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The Tribune

Volume:117 No.233, OCTOBER 30TH, 2020

Established 1903

Weekend

WEEKEND: RAPPER MIZ BREEZY ON HER MUSICAL RISE

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

Weekend

Friday, October 30, 2020 photography culture art gardening history food puzzles animals

Officer taken off duty as police open probe into Exuma shooting

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net AN Exuma man died about two hours after he was shot by an off-duty police officer on that island on Wednesday night, police said.

A statement issued by police shortly after the incident said the officer in question “has been relieved of his duties and is assisting police with the investigation”.

Relatives have identified the deceased as 39-year-old Jarvis Burrows, who moved to Exuma from Nassau about two years ago.

Cell phone videos taken by a bystander in the aftermath of the shooting show a man believed to be the

officer in plain clothes holding a gun in his hand as he hovers over the victim.

In the video, the victim, while still alive, is seen lying shirtless on the ground with an apparent gunshot wound to the buttocks.

The officer, who appears calm, then pulls a small plastic bag out of the victim’s hand, which a bystander says is marijuana.

The bystander is heard repeatedly screaming for an ambulance to take the victim to hospital, claiming Burrows was “shot for a bag of weed”.

He also asked why it had been necessary for the officer to open fire.

SEE PAGE THREE

complaining of illness on Saturday and believed prison officials did little to address his concerns.

“He told me they say don’t bring him in the medical area because people there have COVID,” she said.

“But he said the medical people were monitoring him. Sunday he told me he was having chills and had no appetite and that when he tried eating things it had no taste.

SEE PAGE THREE

pgs 04 + 05

VIRAL VIDEOS OF SHOOTINGS ARE CLASSLESS

SEE PAGE EIGHT

‘SHUT US DOWN TO ENSURE SAFETY’

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

A CENTRAL Eleuthera official says a lockdown is necessary at this time due to rising COVID-19 numbers and increasing quarantine cases.

Central Eleuthera administrator Whelma Colebrook made the statement after Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis foreshadowed the possibility of placing restrictions on Eleuthera because of the rise in that island’s COVID-19 cases, which at last report stood at 64.

SEE PAGE FOUR

QUESTIONS OVER COP KILLER’S DEATH IN JAIL

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ANDREW Omar Davis, a 43-year-old convicted of the 1999 murder of Constable Jimmy Ambrose and the attempted murder of Marcian Scott, died at the Department of Correctional Services on Wednesday night after complaining about shortness of breath.

A person close to him who declined to give her identity, said Davis began

Page 16

Bright and Breezy

Rapper on the rise in music industry

SUSPECT SHOT DEAD ‘OVER BAG OF WEED’

THE ART OF GROWTH

‘IT’S GOT WORSER FOR VICE VERSA’ BAHAMIAN band ViceVersa - like everyone else - has been hit by the economic effects of COVID-19, with bookings drying up as venues shut their doors in lockdowns and curfews. But the band has made the most of the time, writing original songs and expanding their repertoire. See the full story in today’s Weekend section.

NATIONAL DEBT RISES TO $8.9BN

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Government’s first quarter fiscal outturn was “within the ball park” of projections, the deputy prime minister said last night, as $692m in net borrowing drove its direct debt to almost $8.9bn.

K Peter Turnquest told Tribune Business its financial performance for the three months to

PETER TURNQUEST end-September had not deviated too far from the May Budget forecasts, although he conceded that revenue was “a little

behind” and spending “a little ahead”.

While he lacked access to the actual figures due to being in quarantine, Mr Turnquest said the Ministry of Finance was “very carefully” managing a debt portfolio that will have increased by a further $352m following the quarter’s end due to the net proceeds from the recent $600m foreign currency bond issue.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

ESCAPED DETAINEE NOW BACK IN CUSTODY

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Immigration and Financial Services Elsworth Johnson has commended officers of the Immigration Department and the Royal Bahamas Police Force for swift and hard work in capturing a migrant who escaped from the country’s Detention Centre.

SEE PAGE THREE

Clocks go back an hour at 2am on Sunday

PAGE 2, Friday, October 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

More than 4,000 seek help for repairs to homes

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net DISASTER Reconstruction Authority officials revealed yesterday that over 4,000 people have registered for its Small Homes Repair programme in Abaco and Grand Bahama.

They said some $11m has been spent towards the initiative to date.

The figures were revealed

by DRA’s project director Wendell Grant II while giving an update on the restoration efforts being made on the island’s

post-Hurricane Dorian during a Ministry of Disaster Preparedness press conference.

“To date, the Small Homes Repair assistance programme has 4,559 registered homeowners, 3,686 approved homeowners and over $11 million home dispersed,” he said.

“The DRA has also worked with partners to provide temporary housing solutions, including 150 temporary domes in Abaco and the cays and our team is currently erecting 20 modular container homes for families in Sweeting’s

STATE Minister for Disaster Preparedness Iram Lewis yesterday.

Cay, East Grand Bahama.”

This comes amid heightened public scrutiny of the programme after concerns were raised by suppliers last

month about not receiving payments from the agency since the initiative was launched.

Many approved applicants have also since expressed frustration, questioning when the programme will continue, allowing them to receive much needed home supplies.

Last month, officials conceded that the delay was due to an influx of persons registering.

Addressing the issue yesterday, State Minister for Disaster Preparedness Iram Lewis suggested that initiatives have been affected

by COVID-19’s economic impact and also, by some of the shortfall experienced from the Dorian pledging conference in January.

Still, he maintained that officials are committed to the programme and will honour all of its obligations.

He said: “All of the vouchers we have issued, we are seeking to honour those but as you would note and be aware, the COVID19 pandemic has shifted a lot of the responsibilities and priorities of persons who would’ve pledged during the pledge conference and, of course, the pledge is not binding.

“So, there were some serious shortfalls based on our

expectations. However, we are working as best as we can. We are looking for more partnerships. We are looking for more funding, but it is our focus, it is our commitment to honour all of those that we have committed to and we will ensure that we accommodate as many Bahamians as possible. “(Some) persons who didn’t qualify for various reasons — either they had insurance in place or there were ownership issues, etc. But all of those that were approved, we will do our best to honour those commitments.”

Asked yesterday about the outstanding balance for vendors, the minister replied: “We are currently reconciling our accounts and we know that there is a major shortfall. The overall programme will run into over $20m but as it stands right now, and when we have reconciled those accounts and numbers then we will be able to better answer that question and make a determination about the way forward.”

Yesterday, Mr Lewis also responded to concerns raised by residents of Moore’s Island, Abaco, who recently told The Tribune that little attention has been given to the community by the government since Hurricane Dorian hit the island

Photo: Lisa Davis/BIS more than a year ago.

Residents there say there is a need for major upgrades to basic infrastructure in the community like its clinic, airport and roads. They have also taken issue with the community’s water supply, which they say is inconsistent.

However, Mr Lewis claimed that officials have evidence to show that Moore’s Island residents have indeed been assisted by the government.

He said: “I will not agree with the fact that they have not been given any sort of attention by the Bahamas government because I know otherwise to that question. I’m sure that we have been and we have evidence to show that we have been assisting residents of Moore’s Island.”

Mr Grant also added that DRA officials have “in fact visited Moore’s Island” and have conducted assessments on the island through its home repair programme.

“We are quite actively pursuing discharging all of the relief that has been planned. We can also say that there is still much work to be done with infrastructure and with respect to the other systems of government in that island,” Mr Grant said.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 30, 2020, PAGE 3

Suspect shot dead ‘over bag of weed’

from page one Meanwhile, a man who said he witnessed the incident alleged that the officer had been bothering the deceased for a week prior to the fatal shooting.

Jahkino Rivers told The Tribune he was present when the officer came after Burrows apparently for a bag of weed at Harts Settlement, Exuma.

“The officer — I bumped into him before I come to the bar where I was at and he was parked outside of Island Luck and when he came out he looked like he was mad or something and then people was saying he spent all his money,” Mr Rivers told The Tribune.

“The same officer is parked across the road and he’s telling people how he just broke up a bench that Jarvis usually sit down and chill at.

