president has caused some confusion, as Mr Rolle maintains he is president of the union despite Mr Miller showing what he claimed to be a valid certificate of the election of officers showing that he won the position unopposed on November 22, 2019.

The confusion came because the Ministry of Labour and Director of Labour John Pinder, who is also the registrar of trade unions, had set a date for nominations and supervising an election of WSMU executives and officers on November 22, 2019, reportedly without the union’s consent. WSMU brought the matter to the Supreme Court arguing that this breaches the Industrial Relations Act and the union’s constitution.

The matter is still ongoing.

In a statement released yesterday, Mr Donaldson described Mr Rolle’s letter as “scandalous” and “intentionally defamatory”.

“It was clearly a political stunt on the part of Rolle.

Frankly, such indecent, libelous and venomous utterances have no place in this environment,” he said, This came after The Tribune ran a story which quoted Mr Gibson as saying he was writing to the Cabinet for it to reinstate the corporation’s disconnection exercise due to WSC being in the red financially. Mr Rolle took issue with this and made a series of allegations against Mr Gibson.

“Though he asserts a claim to the disputed presidency of the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s Management Union, Ednel Rolle - on retirement leave - is no longer an active employee of the corporation,” Mr Donaldson continued. “The falsehoods... in the document bearing Mr Rolle’s signature are too numerous to mention, entirely denied and are firmly rejected.

“However, given the clear intent to damage the reputations of both myself and the executive chairman, we

have instructed our counsel to immediately file legal proceedings against Mr Rolle et al for defamation and, today, will be filing a joint police complaint against Mr Rolle for intentional libel.”

Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party Philip Davis waded into the debate, saying this is the second time that union bosses have raised issues about the chairman and Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has remained quiet.

“This is not the first time that unions at that corporation have called into question the conduct of the executive chairman, Adrian Gibson. The silence of the Prime Minister in the face of these complaints have led many to conclude that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet committee condone Mr Gibson’s official conduct.”

Mr Davis and the PLP are calling for a forensic audit of the Water and Sewerage Corporation.

“The PLP calls for a forensic audit into the conduct of the executive

chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, Adrian Gibson, as it relates to his fiduciary stewardship and fidelity of the corporation’s property, assets and resources,” Mr Davis said.

Mr Davis said the Prime Minister must act quickly to bring clarity and perspective to these, “myriad of accusations that are threatening to destabilise the corporation”.

He called the ongoing war of words between Water and Sewerage union heads and the executive chairman a toxic and unsustainable situation.

Mr Gibson fired back his own response to Mr Davis. He first said that he intends to seek legal action against Mr Rolle, adding: “I categorically deny all of the assertions and will seek redressin in another place.

Today, we instructed our counsel to immediately file legal proceedings against Mr Rolle et al for defamation. Moreover, we have also begun the process to file a joint police complaint against Mr Rolle for

intentional libel.”

Mr Gibson went on to criticise Mr Davis, saying: “We welcome a review of the Water and Sewerage Corporation - forensic or otherwise. I believe in and completely embrace transparency.”

He went on to lambast Mr Davis for failings under the PLP government when Mr Davis was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works, citing incidents such as the fire at BAMSI where a contractor had no insurance and the findings of a 2018 forensic audit over a waste water treatment plant at Gladstone Road, and saying Mr Davis “should be the last to talk about forensic audits.

He should shudder at the very sound of the words ‘forensic audit’.”

Mr Gibson added: “Brave Davis is an attorney at law. He knows the basic tenets of defamation and, as such, should be cognizant of it. He should also know what it means to pursue fact, before more.

Shame on him!”

PAGE 6, Tuesday, October 20, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Don’t gain short-term and lose long-term LOOK before you leap.

That’s the warning from union chief Obie Ferguson – and it’s wise advice in an economy that is a long way from being on the rise again.

His call for caution is directed at workers who are considering calling for – or accepting – severance packages from businesses as the frozen economy continues to bite, and as pockets become emptier.

The temptation is easy to see – there’s a lump sum of money that can keep people going while the amount of money coming from the government to support people who have been furloughed keeps getting smaller.

People, after all, have bills to pay.

Rent. Electric. Water. Food. None of those bills are getting any smaller, and people look at a lump sum and think it might, at least for a while, make some of their problems go away.

The question, as Mr Ferguson so rightly points out, is what’s next? Where are the jobs that you are leaving to go to?

We haven’t heard for a while from the government how many people are out of work, but there were estimates of up to 40 percent unemployment earlier this year, and things haven’t gotten any better.

So with perhaps half the country out of work, where are you going to get a job rather than hang on to the one you have for the day it starts up again.

Because if you take that payment, you won’t be able to go back to that old job and say take me back on – it’s not that easy. They’ll say you took the severance, they may say we’ve hired someone else.

And then you’re left with no job and no alternative.

Older workers especially might find themselves very short of options in the jobs market once it starts up again too something well worth thinking about for people only a few years from retirement age.

It’s a very rough situation to be in, we have no illusions about that.

There’s even solidarity between Mr Ferguson and Chamber of Commerce chief Peter Goudie on the matter, which is a situation the two might not have found themselves in too often.

Mr Goudie said: “It makes no sense to me why anybody wants their severance pay when there are no jobs.”

This is a situation no one wants to be in. It is a situation that has left people desperate.

We can only urge people to listen to Mr Ferguson when he says: “Hang on, things will get better.”

They will. It will be a hard road, but it will get better.

A great initiative

Nathaniel McKinney had a brilliant idea.

Mr McKinney – known as Nate the Great and familiar to fans of athletics from his days on the track – has already been working with children in the inner city, giving them a chance to see a world beyond the next corner.

So when the pandemic came along and shut down tourism, Mr McKinney thought of all those horses used to trotting around the streets pulling tourists in surrey cabs – and he decided to put them to use in an unusual way, meeting the children, and letting them bond with the horses.

“They get to bond with the horses, pet them, go for rides, learn how to circle with the horse and basically communicate with the horse,” he told Face-to-Face columnist Felicity Darville.

He has even bought a horse specially for the community. And the children?

They love it.

Well done, Mr McKinney, for giving children dreams to chase after.

Leadership of the CDB EDITOR, The Tribune.

I FIRMLY believe that the highly respected and soundly run Caribbean Development Bank is heading into serious leadership trouble. What I’ve heard is very troubling.