“Jarvis had a bag in his hand….(the officer) came out of nowhere in the dark, jump out on him. He grabbed for the bag of weed with one hand and in the other hand he had the gun in hand. He was telling him that he gone shoot him if he don’t give (him) the weed. Jarvis keep screaming ‘please, (officer’s name) no. I don’t want to go to jail. Please let me go.

Please leave me.’”

Mr Rivers said bystanders told the 39-year-old to just give the drug to the officer. Instead, he said, Burrows was allegedly trying to run.

“He never grabbed the gun…. and (the officer) shoot him and then after he shoot him he jumped on top of him... (he had his) knee on Jarvis and like he holding Jarvis down and then with the other hand that got the gun, he facing

everybody and like pointing the gun ‘if any one of y’all jump into this it’s gonna be y’all too.’

“We was pleading for him to get off him and he kept telling us he ain’t calling for nobody so people started calling the ambulance and calling the police for him.

“For the whole week, he been coming around and (bothering) Jarvis and few of us who is be out here talking about we don’t work - it’s a pandemic nobody really working right now,” Mr Rivers claimed.

On the cell phone footage which circulated yesterday, a bystander can be heard saying: “You’re not supposed to come shoot people like dogs, boy, for a bag of (expletive) weed.

“Come on dog, you off duty, you shouldn’t even do that. There are better ways to do things man.

“That could have been any one of us right now. Anyone going to run from you, you going to shoot us, boy?

“For a bag of weed, dog.

What this (expletive) do that far to get shoot, what’d he do? What’d he do, what’d he do?

“He didn’t do nothing to get shoot, that’s sad boy,” the bystander said, pleading for someone to take Burrows to the hospital.

“Look at all this blood man... this is somebody’s child, boy... this is Exuma.

You shoot this n**** for a bag of weed... Put him in the car... c’mon let’s get this n**** to the hospital. This don’t make no sense. For a bag of weed this man shoot this man.”

Part of the bystander’s comments have been edited

by The Tribune for legal reasons.

Burrows’ sister, Piedra Pinder, said she was present during his last moments at

the clinic as he fought for his life, after getting messages that he had been shot.

“I just went in and looked at my brother just gasping his last breath and I just said you know now is the time to call mummy because this is serious,” she said.

The family decided to meet at the airport in anticipation of Burrows being airlifted to New Providence. She said officials would not let relatives see her brother at the airport and claims there was a lack of communication.

She said her brother was locked up three weeks ago and their mother had an encounter with the officer allegedly involved.

She said he was released and “just was enjoying his life for a couple days” before the shooting.

She was upfront about her brother’s past with drugs and said her family did not condone his lifestyle.

“We didn’t support it but... he’s a grown man,” she said.

She said her brother loved Exuma as he just wanted a peaceful life. He moved to the island in 2018 around the time he had his child, said his sister.

“The same time around he had his baby, I had an uncle that got murdered and my mother went to the funeral in Nassau and he told mom he didn’t want to be in Nassau no more. If she could give him a chance you know come to Exuma.”

According to police, the shooting occurred shortly after 9pm on Wednesday, involving an off-duty police officer.

“A male victim was transported to the Exuma medical facility to be treated. Air ambulance was summoned to transport the

victim to New Providence.

While at the Exuma International Airport awaiting transport, sometime around 11pm, the victim

JARVIS BURROWS succumbed to his injuries.

The officer involved has been relieved of his duties and is assisting police with the investigation,” a police

report said.

Police Commissioner Paul Rolle could not be reached for comment yesterday.

QUESTIONS OVER COP KILLER’S DEATH IN JAIL from page one

ANDREW DAVIS

“Wednesday he called me and said he feeling a little better but he wasn’t talking much, he said he still couldn’t breathe. He WhatsApp me (at) 6.19pm that day and said the fever coming back again and that he would call me back.

“It was like he was trying to catch himself but couldn’t.

Someone then called me and said he collapsed and was lying on the floor for an hour before anyone came and get him. They say when they lift him he was foaming from the mouth and he was unresponsive and they took him to medical.”

People close to Davis believe he was not given proper attention in the prison. One person said they were prevented from taking him his prescribed medication earlier this summer. The prison has been on lockdown since March because of COVID-19.

Bahamas Department of Corrections Commissioner Charles Murphy did not answer The Tribune’s calls or respond to messages before press time yesterday.

In a voice note Davis sent from prison to someone close to him before he died, he complained about trembling and being unable to breathe. In a separate voice

ESCAPED DETAINEE BACK IN CUSTODY from page one

Last Friday at around 7.38am, officers at the detention facility reported that “upon routine population” count, they discovered that a male Haitian national had escaped custody. An all-points-bulletin was put out for his capture.

Police and immigration officials apprehended the migrant around 11pm on Wednesday.

Officers, acting on information and armed with a search warrant, entered a home previously occupied by escaped migrant Jack “Jacklyn” Gerlin at Pinewood Drive in New Providence.

Mr Gerlin and several others were taken into custody without incident, a release from the Department of Immigration noted.

“I would like to commend

the director of immigration and his team and the commissioner of police and his team for assisting and in particular members of the community who were crucially important in resolving this matter,” Mr Johnson said yesterday.

Just after his capture, an image of a barebacked Mr Gerlin made rounds on social media. In the image, he was surrounded by immigration officers, one of them with his hand around his neck.

Mr Johnson did not comment specifically on the image, but said: “The entire episode involving Mr Gerlin is now under investigation inclusive of how he made good his escape and in particular the persons who assisted him and harboured him in this process.

We expect that there may be some more arrests surrounding his escape.”

JACK Gerlin after being detained by officers.

note, he accused officials of “running a game around”.

In another voice note he said: “They ain’t giving me nothing. I send the commissary list and nothing on it healthy for me. They playing a game man. I feel bad bey, this fever killing me, you know? Like I weak, weak, weak, I can’t press no button, man my bones and my hip bone.”

Detective Constable Ambrose, an officer in plainclothes, was shot and killed in 1999 outside a night club after a fight between two rival groups broke out.

During the fight, a young man ran out of the club and approached D/C Ambrose

and Scott. A short time later four men came to the club’s entrance and exchanged words with the young man.

D/C Ambrose instructed the young man to go to the police station, but the four men shot in their direction.

Scott hid behind a car and eventually made his way to the door of the club. He claimed he looked back and saw both Stubbs and Davis shoot Constable Ambrose.

Stubbs and Davis were first convicted in May 2002 but their convictions were overturned on appeal. In a second retrial in July 2013, the men were convicted of murder and attempted murder.

PAGE 4, Friday, October 30, 2020

‘Shut us down to ensure safety’ from page one Speaking to The Tribune yesterday from her office in Eleuthera, Ms Colebrook said if the competent authority puts restrictions or lockdowns on that island, she would support the measures.

“I know it might be harsh, but it is for the welfare of the Bahamian people,” Ms. Colebrooke said. “I will support the lockdown. I think a lockdown is very necessary because of the spread of COVID and the fact that it spreads so quickly. Not just for one area, but for the entire mainland, Spanish Wells and Harbour Island.

Just to slow the spread down. A few months ago we had none, then we had three and now it has increased to so many and we also have persons in quarantine.

“So for the protection for the Bahamian people and for the Eleutherans, I think Eleuthera needs to shut down for safety purposes.

One death is too many. To save lives, the Prime Minister has to do what he has to do to protect the Bahamian people. Based on what the PM is saying, he is the relevant authority and he has to do what he has to do to protect the Bahamian

people. I think the only thing the PM is trying to do is protect us and so we have to heed to his protocols.”

Ms Colebrook’s Central Eleuthera district consists of six townships from Savannah Sound to Gregory Town. She welcomes any restriction that will slow the numbers down in her district and has given certain instructions to the people of her area.

“With him putting restrictive measures in place, I think it will be a good idea so we can slow our numbers down,” she said.

“I told them (residents) to make sure that people are practising social distancing, sanitizing their hands and wearing their masks. I also asked them, when they see gatherings, to make sure those persons are spaced out and adhering to the protocols that the Prime Minister has in place.

So the Bahamian people are protected.”

With the sudden COVID-19 spread in Eleuthera, there is some speculation the rise in cases came from travel from New Providence. However Ms Colebrook said she doesn’t know the reason behind the rise in cases.

“I cannot say where the spread is coming from at this time,” she said. “Based on information I got

from the Health Department right here in Central Eleuthera where we have some 51 persons in quarantine. Out of the 51 we have 31 who have travelled and so at this time I cannot say where the spread came from. I can’t make that judgement.

“With the funerals going on, persons are coming out of Nassau for funerals here in Eleuthera. I cannot say if they are being quarantined. As you know there are 14 day quarantines.

Then we have so many borders here in Eleuthera, in terms of the boating system. You have openings in Hatchet Bay and in Governor’s Harbour in the central area.”

As far as preparation for a possible lockdown is concerned, Ms Colebrook said she suspects there will be a mad dash for people to get what they need, however, if the competent authority gives at least three days’ notice, all should go smoothly.

On Wednesday, Dr Minnis said due to increased COVID-19 activity in mainland Eleuthera and surrounding communities of Spanish Wells and Harbour Island, the Ministry of Health will dispatch a team to assess the situation, as was previously done for Bimini.

THE TRIBUNE

TOTAL CASES

TOTAL DEATHS

6,644 142 NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES WEDNESDAY 38 CASES NEW PROVIDENCE 30 GRAND BAHAMA 4 BIMINI/CAT CAY 3 EXUMA 1

THURSDAY

37 CASES

NEW PROVIDENCE 30 GRAND BAHAMA 4 PENDING 3

TOTAL TESTS

35,435

HOSPITALISED

87

LATEST DEATHS • 59-year-old man from Eleuthera on October 6 • 66-year-old man from New Providence on October 4 • 78-year-old man from New Providence on October 21 • 49-year-old woman

CASES IN ICU

12

from New Providence on October 23 • 82-year-old man from New Providence on October 27 • 35-year-old man from New Providence on October 26

RECOVERED

4345

SIX DEATHS CONFIRMED IN TWO DAYS FOUR more deaths were recorded on Thursday - following two confirmed on Wednesday in the latest date from the Ministry of Health.

Yesterday, 37 new cases were confirmed - with 30 of those in New Povidence. Of the remaining seven, four were in Grand Bahama, while three had their locations pending.

The deaths confirmed yesterday were of a 59-yearold man from Eleuthera, who died on October 6; a 66-year-old man from New

Providence, who died on October 4; a 78-year-old man from New Providence, who died on October 21; and a 49-year-old woman from New Providence, who died on October 23.

Of the two cases confirmed on Wednesday, one was an 82-year-old New Providence man who died on October 27 and the other a 35-year-old New Providence man who died on October 26.

They push the death toll to 142. Nineteen deaths are currently still under

investigation.

In Wednesday’s update, which was issued yesterday afternoon, officials noted 38 new cases. Thirty of those new cases were in New Providence, four were in Grand Bahama, three were in Bimini/Cat Cay and one in Exuma.

The total number of cases following both updates is 6,644, while the total number of tests is 35,435. A total of 88 people recovered yesterday, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 4,345.

TWO Progressive Liberal Party senators are calling on the government to act urgently to protect the health and well-being of the residents of Spanish Wells amid rising COVID19 cases.

Senators Clay Sweeting and Dr Michael Darville acknowledged the fact that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has sent an investigative team to Eleuthera to look into the high numbers of COVID-19 cases, but counts this action as coming “late to the table”.

“After a person tested positive for COVID-19, mass rapid testing was conducted at the Food Fair grocery store where they worked,” Senator Sweeting said.

“We believe about a third of the staff were found to be positive, even though they displayed only mild or no symptoms.

“Several of my family members who work there

have also since tested positive, but so far no-one from the Ministry of Health has contacted them or me in regards to contact-tracing.

“In a small community such as ours, the virus will continue to spread rapidly with potentially fatal consequences for some in our community. Once again I beg the government to act urgently to secure the health of family islanders.”

The PLP is pressing the government to change course urgently and implement the opposition party’s ten-point action plan, which it says is based on internationally-recognised protocols.

A part of that plan calls for free mass testing and expanded contact tracing.

“It is to avoid exactly this kind of situation that the first point on the PLP COVID action plan calls for widespread free testing,” said Dr Darville, co-chair of the PLP’s task force. “We cannot wait until

people are symptomatic to test them, because we know that the virus is spread by people with mild or no symptoms.

“Because the pathology of this virus is so different from person to person, we are unnecessarily risking the lives and health of the people. Family Island communities which do not have adequate medical resources to look after people, are especially vulnerable.

“As we have said since the beginning of this pandemic, we have to deal with the health crisis, before we are able to fully deal with the economic crisis. We cannot re-open safely to tourists, and the local economy will not be revived, until the health crisis is dealt with.”

The PLP said it is madness to continue to enforce “this chaotic hodge-podge of Emergency Orders, curfews and lockdowns”, and expect a different result.

CONCERN RISING FOR RESIDENTS OF SPANISH WELLS

PLP HITS BACK ON FREE TESTING THE Progressive Liberal Party has hit out at Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for his response to questions about calls for free COVID-19 testing.

“Many countries offer free testing to their citizens, including Turks and Caicos,” the PLP said in a statement.

“A successful COVID policy requires a government dedicated to finding and isolating the virus through expanded testing. Instead, his weak testing policy means too many cases go undiagnosed and he can only slow transmission by locking Bahamians up nights and weekends, hurting families and local businesses.

“Once again, as he has since the beginning, the Prime Minister pointed to all the countries who are failing to contain the virus, as if he could use them as a shield from criticism. And once again, we invite him to look at and learn from the success stories, especially in the Caribbean. Get it together, PM. Too much is at stake.”

At a press conference on Wednesday, Dr Minnis was asked about potential plans to offer free COVID-19 tests to those who cannot afford them.

In response, he said the government is already providing some free COVID-19 testing.

“I know you’ve heard

that statement coming from the leader of the opposition,” Dr Minnis said. “The PLP (Progressive Liberal Party) lives in Alice in Wonderland of fantasies. They must stop using politics and one day face realities.

“We will do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety and survival of our fellow citizens.”

He also said: “Princess Margaret Hospital, the lab, those tests, patients are not charged for those tests now.

So, there (is) free testing by the hospital.”

The PLP has frequently called for testing to be expanded and free, along with increased contact tracing, to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 30, 2020, PAGE 5

THE HURRICANE Dorian pledging conference at Baha Mar Convention Centre in January.

Photos: Shawn Hanna

No decision yet on P3 pledge

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY 11 months after the Hurricane Dorian Pledging Conference was held, Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness Iram Lewis said the government is still engaged in discussions with the P3 Group.

The US based company pledged $975m in funding for Hurricane Dorian recovery projects in January.

Speaking during his ministry’s press conference yesterday, Mr Lewis said the government is expected to make a decision concerning the loan offer soon, at which point officials will then inform the public.

Noting that the group’s pledge was not the only one being considered by the government, Mr Lewis said officials will only “look for the best fit” that will ensure the storm impacted islands can rebuild more resiliently without adding to the

country’s national debt.

“We have been in discussions with the P3 group, of course, along with the Ministry of Finance because anything to do with finance and commitment along that line has to deal with the Ministry of Finance,” he said.

“And we were meeting with that group last week Friday and we have a report coming out in short order because not only do we have some decisions to make because not only the P3 group but we have other groups with similar offers and once we would have made a determination with regards to the best way forward because we will do our best not to add to the national debt.

“We will look for the best fit to ensure that we build back better and without adding to our national debt as much as we can help it so, yes, discussions are ongoing and the media will be updated as soon as we come to some sort of agreement.”

Hurricane Dorian — the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in The Bahamas — is estimated to have cost the country $3.4bm in economic loss and damage to infrastructure.

During yesterday’s press conference, officials revealed that more than three million cubic yards of debris to date has been removed from Abaco and Grand Bahama via community clean up community exercises.

“This is an ongoing process and has been collaborative efforts with other government agencies, key NGO partners and the dedication of local Bahamian contractors,” said the DRA’s project director Wendell Grant.

Mr Lewis said officials are also looking for more partnerships and donations.

This comes after the Disaster Reconstruction Authority held a Hurricane Dorian Pledging Conference in January

FROM left, Dr Zeina Nahleh, Dr Susan Williams-Lockhart and Dr Ebbie Jackson.