I am a very seasoned banker who has worked across our region. I know a thing or two about banking in the region. I’ve tried to get information directly from CDB but they have not been forthcoming at all, so please publish this letter as I have a few questions to ask.

Is it true that with the generous helping hand from our Prime Minister Keith Rowley and the other regional Prime Ministers, the newly appointed CDB chairman, Prime Minister Mia Mottley from Barbados, has instructed that the bank appoint her advisor, a British national, as the new president of CDB? Wouldn’t this selection and appointment stink of blatant nepotism and cronyism and taint Barbados?

Can a chairman of CDB select the President of CDB from his/ her own previous clients and own pool of personal

advisers? And no other Prime Minister can stop it?

What about the lack of qualifications of the individual being imposed on CDB? Is he more qualified than any other Caribbean professional to run the Bank?

The President of CDB is always a person from the Caribbean of high stature, regional intellect and integrity. Does this British advisor even have a Caribbean identity?

Does he know and understand what it takes to achieve successful regional development?

Does he have a record of successful projects in the Caribbean?

Has Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the region not learned anything from the many hotel debacles and the many other failed development projects that die and only leave the lawyers and advisers rich?

There are many other highly qualified bankers and economists with good track records of integrity and success in the region who can run CDB. There are many options.

Why has Rowley failed to

nominate any experienced banker, economist, or academic from Trinidad and Tobago?

Trinidad and Tobago has majority stocks and votes in the bank. Where is Prime Minister Rowley’s voice and why would all the region’s Prime Ministers Gonsalves, Browne, Holness who are so usually loud about regional issues suddenly stay silent and surrender so meekly to Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s moves to capture CDB for her adviser?

What is really going on with this coming ugly affair? Something looks very rotten in the region.

Will our Caribbean leaders find the good sense and fortitude to avoid the stench of cronyism and do the right thing to keep the Caribbean in the leadership of the CDB and to maintain its development focus?

The dodging must stop.

The Prime Ministers and CDB must start talking. We deserve to know.

CONCERNED CARIBBEAN CITIZEN Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, October 16, 2020.

Put your vision to reality EDITOR, The Tribune.

ACCORDING to Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, “Today we face a new Bretton Woods ‘moment.’ A pandemic that has already cost more than a million lives.

An economic calamity that will make the world economy 4.4 percent smaller this year and strip an estimated $11 trillion of output by next year.”

I am concerned because the IMF is still pressuring countries that got loans to privatise and carry out austerity measures in terms of government service which leads to unemployment.

For example, IMF gave a loan to Tanzania and had chains attached. According to the IMF press release in regards to Tanzania, “Looking ahead, structural reforms remain crucial to support a robust economic recovery. The focus includes addressing arrears on VAT refunds and government expenditures, enhancing human capital and the business environment, and improving the affordability of bank credit.”

Tanzania now has two doctors per 100,000 and with the structural adjustment prescribed by the IMF the situation will get worse during the midst of a pandemic.

Across the globe, lockdowns are easing and economic activity is gradually resuming.

But with the pandemic likely to be with us for a long time, the world is going back to the old, but developing countries will become more indebted and poverty will increase substantially.

According to the World Bank, “Specifically, under the baseline scenario, COVID-19 could generate 176 million additional poor at $3.20 and 177 million additional poor at

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net $5.50. This is equivalent to an increase in the poverty rate of 2.3 percentage points compared to a noCOVID-19 scenario.”

As millions of people all over the world lost their jobs at the height of the crisis, billionaires increased their wealth by more than a quarter (27.5 percent) or US $10.1 trillion according to a report by Swiss bank UBS. The number of billionaires has also reached a new high, rising from 2,158 to 2,189.

Political forces that were already underway before are likely to accelerate because of the pandemic – the US-China tussle, the backlash against widening inequality and the growing attraction of inward-looking economic policies.

Caribbean countries will suffer who depend on tourism because travelling, and especially tourism will be diminished for years to come.

I recommend that countries invest in agriculture to ensure food security for their population and sell food on the export market.

The demand for food will increase due to the disruption of supply chain and the closure of many food producing facilities.

The central bank and government should have as its primary directive to maximise employment.

There will be economic, political and commercial forces to cut back on labour, but this will be detrimental.

The tax base will shrink drastically and the economic will shrink and it will make it impossible for Caribbean countries to pay back their debts.

They will have to privatise and get help from international lenders like

the IMF that will make cutting public spending a conditionality so the international elite can come in and invest and get steals of deals.

“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.

In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognise the opportunity.” John F Kennedy My advice is to invest in technology and use technology to improve and increase productivity while keeping workers employed.

Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia is a good example of how it will work; Increase manufacturing and agro-production.

This can be started immediately and expanded in the future.

It will be costly to build a new economy but it will cost much more to go back to an economy designed by our former colonial masters.

The economies in most Caribbean countries have barely change since they gained their independence.

I am not sure if the Caribbean has ever had a “true political leader” who does not pay attention to the dictates of the developed world instead of the prosperity of their population.

They talk a good game about prosperity but deliver crime and poverty.

The value of research and development is not captured by capitalism (Adam Smith) or communism (Karl Marx), but is the key to success in the 21st century. To paraphrase Bob Marley, Wake up and put your vision to reality.

BRIAN ELLIS PLUMMER Nassau, October 17, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 20, 2020, PAGE 7

ANGER CLASSES ORDERED FOR MAN WHO SMASHED WINDOWS

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was ordered to attend anger management classes after he damaged his ex-girlfriend’s father’s vehicle and house windows.

Jian Dorsett, 29, was accused of breaking the glass window of a Ford transit bus on September 28. He was also accused of causing $800 worth of damage to the exterior glass windows of his ex-girlfriend’s father’s

house on Seahorse Close on the same day.

According to the prosecution, the complainant was at his residence when his daughter’s ex-boyfriend came there and created a disturbance in front of his daughter, who was with another male friend.

The court was told that Dorsett then damaged the exterior windows of the complainant’s house, before causing $1,200 worth of damage to the tyres and windows of his

Ford bus. As a result of his complaint, Dorsett was arrested.

During the hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes, Dorsett pleaded guilty. He was subsequently ordered to compensate his exgirlfriend’s father for his damaged property and was placed on probation for 24 months.

Magistrate Forbes also banned the accused from having any direct or indirect contact with the

complainant. He said if Dorsett failed to comply with his orders, he would spend six months in prison.