LOCAL EXPERTS TAKE PART ALONGSIDE CLINIC DIRECTOR IN WEBINAR LOCAL medical professionals will take part in a webinar this weekend alongside a senior official from Florida’s Cleveland Clinic.

Two leading local medical experts, including one who survived breast cancer to become an international marathon runner and author, will team up on Saturday with the director of the Cleveland Clinic Florida Maroone Cancer Centre for the free webinar, starting at 11am.

The webinar is being offered on the closing day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month as the latest figures show increasing education about early detection is reaping unprecedented rewards. Some 99 percent of women diagnosed with localised breast cancer are now surviving five years or more after diagnosis and 86 percent surviving a more widespread type of the disease referred to as regional breast cancer. Breast cancer rates, especially at later stage in young women, are extraordinarily high in The Bahamas, which has been a target for research

by Cleveland Clinic and others.

“We are very excited to share with The Bahamas the latest research we have on diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and to partner, once again, with the local medical community,” said Dr Zeina Nahleh, chair of the Department of Hematology-Oncology and director of the Cleveland Clinic Florida Maroone Cancer Centre.

“Treatment continues to evolve and, as it does, it becomes easier on patient tolerance, an important factor that we consider when working with local physicians to help determine the best course going forward once we have a diagnosis.”

Along with Dr Nahleh, who will discuss managing breast cancer care in a COVID-19 environment, Dr Susan Williams-Lockhart will address the connection between breast health and wellness so women can be empowered to be aggressive warriors of their health and not just victims.

Dr Lockhart is an acute care specialist and one of only a handful in The Bahamas who earned the title Fellow of the Royal College

of Surgeons.

The third participant, Palmdale Vision Centre owner Dr Ebbie Jackson, is an optometrist who got an all-too-close look at breast cancer and stared it down. An avid runner whose mother had passed away from breast cancer more than 20 years earlier, Dr Jackson was preparing for her first international meet, the New York Marathon in 2011, when she, too, was diagnosed. She was sidelined for months with surgery and chemotherapy, but went on to run in the marathon and complete the 26-mile course, a victory she went on to detail in a memoir, A Marathon Runner’s Triumph over Cancer: The Ebbie Jackson Story, hoping to inspire others.

The webinar is a continuation of a lecture series, with the first in the series, in November 2019, drawing a standing room only crowd at Baha Mar. To register for the webinar, go to Events.DPAMedia.Com. Participants will be able to submit questions ahead of the event or in a chat room which will be monitored during the webinar.

which raised over $1bn in pledges, officials said.

The conference drew some controversy due to the pledge from the P3 Group, which made up the lion’s share of commitments that day.

However, out of the $1.77bn in pledges received at January’s event, DRA’s managing director Katherine Forbes Smith said only $109,000 was actual cash donations.

“I think people have this big misconception that there is something sinister going on with these grants,” Mrs Smith said in August.

“Forty-nine people pledged that day. The total value of what was pledged is $1.77bn. Out of that $1.77bn, $109,000 was pledged in cash. So what you saw happening was we had a group that everybody knows, P3, a US based firm who had pledged $1.675bn.

That was for equity financing. Then you had another maybe $92m in grants and another $34m.”

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest at the conference.

PAGE 6, Friday, October 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

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

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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

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The silver lining on the cloud of debt THE announcement yesterday that national debt is headed towards $8.9bn was an unsettling, yet expected moment.

It was expected most of all by the Minister of Finance, Peter Turnquest, who noted that the amount is not too far off from his forecasts in the Budget in May. That is impressive in its own way, considering the unprecedented nature of the situation affecting our country – indeed, affecting the world.

The situation is simple. Just as it is for any one of us, we have a balance of how much money is coming in and how much is going out. Since the pandemic hit, there’s been less income and more spending, or as Mr Turnquest notes compared to his predictions, the amount of money coming in is “a little behind” and the amount going out is “a little ahead”.

It’s easy to see the examples of that.

With no tourists coming in, there’s no revenue from flight arrivals and the amount received in VAT from their expenditure is going down. On the other side of that, the government is spending significant sums on unemployment benefits and food programmes.

As a result, the deficit – the difference when more is being spent than received – is growing, and with it the total debt.

Given the scale of the global freeze on travel, it’s actually fairly remarkable to hear Mr Turnquest say that we “are doing OK given the circumstances we have”. And encouraging.

The better we come through all this, after all, the better we will be able to rebound when the world returns to some sense of the normalcy we knew before this virus reared its ugly head.

Now, we must not pretend this is good news, or strain our eyes to see the silver lining while ignoring the storm cloud itself, but it does give hope of a rebound in due course. There are suggestions there may be a vaccine by April – and

the sooner, the better. As we appear to see, too, a downturn in the number of new cases each day, that gives the prospect that when the vaccine does eventually come, we might be able to stand ready to welcome a world that will be longing to travel again.

And when it does – we hope that debt will start going down again rather than keep on rising.

Sandals cautious

One more silver lining was glimpsed yesterday, with Sandals announcing a tentative reopening date of February 1.

The caution was evident even in the announcement, with group chief executive Adam Stewart warning people “not to hold on to” that date.

Part of the reason for that is that Sandals feels it hasn’t been able to predict the government’s response to the virus, as it veers between lockdowns and relaxations.

As he said, “the clearer that we are with the marketplace”, the easier it is to stimulate travel.

That’s easy to understand – picture it from the view of the potential tourist who asks what they can expect in terms of COVID-19 restrictions and the travel agent shrugging and saying it could change week to week. How do you commit to non-essential travel with such uncertainty?

The government’s “Vacation In Place” pitch as a fresh coat of paint on the word quarantine also did not go down well with visitors.

Balancing the measures we need to protect health with certainty about what each stage of infection will trigger would be beneficial for everyone – rather than shifting an hour here or there in quarantine or fluctuating between beaches being open or not open.

Clear, simple answers – it’s really what would be most useful to all of us.

Marijuana not priority EDITOR, The Tribune.

I AM constrained to compliment The Bahamas Christian Council on two of its most recent decisions.

The decriminalisation of marijuana should not be on the front burner at this time. Yes, we all know that ganja is a socially accepted recreational drug but we also all know the mental and behavioural issues involved by consumption.

As a former first hand student of the weed of wisdom, I no longer advocate the general or even selective usage of the same. Besides we have been admonished by scriptures not to ingest mind altering substances

save and except prescribed for medical purposes.

Our esteemed colleagues, Dr Simeon Hall and his sidekick, officer Quint McCartney, are advocating yet another path straight to the pits of hell. McCartney probably caused more black Bahamians to end up in jail for possession and possession with intent to supply moreso than other officers from CDU and the police force during his tenure.

After all, I believe, he was in charge of the forensic laboratory for the force.

The second point relates to the wonderful stance taken by you, Illuminator Fernander, relative to individuals seeking to appear

to censor sermons and words from The Lord Jesus Christ. That is a no-no and untouchable. If the word is suspect or willy-nilly, The Lord will deal with that not mere politicians and their apostate allies.

I love the pro-active approach now being adopted by The Council. Find time, however, to address the financial; mental and spiritual stress now being unduly imposed upon the unwashed masses. How long will these ineffective curfews go on for?

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, October 29, 2020.

Time for isolation stations?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

WE ALL tend to think that everyone exists as we do, and although we know better, we often make life decisions based upon our own life’s paradigm.

As the Bahamas is now ranked next to last, in the worldwide standings of Country Responses to COVID19, and knowing how a great many people still live in The Bahamas, (and we all know about the shanty towns) is it reasonable to even think, much less consider, that a very large proportions of our population can simply be told to go home and “self-isolate” when they are diagnosed positive and don’t need hospital care? Could this be

the massive elephant in the room that nobody can see?

For a long time now people have been wondering why, with so many hotels empty, and so many cruise ships anchored idly in Bahamas waters, has the government not considered asking the owners to make one or two of these available as isolation stations.

How does anyone expect someone, living in a house with an out-house for a toilet, perhaps with one or two other family members, or even more, not to infect the others is beyond comprehension. Yet the daily dashboard gives us the numbers and they are not all in hospital. So they must be roaming around, and very likely with the rest of us.

When we had cholera and yellow fever years ago, a quarantine station was built on Athol Island, and those who contracted it were sent there. When people contracted leprosy they were confined to an isolation colony on Carmichael Road.