Yesterday, another man also appeared before Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend and damaging her TV. The prosecution alleged that D’Quille Edgecombe assaulted his former partner on October 14, before smashing her $515 television onto the floor.

The court was told the woman was involved in an argument with Edgecombe on the day in question. The prosecution said during the verbal altercation, the defendant pushed the woman before picking up her TV and throwing it on the ground. The court was told that the woman gave a statement to authorities and requested police action.

Edgecombe was arrested a short time later. In an interview with police he admitted both offences.

After pleading guilty to damage and assault, Edgecombe was ordered to compensate his exgirlfriend $515.41 for her broken television. He was also placed on four months’ probation.

Magistrate Armbrister said if the accused fails to be of good behaviour during that time frame, he would be fined $150 or risk spending three weeks at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

Fraudster is told to pay back stolen money

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 21-YEAR-OLD woman who defrauded Commonwealth Bank of over $3,000 was placed on two years’ probation and ordered to pay back the stolen money.

Qwendisha Neely was charged with one count each of money laundering and stealing after she was accused of illegally acquiring $3,300 from Commonwealth Bank sometime between June 23 and 25.

She pleaded guilty to both offences during a hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes yesterday.

The prosecution said on June 30, a money laundering officer at Commonwealth Bank told police she was informed that a couple’s bank account had been compromised in the amount of $7,800. The couple were then informed that their account had been involved in an email scam.

The court was told $3,300 was transferred to Neely’s account while the rest of the funds were sent to other people.

On October 15, Neely was arrested and interviewed at the Financial Crime Investigation Branch. When she was questioned, she told officers she had conducted a number of withdrawals

from Commonwealth Bank and claimed the funds came from a man in New York who was offering mysterious jobs. Neely said she used the funds to buy groceries, diapers, wipes and clothes. She was subsequently charged with the offences.

During the hearing, Neely was represented by attorney Keith Seymour.

He told the magistrate his client was a mother of two young children and insisted she had “learned her lesson over the past few days”. Noting the defendant was “willing to offer restitution”, he asked the magistrate to consider Neely’s early guilty plea and to avoid imposing a custodial sentence.

After listening to Mr Seymour’s plea in mitigation, Magistrate Forbes told Neely she was an adult. He furthered that as a parent, the defendant had a responsibility to set an example and teach her children not to take things that didn’t belong to them. He said there was no such thing as free money and insisted “there was always a price to pay no matter what”.

As a result, he placed Neely on probation for two years and ordered her to reimburse Commonwealth Bank $3,300 on or before December 30. He warned her if she didn’t, she would spend one year behind bars.

BAIL DENIED IN ASSAULT CASE

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 23-YEAR-OLD man who was accused of assaulting his uncle during a domestic dispute earlier this year was denied bail ahead of his trial yesterday.

Alphaeus Rolle appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after the prosecution said he had caused grievous harm to Renardo Rolle by

YOUR

assaulting him with a knife on May 20.

He pleaded guilty, but Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes adjourned the case for trial to December 9 because of the comments Rolle had made in his interview with police.

Due to the nature of the charges, Rolle was denied bail and remanded in custody until trial.

He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

KYLE Hepburn outside court yesterday.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

MAN ACCUSED OF TAXI DRIVER KILLING

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A MAN who evaded arrest for two years by fleeing to the United States was arraigned in a Magistrate’s Court yesterday charged with the murder of a taxi driver in 2018.

Kyle Hepburn, 32, was accused of attempting to rob and of killing Wilton Brown on June 9, 2018.

According to police reports, it

was a Saturday night when Mr Brown pulled up to his Refuge Court home in the Hollywood Subdivision, off Cowpen Road, and a car pulled up behind him. An armed man got out of the car and demanded cash before shooting him and driving off.

Brown’s children were in his car at the time.

Police said Hepburn had fled to the United States sometime in 2018, but was deported back to the country on October 6.

During his hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes yesterday, the accused was not required to enter a plea and the case was adjourned to December 8 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Due to the nature of the charge, Hepburn was denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, October 20, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Nate’s keeping kids on the straight and narrow with help from a four-legged friend Face to Face

WHEN someone gets out of the so-called ‘ghetto’ and makes it in life, they often don’t want to hang out in the place they grew up in.

They may go to visit loved ones and friends that still live there. But, the ghetto could be a reminder of pain, By FELICITY DARVILLE struggle, injustice and difficulty and going back there with the horse and basican open old wounds.

Nathaniel “Nate the cally communicate with the Great” McKinney, how- horse,” he told me.

“They take pictures ever, goes back to the inner city streets where he was with the horses and they raised almost daily. He are always excited. It’s a isn’t sitting on the blocks great outlet for them and or wasting time. He isn’t it is therapeutic. So it gives wallowing in the pain of them some sense of comhis childhood. He is spend- fort with all that is going on. ing time with the kids in the This is a devastating time, area and pouring positivity and in the midst of a paninto them. He is doing for demic, it gives them hope.”

“I bought a horse for the these kids all the things that he knew he needed when he community in 2018. Anywas the kid growing up in a thing I buy, it’s for me and the kids. I tough world. a car Since the ‘I bought a horse bought that same year COVID-19 for the community and it became pandemic commubegan, stress in 2018. Anything the nity car. The levels have kids’ parents been high I buy, it’s for me and the kids. I could use it everywhere. to go to the But people bought a car that wash house or can forget to food store… concern them- same year and it was like the selves with it became the community how children community car. car. That’s the are coping. type of enviIn inner city The kids’ parents ronment I try areas, kids could use it to go often don’t to the wash house to set with the community… have big yards what’s mine is to play in; so or food store… theirs.” the lockdowns it was like the Nate’s paskeep them community car.’ sion for the from their kids has playground – the streets. Sometimes blossomed into a full organin the home, they are isation, called “Dream dealing with several per- Chasers” – named by the sonalities and a myriad of kids themselves. He has issues. They, too, need an been working with kids in escape and a source of com- the Hay Street area, as well fort in these unusual and as Woods Alley and Rupert Dean lane. McPherson trying times.

Nate has made it his duty Park is the base.

Dream Chasers has a to check on these kids and give them an unusual outlet vision: “To provide the – horses. Since the pan- opportunity for all Bahademic drove tourism to a mian kids and youth, grinding halt, many horses especially the disadvanthat were used for Down- taged, to succeed and town tours are not being reach their full potential in utilised. Nate manages sev- sports and education. This eral of these hackney cab in return will facilitate kids horses. He is responsible off the streets and cultivate for taking them for exer- minds into a better and cise, feeding and caring for healthier lifestyle.” Nate them. He decided to put wants to work with governthe animals to use in an ment, the community and unconventional way. He local businesses to “finaneven purchased one horse cially execute a Boys and specifically for his commu- Girls Club for Bahamian nity – and the kids simply kids and youth”. The kids of Dream Chasers have love it.

“They get to bond with a pledge, a “commitment the horses, pet them, go for to the club, community rides, learn how to circle and its members to break

all stereotypes and be a beacon of hope globally – promoting God, righteousness, discipline, safety and love”.

Nate grew up in Woods Alley, Grant’s Town and faced serious issues in his home life. As a youngster, he attended William Sayle Primary, then went on to CC Sweeting Junior High. The inner city was reporting high levels of gang-related violence and crimes at the time, so his aunt decided to take him to Florida to be with her.

It was the summer of 1996.

“Florida was different,” Nate said. “We didn’t wear uniforms, so if you were poor, everyone could see that you were poor. I was used to hustling back in Nassau.

I used to work with the horse and carriages since I was a kid. So, I started working by cutting neighbours’ yards, cleaning houses, cleaning out sheds and roofing. That is how I made my money and that is how I got to blend in with my schoolmates.

“My aunts Lori and Denise lent a hand and helped me out. My Uncle Tyrone opened my eyes to a lot of things.

He treated me so well; the way he treated me taught me how to treat kids today. He was the blueprint behind my mindset change. I was 15-years-old and he would give me opportunities. He taught me how to drive and he would take me to restaurants and talk to me about life. He changed my peripheral and my perception of family. I was able to save my money and put it in a shoe box and buy what I wanted to buy.”

Nate eventually became popular while at high school in Florida because he was good at sports. He could play football well and he also was great at track and field. Even back then, Nate had a charitable heart. When he was 16 he began sharing his earnings with the homeless. He would gravitate towards old people and learn from their wisdom. But Nassau was calling Nate home. He had a girlfriend here he longed to see and he also wanted the people in his neighbourhood to see how he had blossomed into a confident, achieving young man.

His football coach in Florida cried when he left, warning him he was going back to a place where opportunities were nothing like what he could offer him.

He came home and was accepted into CR Walker

NATHANIEL McKinney went from representing The Bahamas on the track to working in the inner city, using horses to help bond with children and show them a path to success.

Senior High, where he graduated. Nate continued to excel at track and field, winning trophies for the school at GSSSA and Nationals. But he also enjoyed other sports as well. He played softball and fell in love with rugby.

Here, he found an escape: “When I came home, I couldn’t believe I grew up there. The environment… it was claustrophobic.

Everything felt small and closed-in. From that day, I made a commitment never to hang out on the blocks again. When I was younger, we were mischievous when we were hanging out on the blocks, so I knew what it would do if I went back to that.”

On the rugby field, Nate found that he could release his aggression in a way that didn’t get him in trouble. He felt he found a family there. Steve “Uncle Steve” Johnson and “Big Mac” made the kids feel like they had worth. They would give the kids pocket money after games but most of all, gave them the encouragement they needed to believe in themselves.

Nate was so good at track and field, he says, that former Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association (BAAA) president Desmond Bannister wrote a letter to his softball and rugby coaches advising

NATE with members of his Dream Chasers Club and, above, a youngster in his community riding a horse thanks to the club.

them not to let him play, because Nate had the potential to be a track superstar. He still wanted to play rugby and because of it, he suffered injuries that affected his performance on the track. Yet, Nate still had a quite illustrious career in athletics. Sports allowed him the opportunity to study at St Augustine’s College in North Carolina, where he achieved a Bachelor’s degree in Human Performance and Wellness Concepts.

In 2004, he represented The Bahamas at the Summer Olympics, where he was a finalist in the 4x400 metres. In his collegiate career, He achieved All American Indoors five times, and All American outdoors six times. He was the four-time Indoor champion in the 400 metres for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). He was also the CIAA three-time outdoor champion in the 400 metres. He performed and medaled in the National Association of Christian Athletics.

Nate is a two-time gold medallist of the Central American Championships in the 4x400 metres. In the World Outdoor Championships, he earned two silvers and a bronze in the 4x400 metres.

“I made it out and I

wanted to give them the same thing - an easier and a safer route in terms of playing and enjoying life,” he said.

“I am working at the Ministry of Tourism and focusing on sports tourism under sports legend, Eldece Clarke.

I also work closely with Leonardo Dean, who has been excellent to work with.”

For years now, Nate has found interesting ways to perform community efforts including having clean-up campaigns, summer camps and giveaways. Recently, Nate was able to team up with Reverend CB Moss of the Bain Grant’s Town Advancement Association (BGTAA), and provide bags of groceries to scores of kids in the area.

He also gave the kids back to school supplies. BGTAA has been giving out grocery to Bain and Grant’s town residents for years, but efforts went into overdrive during the pandemic. To date, the BGTAA has not slowed down its efforts even when the national feeding programme is changing pace. Dream Chasers was happy to have yet another successful event with the help of the BGTAA. Dream Chasers also receives support from others, including: Charm Ones Import/ Export; Strachan Glass and Accessories through Trevor Strachan; Frankie Ambrose; Byron and the Tiki Hut; and Valentino Brown. Mark Knowles is vice president of Dream Chaser’s club, and Edron Knowles is also an executive.

Together, they push not only for fun, educational events for kids, but for corporate support to keep up with their programmes for the kids. To contact Nate, call 565-4681 or email dreamchasers.sdc@gmail. com.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, October 20, 2020, PAGE 9

True justice is blind and also deaf to someone’s personal views ANYONE who had the time and inclination to watch even part of last week’s US Senate confirmation hearings for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, would surely have been impressed by her performance in response to keen questioning. But they might also have been disturbed by the evidence of deep divisions in the American body politic.

It was fascinating to watch well informed Senators - mostly on the Republican side and some of whom are lawyers - discussing legal concepts with a federal Court of Appeal judge who clearly possesses impeccable credentials and is supremely well qualified to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They also posed penetrating questions about her suitability for such a post, including her personal beliefs which she should put to one side in interpreting the law.