Surely the time is now when something of this nature were put in place. If the reason that such is not being done, as we heard yesterday regarding “free testing”, “because the PLP is having pipe dreams” then maybe it’s time to appoint Mr Davis as the Competent Authority?

RUMPLESTILSKIN Nassau, October 29, 2020.

It’s time to legalise cannabis EDITOR, The Tribune.

FIRE can be one of the most destructive forces on the planet, but it also is one that has been a valuable asset to humanity when harnessed and wielded correctly. Many other natural things in life follow the same template – they can be fabulous tools for good or they can be misused when in the wrong hands.

Cannabis is one of them.

With that said, recent opinions expressed by certain groupings who blame some of this nation’s social ills on Cannabis are overinflated and outdated.

A study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that Cannabis is less addictive than sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco.

With such facts laid bare, it reasonably can be deduced that any attempt to demonise Cannabis as a substance that is dangerous for Bahamian society at large is fraught with misinformation regarding the plant.

There are several potential reasons for what is perceived as Cannabis causing those who partake to have adverse reactions: • While there is a tiny percentage of the population who can be negatively affected psychologically by Cannabis that has higher THC levels, these individuals tend to have underlying, often untreated psychological conditions. As the plant is a psychoactive substance, it can be seen how easily Cannabis can be blamed when someone who had an undiagnosed mental illness suffers a psychotic episode after ingestion.

• Another reason is that the substance taken may not be Cannabis at all, but could be K2 or Spice. This fake “weed” that has nothing to do with the Cannabis plant can look and even smell like marijuana, but

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net is just dried plant matter sprayed with synthetic Cannabinoids that can have dangerous and even deadly effects.

• Next, the present illegal nature of Cannabis obviously means that quality control is a factor. The way the plant is grown, cultivated, stored, and transported through these illegal means is questionable in most instances. As a result, persons looking to procure Cannabis in the illicit market for their own edification or medication unknowingly could be consuming subpar Cannabis that is laden with pesticides, fertilisers, fungi, mites, or even other hard drugs. The effects of these types of corruption of cannabis products can be detrimental, but have nothing to do with Cannabis’s natural chemical makeup.

By now, everyone should be aware of the fact that Cannabis is a healing plant. The cannabinoids, flavonoids, terpenes, and cannaflavins found in various cultivars of the plant genus have undergone numerous scientific studies proving such.

For example, cannaflavins A and B recently have been found to be 30 times more effective than aspirin for fighting pain and inflammation, without dangerous side effects or risk factors.

Again, there are numerous other benefits that are well documented and available for public review.

Quite frankly, those who have a negative view of the plant simply are stuck on the type of thinking based on the negative propaganda of the 1930s when the plant was made globally illegal without any scientific reasoning.

President Nixon’s aide

even went on record stating that they knew that the information presented was false at the time, but making Cannabis illegal suited their purposes.

Such facts are scandalous, yet so many still regurgitate the results of decades of negative propaganda, without regard to the flawed sources of their misinformation.

The Bahamas needs Cannabis to be legalised completely so that we can benefit by boosting the food, clothing, construction, medical, and energy sectors.

Our economy needs this boost and it won’t take years to reap the results.

The preparatory steps for the Bahamian Cannabis Industry will create jobs overnight that will develop into extremely profitable careers.

As for the banking sector being worried about potential blacklisting by US banks, the UN Commission is about to reschedule Cannabis to the lowest drug scheduling in December – with approval from the United States to boot. We should be careful to not give up before we start based on outdated information.

The Cannabis Industry in this hemisphere is about to begin full steam ahead and The Bahamas needs to be prepared to play a key role in this region.

It is past time to get this nation fired up to benefit from this sustainable resource. Bahamians must not let antiquated thinking douse our resolve to diversify and improve our economy.

Future generations are relying on our success in building a sustainable Bahamas for their benefit.

Legalise Cannabis. The time is now.

YORICK R BROWN Nassau, October 28, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 30, 2020, PAGE 7

Father attacked daughter with kettle over revealing photos

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net A 67-YEAR-OLD man who assaulted his daughter with a tea kettle after she posted revealing photos of herself online was yesterday fined $1,000 and ordered to attend anger management classes.

Police said Eugene Robinson assaulted his daughter with a red tea kettle and stove burner after he saw inappropriate photos of her on Twitter.

He pleaded guilty to causing harm, assault with a deadly instrument and assault with a dangerous instrument, during a hearing before Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister yesterday.

The court was told that around 4pm on October 26, the complainant was at her home when Robinson came there furious about photos she had posted on social media.

The accused’s daughter said Robinson was irate because she was studying medicine to become a doctor and he was paying

her tuition.

The complainant said Robinson hit her in the head with the tea kettle several times and asked her why she was posting revealing photos online.

She also said she called for her grandmother who attempted to part the fight, but was unsuccessful after Robinson grabbed a stove burner and began hitting her in the head with it.

The prosecution said the complainant’s grandmother was eventually able to get Robinson out of the house.

The police were then contacted and an investigation was launched. Robinson was arrested at his residence a short time later. In an interview with police at a nearby station, he declined to comment.

During the hearing, Robinson’s attorney told the magistrate the incident was an “unfortunate situation that occurred between a loving father and his daughter”. He explained that the complainant was studying to be a doctor and Robinson was the one paying her school fees. He claimed

the accused was heavily involved in his church and was embarrassed when he saw the inappropriate pictures of his daughter on Twitter. The accused’s counsel claimed that his client just wanted to approach his daughter that day, but in the heat of the moment, lost his temper and hit her.

He insisted Robinson was sorry and deeply regretted his actions.

As a result, for count one, Magistrate Armbrister ordered Robinson to attend anger management and dispute resolution counseling.

He told him if he didn’t, he would spend three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. For count two, he also placed the defendant on four months’ probation and warned him if he failed to keep the peace during that time frame, he would pay a $500 fine or spend six months in prison. Finally, Magistrate Armbrister fined Robinson $1,000 for attacking his daughter with a stove burner. He said if he didn’t pay that fine, he could risk spending nine months behind bars.

DRUNK MAN SMASHED BROTHER’S WINDOW

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who broke one of the windows of his brother’s house while he was intoxicated was placed on three months probation.

Anwar Fernander was accused of causing $138.32 worth of damage to his brother’s glass window on October 21.

He pleaded guilty to one count of damage during a hearing before Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister yesterday.

The court was told that around 10 o’clock on the

night in question, Fernander and his brother, Perez McKinney, were drinking together in Mr McKinney’s yard when the accused became angry and damaged his brother’s glass window. The prosecution said Mr McKinney requested police action and Fernander was arrested a short time later. In an interview with police at the Grove police station, the accused admitted to the offence, but said he was drinking that night and did not know why he damaged his brother’s glass window.

When given an opportunity to speak during the

hearing, Fernander told the magistrate that when he started drinking, he became angry and decided to break the window instead of getting into a physical argument with his brother. He insisted he was remorseful for his actions.

As a result, Magistrate Armbrister placed Fernander on probation for three months and ordered him to compensate Mr McKinney $138.32 for his broken window. He warned the accused if he failed to comply with the conditions of his release, he would be sentenced to one month in prison.

THE WOMEN WHO LED THE CHARGE THE Royal Bahamas Defence Force is saluting the first group of females - who enlisted in the organisation 35 years ago.

The first woman entry was allowed to enlist on October 28, 1985.

The squad of 16 history-making women was Prenell Armbrister, Shane Bain, Cheryl Bethel, Mynez Cargill, Bianca Cleare, Carolyn Douglas, Cynthia Edgecombe, Glenva Evans, Idamae Ferguson, Christine Gibson, Marsha Grant, Gaye Major, Julianna Major, Aura Pratt, Joan Thompson and Verna Wood.

Lieutenant Commander Godfrey Rolle was the Training Officer, assisted

by Force Chief Petty David Duncombe.

Sergeant Ella Mae Rolle of the Royal Bahamas Police Force assisted the new entry training as chaperone during the nights, and Ena Mae Rolle, a civilian who served as an executive officer in the Ministry of Defence, assisted during the days.

In July 1987, both Cheryl Bethel and Gaye Major-Bykowski were the first

RBDF women to both successfully complete a nine-month course at the Britannia Royal Naval College in the United Kingdom to become the first commissioned female officers in the force.