At the same time, Democrat Senators, who maintain that Amy Barrett’s nomination so close to the Presidential election is illegitimate and the proceedings are therefore

a sham, generally ignored such questions and, instead, wanted her views on specific controversial political issues like the Affordable Care Act and on abortion and it was unsurprising she declined to offer any comment on those. Nonetheless, their attitude was perhaps to be expected in the knowledge that confirmation of Judge Barrett - from liberal icon Ginsburg to a conservative appeals court judge - would cement a six to three conservative majority on the court and be the most profound ideological change in 30 years.

However, for the outsider observer who is not well versed in the intricacies of the American governmental system and is unfamiliar with the subject of the ideological make-up of the US Supreme Court, it is mystifying that the political stance and personal beliefs of a nominee should even be an issue.

As the third branch of government in which the separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary was designed to prevent abuse of power that could lead to tyranny, the Supreme

The Peter Young column Court’s decisions do, of course, have a profound effect on American society.

Most people understand its role as the final court of appeal and interpreter of the US Constitution so that, in effect, it marks the boundaries of authority between state and nation, state and state and the government and citizen.

As far as I can see, the Supreme Court is supposed to eschew political disputes which are considered to be policy matters for the

I DESPAIR, I REALLY DO AN article in the UK press that caught my eye last week concerned criticism and abuse online of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who, in 2012 at the age of 14, was shot and wounded by the Taliban for speaking up for the right of girls to be educated. She survived this assassination attempt - a terrible incident that sparked an outpouring of support around the world - and her life was saved when she moved to Britain.

After recovering her health, Malala became a champion of women’s education. She set up her own foundation, wrote a book about her experiences and, in 2014, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, thus becoming the world’s youngest winner of the

award. Now, this 23-yearold has just graduated from Oxford University after studying PPE - philosophy, politics and economics.

The claimed reason for the nasty trolling that she has been subject to is that she posted a message on Facebook asking for support of a close friend’s bid to become president of the university’s Conservative Association - even though, in so doing, Malala explicitly said that this should not be seen as a reflection of her own political views.

Nonetheless, according to press reports, her action has attracted a slew of unpleasant messages online calling her a “disingenuous careerist” and an imperialist who ought to be deported - and worst of all she has been

condemned for being a Conservative (Tory) which in student politics seems to be the ultimate sin.

So, what can one make of that? How mean-spirited and absurd it must be to label as a disingenuous careerist a person of Malala’s background and experience who is also a Nobel prize-winner and has been a “female empowerment” icon - and all on the grounds of having a personal friend who happens to be a Conservative.

But it is yet another illustration of the intolerance of the student Left in Britain which refuses to accept that in a democracy there are different points of view and alternative beliefs. What about free speech? Has it completely disappeared in academia?

REMEMBER, THANK HEAVEN FOR SMALL MERCIES WITH the certainties and rhythms of normal life disrupted, if not destroyed, by coronavirus throughout the year so far, a sense of unreality remains for many people and it is hard to realise October, the tenth month of our Gregorian calendar, is already nearly over.

In the Northern hemisphere it is the middle of autumn, with the hibernation of winter still to come but not far off - a time of rich colours, falling leaves and cooler weather when in Europe the fireside starts to beckon. The days are already shorter as the nights draw in before the clocks go back an hour.

At this late stage of the hurricane season, the threat of new storms is virtually over, though some think one should not tempt fate by saying that because who can forget the destructive Hurricane Matthew which made a direct hit on New Providence in October, 2016. But The Bahamas has been largely spared this season after the horrors of Dorian in September last year. According to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami, apart from a tropical storm which is forecast to go well north of us, there are no serious storms lurking in the Atlantic and it is unusual for hurricanes to occur during November.

Be that as it may, the autumn season should be a period of quiet calm and consolidation, with Halloween just around the corner followed by Remembrance Day and the annual Thanksgiving celebrations little more than a month away. It is also habitually a time for reflection and taking stock of life. But how does that work when nothing is normal this year and people are suffering from ongoing virus restrictions here at home and elsewhere - described by one commentator in Britain over the weekend as being a ‘mishmash of oppressive diktats that are complicated, bewildering, illogical and unfair’.

By now, of course, everyone is aware that, despite the latest promising news about a COVID-19 vaccination, the effects of the virus are likely to continue for some time. Nonetheless, perhaps it is time to be positive and offer thanks for what we still have rather than bemoan the lack of a proper life over these past months.

In thinking about this, I recall the advice of the late Sir John Templeton, a long-term resident of The Bahamas, in his wonderful book ‘Discovering the Laws of Life’, published in 1994, in which he stressed the importance of gratitude in his words, ‘thanksgiving leads to having more to give

thanks for’.

Many also value the inspiration provided by Sir William Osler, a Canadian who was one of the four founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital and was lauded as one of the greatest physicians in the English-speaking world.

In his address on ‘A Way of life’ given at Yale University in the spring of 1913, he offered the following guidance to the students: ‘Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb all your interest, energy and enthusiasm. The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s work superbly well’. It is said that his ‘way of life’ advice has helped many people over the years to do their day’s work with confidence while not letting the mistakes of the past paralyse their efforts.

A wise man once suggested that misfortune cannot be conquered by furious and continuing resentment, while the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously said that what does not kill us strengthens us. So, as I wrote in this column a year ago, perhaps this autumn is the time to embrace the present - carpe diem or seize the moment - and appreciate and savour what we still have in case things get even worse.

legislative and executive considered relevant authorities, but this seems because their personal to be a grey area because, in beliefs should be put aside practice, it can all too often when they are in court. become involved in key By comparison, in the political decisions.

UK, where a 12-member To the man in the street, Supreme Court - created the court appears to exercise in 2009 to replace the Law enormous power because, Lords in Parliament - is the in examining federal and final court of appeal in cases state statutes to determine of major public importance, whether they conform to justices are nominated by the Constitution, it can an independent commission strike them down if there is and, after consultation with any violation. Some people a number of senior judges, question whether the Court appointments are finally should have such approved by wide ranging ‘It is mystifying The Queen. The powers in a fedpolitical views eral democratic that the of nominees are republic like the political stance said to be often US with a form and personal unknown and of government anyway have no in which elected beliefs of bearing on the representatives a nominee selection process. and a head of should even Whether state chosen by or not that is the people carry be an issue.’ acceptable in the out the busicircumstances, ness of the nation and an and there should be more unelected judiciary inter- transparency in this method prets laws. But the rule of of appointment, is a matter law is sacrosanct and, for a for debate. But it removes democracy to work, there any political element in has to be a mechanism to determining who is caparesolve disputes so the inde- ble and suitably qualified pendence of the judiciary to dispense justice. Because from the political branches of the various stages of of government is essential. scrutiny and its independIn view of all this, for- ent nature the procedure eign commentators often inspires public confidence wonder how the ideologi- or at least tends not to be cal stance and political questioned - and that immebeliefs of Supreme Court diately makes one wonder judges or, indeed whether the politicisation any judges - should be of the US Supreme Court

leads the American public to lose faith in it.

The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham, has stressed there is a fundamental difference between ‘politics and judging’. The latter requires those concerned to be rational, objective and impartial in exercising judgment - and, if, for example, a judge is religiously conservative and, as a catholic, pro-life, these should not influence his or her application of, and adherence to, the rule of law nor affect a commitment to dispense equal justice for all.

Thus, cases should be decided according to the law while policy-making should be left to the legislature. So, when Judge Barrett tried to distance herself from her earlier opinions and writings on controversial subjects – and said repeatedly that, if confirmed to the Supreme Court, she would be her own judge and committed to applying the law rigorously and objectively - that will have been music to the ears of many. With her confirmation likely to be announced this week, it seems Americans have been glad to have heard directly from this outstanding candidate for a lifetime post in the highest court of the land.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Forget ‘Crazy Uncle Donald’ - social media giants are the ones to watch

THE TRIBUNE PRESIDENT Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Monday, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

By MARK SHANAHAN Associate Professor and Head of Department for Politics & IR, University of Reading

N

BC anchor Savannah Guthrie looks to have delivered one of the most memorable lines of the US 2020 election campaign at Donald Trump’s town hall meeting on October 15. Challenging one of the President’s more outlandish recent social media interventions – when he retweeted a conspiracy theory alleging that Osama bin Laden is still alive and that Joe Biden and Barack Obama “may have had Seal Team 6 killed” – she shot him down in flames, saying: “You’re not, like, someone’s crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever.”

In a reality-TV presidential campaign it was a moment that took the theatrics up another notch, but one that lifts the curtain on a mix of happenstance and strategy that has ensured Trump

has been front and centre of the news agenda since the moment he rode down the escalator in Trump Tower back in 2015 to declare his presidential candidacy.

Ever since then, Trump

has played fast and loose with the truth.

The Washington Post tracks the President’s misleading claims and had clocked up more than 20,000 from his inauguration on January 20 2016 to July 9 2020. Trump is uniquely unencumbered by self-doubt, morals, or any kind of filter that might deflect the spotlight from himself.

Trump launched his political career in the age of social media, something I wrote about in The Trump Presidency: From Campaign Trail to World Stage, noting his desire for short-term “winning” moments so often amplified beyond their policy value through social media.

Leveraging the celebrity status of his long television career on mainstream network NBC’s The Apprentice, he arrived at the perfect moment to align political communication with the hit-hungry platforms of social media moguls Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook and Jack Dorsey at Twitter.

Both platforms operate in a world where algorithms surface information likely to go viral.

They platforms were (and remain) woefully under-regulated and, taken together, both have become dangerous homes for at best, ridiculous alternative narratives, and at worst, dangerous and damaging lies.

Fake news President Trump is the fake news President. He has set the news narrative on an almost daily basis by saying something outrageous and then sitting back and watching his opponents, the media – and indeed all of America – dissect whatever brag, lie or slander he’s launched that day. Often he throws half a dozen tweets out knowing one will stick (he averages over 30 tweets a day). Their purpose is to deflect from whatever real challenges he faces in his presidency.

Sometimes all that is apparent is his lack of the knowledge one might expect from a President, as in describing Prince Charles as the “Prince of Whales”. Sometimes it’s how unpleasant he can be when he stoops to very personal attacks – such as his long-running sniping at Senator John McCain,

even after McCain died.

And sometimes he uses social media to enable extremists – as on July 1 2020 when he retweeted a video of his supporters yelling “white power”, and failed to immediately delete it despite being called out from all sides.

Unsurprisingly, Facebook and Twitter have been slow to censor even Trump’s most egregious lies. These platforms are in business not as arbiters of decency and truth, but

“The Washington Post tracks the President’s misleading claims and had clocked up more than 20,000 from his inauguration on January 20 2016 to July 9 2020.

Trump is uniquely unencumbered by self-doubt, morals, or any kind of filter that might deflect the spotlight from himself.” to make money, as much as they can and from as many of us as possible.

They aim to be ubiquitous, and having Trump surf their wave has enhanced their reach exponentially – Twitter by the President’s direct and daily use of the platform, and Facebook by being the chief means for seeding the conversations that will ultimately influence Americans to lend either Trump or Biden their vote in November.

Platforms of anger I’m currently engaged in research as to how, since 2016, both platforms have become platforms of anger, building bubbles and echo chambers that swell and burst as every new political play gains traction. And, as MIT showed in its 2018 study, fake news travels much faster than the truth, gaining currency far quicker and travelling much further than anything as dull as a fact. With a plodding Biden campaign well ahead in the polls, expect the Trump campaign to step up the alternative news agenda exponentially to disrupt the Biden narrative and sow the seeds of doubt in voters’ minds.

We’re used to “October surprises” in US

presidential races. Some – like the Comey investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails back in 2016 – can derail a candidate, while others fall flat.

That’s what appears to be happening with the Republicans’ attempt to seed a story through the New York Post about Joe Biden’s son Hunter. As a story it hit every GOP voter button, supposed Biden hypocrisy and kleptocracy – and at the hands of the Ukrainians and Chinese too.

The story was dubious, to the extent that both Facebook and Twitter stepped in to block its circulation. Republicans cried foul, but the story’s provenance was questionable, appearing to emanate from Trump lawyer and surrogate Rudy Giuliani and former chief strategist Steve Bannon. But without clear proof that the story is a hoax, Twitter has now back-tracked on its decision.

So does this intervention mark a serious and long-lasting change in policy for Facebook and Twitter? Unlikely. They have taken steps to police both content and content providers on their platforms in recent months, but even Facebook’s much publicised taking down of 19 Russian-linked accounts in September was merely frittering around the edges.