Marsha Grant-Chriswell and Verna Wood would subsequently follow as the second group of women to convert to the Officers Corps.

Julianna Major and Aura Pratt were the first women to attain the rate of a Senior Enlisted, and Idamae Ferguson holds the distinction of being the first female to be advanced to the highest position of an enlisted - that of a Warrant Officer.

Commander Cheryl Bethel remains the only current serving member. The organisation remembers Cynthia Edgecombe, who left an indelible mark, and has since passed away.

As the organization commemorates its 40th anniversary, Commodore Raymond King and the officers and marines pause to say ‘Bravo Zulu’ to these pioneering women.

$500 FINE FOR ELEUTHERA DRUGS SELLERS

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO Eleuthera men who were caught last week selling drugs in Governor’s Harbour were each fined $500.

Elgin Johnson, 32, and Tavon Bethel, 36, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after officers found them with 58 grams of Indian hemp on

October 22.

The court was told that officers in Eleuthera had launched an operation on the island. During their investigation, they observed Johnson and Bethel passing what they suspected to be marijuana joints to people as they passed by in their vehicles.

When they probed the matter, they discovered several silver foil wraps in a tree trunk where the

accused were located. They were subsequently arrested.

In an interview with police, Bethel admitted to the offence while Johnson denied any involvement.

During the arraignment, both men pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous drug possession with the intent to supply. They were subsequently fined $500 each or three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

MAN GUILTY OF ASSAULTING POLICE OFFICER

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 20-YEAR-OLD man who assaulted a police officer and resisted lawful arrest was fined $175.

Police arrested Shawn Butler Jr after he failed to comply with an officer’s orders on February 17.

The prosecution said around 7pm that day, officers were dispatched to Cumberbatch Avenue to

investigate a disturbance.

When they arrived on the scene, they found Butler Jr acting in a disorderly manner. When officers asked him to cease, he refused to do so.

Police Constable 3118 Rolle then attempted to arrest the accused, but he pushed the officer away from him.

When Butler Jr was eventually detained, he was taken to a nearby station where he denied the

offences.

During his arraignment before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes, Butler Jr pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer, disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest.

He was subsequently fined $100 for count one, $25 for count two and another $50 for count three. If he fails to pay the fines, the accused could risk spending one week in jail.

THE PIONEERING group of women who first joined the RBDF.

PAGE 8, Friday, October 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Viral videos of shootings are classless

I MUST admit I was deeply saddened and perplexed after personally watching the sickening video that has gone “viral” of a man as he lay dying after a shooting incident involving an off-duty police officer on Exuma on Wednesday night.

According to reports, the incident occurred shortly after 9pm when an off-duty officer shot the young man in a marijuana incident. After being transported to the Exuma medical facility for treatment, the young man succumbed to his injuries at 11pm while waiting at Exuma International Airport for an air ambulance to New Providence.

The officer involved has subsequently been relieved of his duties and is assisting police with their investigation.

A Comic’s View

By INIGO ‘NAUGHTY’ ZENICAZELAYA

I am watching keenly to see the outcome of this case.

VIRAL

I’m no fan or supporter of the indiscriminate, thoughtless way graphic videos are shared far and wide throughout The Bahamas; it’s a classless act showing zero respect for the victims and their families.

However, in this instance, there is arguably merit to having a recording of this incident as the officer in question in the video was reportedly off-duty, in plain

clothes, and there was no “bodycam”.

There are many questions surrounding this shooting that will be answered in due course, after the police and courts have had their say, so we won’t go into those questions at this time.

However, I think we can use this as a “teachable moment” to open a national discourse on how we view marijuana in this country.

FURTHER NEED FOR LEGALISATION AND DECRIMINALISATION

A Private Funeral Service for Malvina Arabella Sands née Francis, 86 of Ridgeland Park West, will be held on Monday, November 2nd, 2020 at Bethel Brothers Morticians Chapel, Nassau Street. Officiating will be Pastor Henry Francis, Pastor Kersch Darville, and Elder William Knowles. Interment will follow in the Western Cemetery.

Due to current Government regulations in respect of Covid-19, attendance is limited to ten (10) persons.

The service will be live streamed and may be viewed at the following link: https:// livestream.com/bahamas/events/9371962 Left to cherish her memories are her Siblings and their Spouses: Judith, Deidre, Henry (Sheila), Nehemiah (Shirley), and Wellington (Grace) Francis; In-Laws: Maybell Gibson of The Bluff, Eleuthera, Mavis Johnson and Alfreda Deal of North Palmetto Point; Nieces and their Spouses: Sandra, Christine, Lynette, Patrice, and Cytella Francis, Carla Smith, Nesha Culmer, Vania (Daniel) Volmy, Julie (Marvin) Stuart, Kristy (Lucas) Armbrister, Monique (Rev. Alonzo) Hinsey, Samantha (Rev. Cleveland) Wells, Dr. Welmilya (Calvin) Davis, Wel’Andra (Rodney) Rolle; Nephews and their Spouses: Derek, and Wayne (Latoya) Francis, Ross Wilson; Grand Nieces and their Spouses: Kacey (Minister Byron) Brown Sr., Bianca, Sayde, D’Andrea, Je’lise, and Hailey Francis, Staff Sargent Yvonne Smith of the United States Army, Carlyne (Alton) McKenzie, Abby Smith, Phillippa Wilson, Sanchia Culmer, Aalayah and Anayah Hinsey, Cateleen and Catherine Wells, Maya Rolle, and Ava-Riley Davis; Grand Nephews and their Spouses: Rico (Marcia) Brown, Derek Jr. (Bethany) of New Jersey, Darren (Jeanelle), Derron, and Luke Francis, Nathan, Ethan, and Jonathan Stuart, Kristin Strachan, Carlyle Volmy; Great Grand Nieces: Kellie, Koffia, Ceon, and Ceray Brown, Beyonce Scott, Brynique Wilson, Madalynn and Malia Francis of New Jersey, Amelia Francis, Casmine McKenzie, Ava and A’Nyah Adderley; Great Grand Nephews: Byron II (Kendira), Benoit, and Teray Brown, James and David Francis, Jayden Cargill, and Amir Cunningham; Great-Great Grand Nieces: Kylee and Briyanna Brown and Katelynn Duncombe; Great-Great Grand Nephew: Byron Brown III; Cousins and their Families: Clarke/Gibson Clans: Barbara, Michael, Suzanne, William, and Sherry Curtis, Rajya (Stephen) Smith, Rosheene and Rupert Adams Jr., Francois (Senobi) Guillaume, Kim (Kevin) Prioleau, Ian Brathwaite, Inger Archer, Faye Callender, Gail Newbold Munroe, Lindalee Burrows, Evelyn Neilly, Esther Armbrister, Bessie Serrette, Terry Bain, The Gibson and Clarke Families; Francis Clan: Dorothea Davis, Basil, Hiram, Sidney, Tyrone (Erica), Gilbert (Rende), Carvel (Nikita), Trevor (Charmaine), Franklyn, Kenneth, Anthony, Mario, Gerald Stephen, Corey, Brian, Nino, Patricia, Andreae, Lorraine, and Wende Francis, Joyann (Will) Frith, Debra Dames, Kenrah (Cecil) Newry, Theresa (Derek) McPhee, Carol Basden, Esther Leonard, Sophia Fox, Terah (Neno) Newbold, Diana (Marvin) Robins, Gina Evans, Arabella (Derek Sr.), Derek Jr., Keino and Derica Cambridge, John Jr., Charles Jr., and Monique Clarke, Francyss and Suzzette Pratt, Erin and Eldin Ferguson, The Francis and Levarity Families; Special Friends: Angela Cartwright, Iona Carey, Marietta Coakley, Dorothy ‘Billy’ Godet, Kathleen Demeritte, Helen Rolle, Dr. Francina Thurston, Audrey Tucker, Anita Turnquest; Godchildren: Julie Campbell, Tanya Pratt, and Denise Symonette; Family Friends: The Armstrong, Levarity, Munroe, Sands, and Sweeting Families, The Fort Fincastle and Ridgeland Park Communities; Other Friends: Vylma Thompson-Curling, Judith Thompson, Helen Rolle, Angela Phillips, Judith Cumberbatch, Naomi Brown and Family; Organization/Company Affiliations: Ministry of Education, Primary Principals Association, Central Gospel Chapel; Special Mention: Nurse Marsha McQueen and the team at Coastline Community Nursing Home.