The power of these platforms exceeds the founders’ ability to police them – even if they wanted to. And while both platforms make vast amounts of money through advertising and data licensing, they are unlikely to turn off the kind of content that draws users back addictively and offers such rich bounty for advertisers.

Ultimately, self-regulation will be ineffectual - and even formal regulation may prove unenforceable in a nation so wedded to the first amendment’s right of free speech.

Frankly, that works perfectly well for whoever takes the White House on November 3. The courts have offered little by way of regulation in the social media era. Expect little more in future, whoever wins. The “crazy uncle” may depart the stage, but social media as the tool of political communication is just getting started. theconversation.com

THE TRIBUNE

ARGENTINA HITS ONE MILLION CASES AS VIRUS SLAMS LATIN AMERICA

By NICOLAS DELUCA USHUAIA, Argentina (AP) — At the edge of Argentina in a city known as “The End of the World,” many thought they might be spared from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sitting far from the South American nation’s bustling capital, health workers in Ushuaia were initially able to contain a small outbreak among foreigners hoping to catch boats to the Antarctic at the start of the crisis.

But as Argentina passed one million virus cases Monday, it is now smaller cities like Ushuaia that are seeing some of the most notable upticks.

Doctors have had to quadruple the number of beds for COVID-19 patients over the last month. At least 60% of those tested recently are coming back positive for the virus.

“We were the example of the country,” said Dr. Carlos Guglielmi, director of the Ushuaia Regional Hospital.

“Evidently someone arrived with the coronavirus.”

Milestone Across Latin America, three other nations are expected to reach the one million case milestone in the coming weeks — Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The grim mark comes as Latin America continues to register some of the world’s highest daily case counts. And though some nations have seen important declines, overall there has been little relief, with cases dropping in one municipality only to escalate in another.

The trajectory is showing that the pandemic is likely to leave no corner of Latin America unscathed.

“The second wave is arriving without ever having finished the first,” said Dr. Luis Jorge Hernández, a public health professor at the University of the Andes in Colombia.

Argentina has seen cases spiral despite instituting one of the world’s longest lockdowns.

Colombia’s major cities have seen a dip, but smaller areas like the department of Caldas in the coffee region are only now reaching a peak.

Peru’s overall numbers have dropped, but officials recently reported 12 regions are spiking back up. Mexico, likewise, has seen a rise in a quarter of all states over the last week.

Trend The result is that rather than a second virus wave like that being seen in Europe, epidemiologists anticipate a more sustained, plateau-like trend.

“Our countries are still getting out of the first wave,” said Dr. Marcos Espinal, director of the Pan American Health Organization’s Department of Communicable Diseases. “A great part of the population remains exposed and community transmission continues.”

The virus’ cruel path through Latin America is a consequence of weak public health systems, social factors like poverty and poor government decisions early on that resulted in flawed or limited testing and little contact tracing. Today the region is home to half the 10 countries with the highest total cases around the globe.

Argentina initially registered low virus case numbers but now has one of the highest rates of new daily infections per capita, according to Our World in Data, a non-profit online scientific publication based at the University of Oxford. It is on par with several European countries that are experiencing a resurgence of the virus.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020, PAGE 11

TRUMP GOES AFTER FAUCI, TRIES TO BUCK UP HIS CAMPAIGN TEAM

By ZEKE MILLER and JILL COLVIN Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — An angry President Donald Trump came out swinging Monday against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the press and polls that show him trailing Democrat Joe Biden in key battleground states in a disjointed closing message two weeks out from Election Day On the third day of a western campaign swing, Trump was facing intense pressure to turn around his campaign, hoping for the type of lastminute surge that gave him a come-from-behind victory four years ago. But his inconsistent message, another rise in virus cases and his attacks on experts like Fauci could undermine his final efforts to appeal to voters outside his most loyal base.

“I’m not running scared,” Trump told reporters before taking off for Tucson, Arizona, for his fifth rally in three days. “I think I’m running angry. I’m running happy and I’m running very content ‘cause I’ve done a great job.”

His aggressive travel comes as Trump plays defence in states he won four years ago, though the president insisted he was confident as he executed a packed schedule despite the pandemic.

“We’re going to win,” he told campaign staff on a morning conference call from Las Vegas. He went on to acknowledge that he “wouldn’t have told you that maybe two or three weeks ago,” referring to the days when he was hospitalised with COVID-19. But he said he felt better now than at any point in 2016. “We’re in the best shape we’ve ever been,” he said.

Morale Seeking to shore up the morale of his staff amid growing private concerns that he is running out of time to make up lost ground, Trump blasted his government’s own scientific experts as too negative, even as his handling of the pandemic that has killed nearly 220,000 Americans remains a central issue to voters.

“People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump said of the government’s top infectious disease expert. “Every time he goes on television, there’s always a bomb. But there’s a bigger bomb if you fire him.

But Fauci’s a disaster.”

At a rally in Prescott, Arizona, Trump assailed Biden for pledging to heed the advice of scientific experts, saying dismissively that his rival “wants to listen to Dr. Fauci.”

The doctor is both respected and popular, and Trump’s rejection of scientific advice on the pandemic has already drawn bipartisan condemnation.

At his rally, Trump also ramped up his attacks on the news media, singling out NBC’s Kristen Welker, the moderator of the next presidential debate, as well as CNN for aggressively covering a pandemic that is now infecting tens of thousands of Americans every day.

Fauci, in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, said he was not

PRESIDENT Donald Trump waves to a cheering crowd as he arrives for a campaign rally Monday, in Tucson, Ariz.

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) surprised that Trump contracted the virus after he held a series of large events with few face coverings.

“I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask,” Fauci said of the president.

As Trump turned his flouting of scientific advice into a campaign applause line, Tennessee GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander said that, if more Americans had heeded Fauci’s advice, “we’d have fewer cases of COVID-19, and it would be safer to go back to school and back to work and out to eat.”

Biden was off the cam-

‘idiots,’” the campaign said.

Monday’s professed confidence in victory stood in contrast to some of Trump’s other public comments in recent days reflecting on the prospect that he could lose.

“Could you imagine if I lose my whole life? What am I going to do?” he asked a rally crowd last week in Macon, Georgia. “I’m not going to feel so good. Maybe I’ll have to leave the country.

I don’t know.”

In Janesville, Wisconsin over the weekend, he said it wasn’t “even conceivable” that he could lose to a man he labeled “the worst candidate” in the “history of presidential politics.”

Trump has also expressed confusion about polling

DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to board his campaign plane at the New Castle Airport in New Castle, Del., Sunday, en route to Durham, N.C. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) paign trail Monday, but his campaign praised Fauci and criticised Trump for “reckless and negligent leadership” that “threatens to put more lives at risk.”

“Trump’s closing message in the final days of the 2020 race is to publicly mock Joe Biden for trusting science and to call Dr. Fauci, the leading public health official on COVID-19, a ‘disaster’ and other public health officials

data that shows him trailing or closely matched with Biden in key states, given the crowds of thousands he’s been drawing at every stop.

“How the hell can we be tied?” he said at a rally in Carson City, Nevada, where polls actually show Biden ahead. “What’s going on? ...

We get these massive crowds.

He gets nobody. And then they say we’re tied. ... It doesn’t make sense.”

Biden, meanwhile, was in Delaware for several days of preparation ahead of Thursday’s final presidential debate. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, was returning to the campaign trail after several days in Washington after a close adviser tested positive for the coronavirus.

Late Monday, the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced that Trump and Biden will each have his microphone cut off in Thursday’s debate while his rival delivers his opening two-minute answer to each of the six debate topics.

Debate The rule changes come three weeks after a chaotic opening faceoff between the two presidential contenders that featured frequent interruptions — most often by Trump. The open discussion portion of the debate will not feature a mute button, but interruptions by either candidate will count toward their time.

The commission has faced pressure from the Trump campaign to avoid changing the rules, while Biden’s team was hoping for a more ordered debate.

In a statement, the commission said it “had determined that it is appropriate to adopt measures intended to promote adherence to agreed upon rules and inappropriate to make changes to those rules.”

In addition to public polling that indicates Biden has an edge, the former vice president enjoys another considerable advantage: money.

Over the past four months, Biden has raised over $1 billion, a massive amount of money that has significantly eclipsed Trump’s once-overwhelming cash advantage.

That’s become apparent in advertising, where Biden and his Democratic allies are on pace to spend twice as much as Trump and the Republicans in the closing days of the race, according to data from the ad tracking firm Kantar/ CMAG.

“We have more than sufficient air cover, almost three times as much as 2016,” said Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, who insisted Trump has the advantage with the campaign’s field staff and data targeting.

Though Trump has pulled back from advertising in Midwestern states that secured his 2016 win, he’s invested heavily elsewhere, including North Carolina, where he is on pace to slightly outspend Biden.

Concerns about a possible loss to Biden that have been spilling into the open in recent days have been percolating behind the scenes at the Trump campaign.

Trump himself has alternated between disbelief and anger at the idea that he could lose to a candidate whom he views as washed up and incompetent, according to three campaign and White House officials not authorised to speak publicly about private conversations.

Trump has directed anger at press coverage but also has vented about his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, whom he blames for mishandling his hospitalisation for the virus and COVID relief talks.

He has asked some of his closest advisers if a campaign shakeup was needed, according to the officials.

The president was encouraged to hold off on any moves so close to Election Day. Meanwhile, aides have started privately wondering whether or not Trump’s campaign rallies, which have helped define American politics for the last five years, were in their final days.

In recent weeks, meanwhile, some White House staff offices have also tried to rotate in aides who have never flown on Air Force One or have done so infrequently so they can do so before Election Day. – Miller reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Will Weissert in Wilmington, Delaware, Jonathan Lemire in New York and Brian Slodysko in Washington contributed to this report.

MORALES PARTY CLAIMS WIN AS BOLIVIA SEEMS TO SHIFT BACK LEFT

By CARLOS VALDEZ Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia appeared Monday to be shifting sharply away from the conservative policies of the U.S.-backed interim government that took power last year after leftist President Evo Morales resigned, with the self-exiled leader’s party claiming victory in a weekend presidential election.

The leading rival of Morales’s handpicked successor, Luis Arce, conceded defeat as did interim President Jeanine Áñez, a bitter foe of Morales.

Officials released no formal, comprehensive quick count of results from Sunday’s vote, but two independent surveys of selected polling places gave Arce a lead of roughly 20 percentage points over his closest rival — far more than needed to avoid a runoff. Áñez asked Arce “to govern with Bolivia and democracy in mind.”

Arce, meanwhile, appealed for calm in the bitterly divided nation saying he would seek to form a government of national unity under his

Movement Toward Socialism party.

“I think the Bolivian people want to retake the path we were on,” Arce declared, surrounded by a small group of supporters, some of them in traditional Andean dress in honor of the country’s Indigenous roots.

To win in the first round, a candidate needs more than 50% of the vote, or 40% with a lead of at least 10 percentage points over the secondplace candidate. The independent counts, sponsored by the Catholic Church and civic groups, indicated Arce had a little over 50% of the vote and a roughly 20-point advantage over centrist former President Carlos Mesa, who acknowledged defeat.

The formal official count showed Arce and Mesa in a close race for much of Monday, but by evening Arce was edging away. With about 37% of ballots counted, Arce had 43% and Mesa had 36%. The early counted votes appeared to be largely from urban areas rather than the rural heartlands that have been the base of support for Morales and his movement. Officials said final results could

LUIS ARCE, centre, Bolivian presidential candidate for the Movement Towards Socialism Party, MAS, and running mate David Choquehuanca, second right, celebrate during a press conference where they claim victory after general elections in La Paz, Bolivia, Monday. (AP Photo/Juan Karita) take days.

Arce, who oversaw a surge in growth and a sharp reduction in poverty as Morales’ economy minister for more than a decade, will struggle to reignite that growth. The boom in prices for Bolivia’s mineral exports that helped feed that progress has faded, and the new coronavirus has hit impoverished, landlocked Bolivia harder than almost any other country on a per capita basis. Nearly 8,400 of its 11.6 million people have died of COVID-19.

Arce, 57, also faces the challenge of

emerging from the long shadow of his former boss, who remains polarising but whose support enabled the lowkey, British-educated economist to mount a strong campaign. Áñez’s government tried to overturn many of Morales’ policies and wrench the country away from its leftist alliances. Newly installed electoral authorities barred Morales from running in Sunday’s election, even for a seat in congress, and he faces prosecution on what are seen as trumped-up charges of terrorism if he returns home.