May Her Soul Rest in Peace!

Friends may pay their last respects at Bethel Brothers Morticians & Crematorium, #44 Nassau St. on Friday October 30th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

There is growing consensus for the legalisation and decriminalisation of medicinal and recreational marijuana.

Attention, Marijuana Commission: I already know you read this column.

So might I suggest you look at Uruguay as a potential model as we trudge toward making a decision on legalising and decriminalising of both marijuana and hemp in The Bahamas that’s mutually beneficial to all parties concerned?

URUGUAY - THE PROTOTYPE

Some seven years after it became the first country in the world to fully legalise marijuana, Uruguay’s youth are no more likely to get high under the new law, according to a recent, indepth study conducted by

the International Journal of Drug Policy.

In a soon to be released report and article to be published in the International Journal of Drug Policy next month revealed and I quote: “There is no evidence of an impact on cannabis use or the perceived risk of use among adolescents in the country. Neither an increase in student perception of cannabis availability, following legalisation.”

In 2013, Uruguay passed the most far-reaching form of legalisation in the world to date.

By law in Uruguay: • Cannabis sales are restricted to those age 18 or older who register with the state.

• Other products may only be produced by statelicensed producers and sold at specially licensed

pharmacies.

• Regulators cap THC levels, and government price controls of about $1.30 are imposed upon the flower.

Yet another revenue stream to Uruguay’s bottom line, from recreational users.

Added to the already existing, healthy revenue from medicinal marijuana, Uruguay has possibly created the blueprint for the region about the legalisation and decriminalisation of marijuana.

The bottom line is, with more education, and with the newer data that is available, perhaps it’s time to view this substance through an informed ‘present,’ not through the lens of a less informed past.

That way, maybe, Bahamians lives will be better for it.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, October 30, 2020, PAGE 9

From humble beginnings to representing The Bahamas

THERE is one memory that, no matter how many successes he racks up, Louby Georges can never forget.

He was in grade five at Uriah McPhee when the teacher sent him up to the board to solve a math equation.

“I was taking too long and she came up behind me, yanked the chalk out of my hand and said, ‘Sit down, you dumb self, Haitian’.”

It was the first time in his life that he realised being Haitian meant being less than human. There would be many more.

There was the time when Immigration refused to give him a travel letter to go to his grandmother’s funeral in Haiti, outright lying to him that there was no such thing as a travel document when he had evidence there was and he knew in his gut that no matter what he said it would not pierce the wall of ice and authority blocking his way.

Five years later, the same Louby Georges became a household name, the host of a Creole radio show on Guardian Talk Radio that was so popular it went from being aired once a week to occupying a one-hour slot every night until it was suddenly cancelled without notice.

That was in 2014, the same year Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell decreed a zero-tolerance policy for undocumented persons. Buses scoured the streets, scooping up people who did not have papers on them. Officers

By Diane Phillips staged raids. There were roadblocks. And people were being rounded up, compared with those who protested, to cattle with tactics described as Gestapo-like.

No voice in the protest of how Haitians, including Haitian-Bahamians, were being treated was louder or more articulate than that of Fred Smith, QC. President of the (then) Grand Bahama Human Rights Association, Smith had the resources and reach to bring the plight of the stateless and the legal Haitian to the attention of the OAS. With a hearing set for Washington, DC, Louby Georges asked Smith if he could go with him.

“If anyone deserves to be called a hero in this country, it is Fred Smith,” says Louby.

The two, along with Joe Darville and Smith’s team at Callenders, have worked closely ever since and although Louby Georges is not the voice on radio he once was, he has an awesome task as the representative of OIM, Organization for Immigrant Migration, a division of the United Nations.

“I have been all over the world. Sometimes I can’t

even believe it myself that I am able to bring attention to The Bahamas and be an ambassador for the country I love even though I was ridiculed and made fun of for my heritage as a child,” he says.

At one meeting in Sochi, Russia, the Bahamian from humble beginnings was chosen as one of 16 young people out of 30,000 to represent their country and meet the President, Vladimir Putin.

“I shook Putin’s hand and when he asked where I was from and I said, Bahamas, he asked me to repeat it, which I did and he had never heard of it.

I had to explain to Putin where The Bahamas was but I was so proud to be the ambassador.”

This week, I went back with Louby to his roots. He showed me the four houses where his family lived on St. James Road, starting with the first, a one-room house with no kitchen, no bathroom, and everyone slept where they could, creating mattresses out of clothing on the floor. The second house had a bathroom, but no running water was ever connected. Louby would tote jugs, buckets and scrubbed oil containers to the public pumps for water, just like the men and women were still doing when we went there together.

“The atrocities aren’t so great as they were now that the situation is being monitored by organisations like OIM, the UN and the Human Rights Association, but not much has changed for the man or woman on the ground who is still struggling to make it,” he said.

His goal now – to rebuild the kind of community spirit, especially through sports, that allowed a kid like Louby Georges growing up sleeping on the floor in the Kemp Road area to go around the world singing the praises of a Bahamas he loves.revisitng

TAKING A LEAF OUT OF THEIR BOOK CAN someone please explain to me why The Bahamas is under threat of being banned from financial transactions with the US if we develop a hemp industry?

Marijuana has been legal in Colorado since 2012 (though some cities have since restricted its distribution) and one state after another has followed Colorado’s lead, Washington,

Florida, Maine, North Dakota among the earliest.

If I am not mistaken, 42 out of 50 states in the US allow some form of hemp or marijuana use though variations exist related to specifics of use – medicinal, recreational, industrial.

So why is America saying don’t go there, Bahamas.

Could this be a case of do as a I say, not as a I do?

Maybe someone can

weed out the real cause of suspicion of hemp use in honey, for instance, or clothing.

I am not a weed smoker, definitely from the wrong generation for that, but can’t help but think that something which grows naturally and heals topically without side effects has to be a lot healthier than processed meat and manufactured pharmaceuticals.

LOUBY Georges revisiting his chilhood home and, far left, pictured during his visit to Sochi, Russia, where he represented The Bahamas and met President Vladimir Putin.

PAGE 10, Friday, October 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

TUNISIAN MAN CARRYING A QURAN FATALLY STABS THREE IN FRENCH CHURCH

By LORI HINNANT and DANIEL COLE Associated Press NICE, France (AP) — A young Tunisian man armed with a knife and carrying a copy of the Quran attacked worshippers in a French church and killed three Thursday, prompting the government to raise its security alert to the maximum level hours before a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

The attack in Mediterranean city of Nice was the third in less than two months that French authorities have attributed to Muslim extremists, including the beheading of a teacher who had shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class after the images were re-published by a satirical newspaper targeted in a 2015 attack.

Thursday’s attacker was seriously wounded by police and hospitalised in life-threatening condition after the killings at the Notre Dame Basilica. The imposing edifice is located half a mile (less than a kilometre) from the site where another attacker plowed a truck into a crowd on France’s national day in 2016, killing dozens.

President Emmanuel Macron said he would immediately increase the number of soldiers deployed to protect schools and religious sites from around 3,000 to 7,000.

Suspect France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor said the suspect is a Tunisian born in 1999 who reached the Italian island of Lanpedusa, a key landing point for migrants crossing in boats from North Africa, on Sept. 20 and travelled to Paris on Oct. 9. Prosecutor JeanFrancois Ricard did not specify when he arrived in Nice.

The prosecutor said the attacker was not on the radar of intelligence agencies as a potential threat.

Video cameras recorded the man entering the Nice train station at 6:47 a.m., where he changed his shoes and turned his coat inside out before heading for the church, some 400 metres (yards) away, just before 8:30 a.m.

Ricard said the attacker was carrying a copy of Islam’s holy book and two telephones. A knife with a 17-centimetre blade used in the attack was found near him along with a bag containing another two knives that were not used in the attack.

He had spent some 30 minutes inside the church before police arrived via a side entrance and “after advancing down a corridor they came face-to-face with (the attacker) whom they neutralized,” Ricard said. Witnesses heard the man crying “Allahu Akbar” as he advanced on police. Police initially used an electric gun then fired their service revolvers. Ricard said 14 bullet casings were found on the ground.

Ricard detailed a gruesome scene inside the church where two of the victims died. A 60-year-old woman suffered “a very deep throat slitting, like a decapitation,” he said, and a 55-year-old man also suffered deep, fatal throat cuts. The third victim, a 44-year-old woman, managed to flee the church alive but died at a nearby restaurant.

The three were killed “only because they were in the church at that moment,” Ricard told reporters. He said investigators are looking for potential complicity in the “complex” probe.

An investigation was opened for murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, a common term for such crimes.

The attack in Nice came amid a fierce debate in France and beyond over the re-publication of the Muhammad caricatures by satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

PRESIDENT Donald Trump gives a thumbs up after arriving at Pope Army Field for DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to an event with troops at Fort Bragg, Thursday, in Pope Field, N.C. speak at a drive-in rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds, Thursday, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

TRUMP AND BIDEN BATTLE OVER FLORIDA

By ZEKE MILLER, ALEXANDRA JAFFE and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Pressing against stiff headwinds from the pandemic, President Donald Trump steered toward what he hoped was safer political ground with the U.S. economy Thursday, as Democratic rival Joe Biden kept up his assault on Trump’s handling of the coronavirus.

Campaigning hours apart in Florida, a state all but essential to the Republican’s pathway to another term, both candidates urged supporters to get to polling places in person, even as a tropical storm interrupted early voting in the Southeast.

The shift to focusing on inperson voting next Tuesday — or sooner, where possible — comes as more than 80 million Americans have already cast their ballots, absentee or by mail. While the Election Day vote traditionally favours Republicans and early votes tend toward Democrats, the pandemic, which has killed more than 227,000 people in the United States, has injected new uncertainty.

“You hold the power.

If Florida goes blue, it’s over,” Biden told supporters Thursday.

Trump on Thursday was celebrating a new federal estimate that the economy grew at a stunning 33.1% annual rate in the July-September quarter — by far the largest quarterly gain on record — making up ground from its epic plunge in the spring, when the eruption of the coronavirus closed businesses and threw tens of millions out of work.

“So glad this great GDP number came out before November 3rd,” Trump tweeted, predicting a dire reversal if Biden is elected.

But economists warned that the economy is already weakening again and facing renewed threats as confirmed viral cases surge, hiring has slowed and federal stimulus help has mostly run out.

Biden said, “The recovery is slowing if not stalling, and the recovery that is happening is helping those at the top but leaving tens of millions of working families and small businesses behind.”

The Democrat is framing his closing arguments to voters on what he describes as responsible management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump, instead, is arguing that Biden would undo the economic gains of his administration with stricter, virus-targeting public health controls — though those are largely what scientists are calling for.

“The people are tired.

They can’t do it anymore,” Trump said of lockdowns.

Trump and Biden both

SUPPORTERS of President Donald Trump cheer as he speaks during a campaign rally outside Raymond James Stadium, Thursday, in Tampa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

$23 million to about $7 million — in the final push to Election Day, according to data from ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG. Biden, meanwhile, is pouring tens of millions of dollars into a torrent of online advertising that will deliver his closing message of the presidential campaign, highlighting his promise to govern for all Americans while blasting Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I will work as hard for those who don’t support me as those who do,” Biden says in one of the digital ads, which will take over the masthead of YouTube.com on Thursday. “That’s the job of a president — the duty to care for everyone.”

How much exactly Biden will spend is unclear. His campaign says it is putting a “mid-eight figure” dollar amount behind over 100 different ads, which means they could be spending as little as $25 million — but potentially much more.

Candidates

SUPPORTERS cheer as Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a drive-in rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds, Thursday, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) visited the western end of the Florida’s Interstate 4 corridor, an area known for rapid residential growth, sprawling suburbs and its status as an ever-changing, hard-fought battleground during presidential elections.

The president had been scheduled to hit another sunbelt battleground state, North Carolina, on Thursday evening but cancelled his event in Fayetteville as Tropical Storm Zeta brought wind gusts reaching 50 mph to the area.

Biden was forced to wrap his speech up early at a drive-in rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds after a brief shower turned into a torrential downpour.

Rallies On Friday, Trump is to visit three upper Midwest states, and he will hold a trio of rallies on Saturday in Pennsylvania before launching on a whirlwind tour of battlegrounds including Florida, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania in the closing 48 hours of the race.

Biden, meanwhile, heads

later in the week to three more states Trump won in 2016: Iowa, Wisconsin and then Michigan, where he’ll hold a joint Saturday rally with former President Barack Obama. Biden’s campaign also announced he will visit Minnesota Friday, hours before Trump holds a rally in one of the few Clinton-voting states Trump is hoping to pick up this year.

The pandemic’s consequences were escalating, with deaths climbing in 39 states and an average of 805 people dying daily nationwide — up from 714 two weeks ago.

The sharp rise sent shockwaves through financial markets, causing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to drop 900-plus points on Wednesday.

Trump, who frequently lauds rising markets, failed to mention the decline.

Stock prices recovered somewhat on Thursday.

Trump is betting on the GOP’s vast field and data operations, and efforts known as “poll flushing” — monitoring precinct lists for who has and has not yet voted — to provide a late

boost on Election Day. The Republican National Committee, which has more than 3,000 field staff and claims more than 2.5 million volunteers, will use that information to reach out to Trump supporters to ensure they get to the polls.

Votes Nowhere may those efforts be more important than in Florida. Without the battleground state’s 29 electoral votes, Trump’s path to victory is exceptionally difficult.

On Thursday, Trump was introduced in Tampa by first lady Melania Trump, who praised her husband’s presidency, saying “under Donald’s leadership, we have blocked out the noise and focused on you, the American people.”

Trump is banking on local news coverage of his visit to overcome a substantial advertising deficit stemming from a late cash crunch. Biden and his allies are outspending Trump and his backers by more than 3-to-1 in Florida — about

The ads will run on social media platforms including Instagram and Facebook, streaming services such as Hulu and music applications like Pandora. The Republican National Committee, meanwhile, launched its closing message to voters Thursday, not mentioning Trump, in an apparent aim to help GOP candidates up and down the ballot with a focus on traditional Republican messages around lowering taxes and health care.

In both Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, and the adjacent Pinellas County, Democrats are crushing vote-by-mail.

As of Wednesday morning, 53,000 more Democrats than Republicans had voted by mail in Hillsborough.

In Pinellas, the largest of the four counties in the state to switch from Obama to Trump in 2016, that number was just shy of 30,000.

Republicans in both counties have a slight edge in the state’s in-person early voting, which began last Saturday as Trump himself voted in Palm Beach County downstate.

Because of concerns about submission deadlines, Postal Service backlogs and the potential for drawn-out legal challenges, Democrats are pressing their backers who have yet to return ballots to head to the polls in person.

The aftereffects of Hurricane Zeta were holding back voters at a number of polling places in northern Florida and northern Georgia that lost power.

In Douglas County, in Atlanta’s western suburbs, all six polling locations were without power, as were county offices.

LATE-ARRIVING MAIL-IN BALLOTS COUNT IN PENNSYLVANIA, FOR NOW

By MARC LEVY Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Mail-in ballots received by Pennsylvania counties within three days of polls closing will count, the presidential battleground state’s top election official said Thursday, although she cautioned that more litigation could change that.

Late-arriving ballots will be counted separately for the sake of “effective and clear election administration in Pennsylvania,” said Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat.

Boockvar had told counties Wednesday to set those ballots aside and not count them. That was hours before the U.S. Supreme Court turned away a Republican Party bid

to block a state court order granting the extended deadline for mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania.

“Under the current status of things, they will be counted, but I don’t know, I’m not going to game out what could happen if another filing changes things,” Boockvar, a Democrat, said.

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are hotly contesting Pennsylvania’s 20

electoral votes, as counties prepare to process a crush of 3 million mailed ballots, more than 10 times the amount received in 2016’s election.

Any late-arriving ballots could take on enormous importance if Pennsylvania turns out to be the crucial state in the Nov. 3 election and they are potentially decisive. The majority of mail-in ballots are being cast by Democrats, according to state data.