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VOLUME:118 No.03, NOVEMBER 25TH, 2020

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‘SHAME ON YOU’ Food task force leader condemns social media attacks on ‘heroic’ staff

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net THE chairwoman of the National Food Assistance Task Force has defended the “heroic” efforts of various partner NGOs and their workers in the face of “shameful” social media attacks.

In a statement issued yesterday, Susan Larson noted that phase one of the emergency initiative ended on October 31 while phase two—which has a tightened focus on the “most vulnerable”— is underway.

The criteria for assistance in this regard includes unemployment with no or low benefits, chronic illnesses, infants and young children, elderly, housebound and those impacted by natural disasters (such as Hurricane Dorian).

Mrs Larson noted how sensitive an issue it is to determine someone’s vulnerability.

“The task force applied internationally recognised

SEE PAGE EIGHT

criteria to the process and used a weighting system to calculate vulnerability levels objectively,” she said.

“But never once have we lost sight of basic humanitarian concerns. It is a truly terrible thing not to have enough food to feed your family. The sharpened focus enables us to continue to assist those whose level of food security has not returned to pre-COVID levels.”

She also said the task force is “immeasurably grateful” to the NGO workers and volunteers who have “devoted more than 26 weeks of non-stop effort to assisting the most vulnerable in our communities” adding that many of them work six and seven days a week.

“The depth of their commitment to this cause is inspiring. Their work has often been thankless. The nation owes them a huge debt of gratitude,” Mrs Larson said.

SEE PAGE THREE

OFFICERS SURVIVE SHOTGUN SHOOTING

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

TWO police officers were shot in Abaco after responding to a domestic dispute on the island late yesterday morning.

According to police Press Liaison Officer ASP Audley Peters, the incident happened shortly before noon in the Pelican Shores, Marsh Harbour area – a quiet community hard hit by Hurricane Dorian last year where crime is infrequent.

SEE PAGE FIVE

FORMER SPEAKER INGRAHAM DIES AT 82

EMERGENCY RULE RENEWED PLP SAYS ‘WE WON’T BACK IT’ GOVERNOR General C A Smith issued a new proclamation of emergency last night, his third since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The Progressive Liberal Party called the act an “abuse of power” and said the official opposition will not support the move in Parliament.

A new proclamation means a state of emergency — and the competent authority’s associated emergency powers — can remain in effect for another six months, if not revoked sooner.

The new proclamation was issued a week after Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told the House of Assembly he intended to seek Parliament’s approval to extend the country’s state of emergency, which was set to expire on November 30, to December 28.

The Governor General’s second proclamation of emergency was also set to expire at the end of December.

Attorney General Carl Bethel told The Tribune that a new proclamation was SEE PAGE FIVE

SPOTLIGHT ON A PROBLEM THAT WON’T GO AWAY

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

HUNDREDS of Thanksgiving meals were given out to residents in Grand Bahama as part of the work of the Reach Out Youth Organisation. Dudley Seide, from the group, said hot meals for 500 people were distributed from their Freeport base. The work comes at a time when Bahamians across all islands find themselves in need of help amid the economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic.

See page two for more.

Photo: Denise Maycock/Tribune Staff

FORMER House of Assembly Speaker Oswald Ingraham died on Monday at the age of 82.

Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party Philip “Brave” Davis, in a statement said he is mourning a good friend, who was a gracious and consummate statesman.

SEE PAGE FIVE

‘I’M FOCUSING ON WORK, THAT’S ALL’ TECHNOLOGY

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said he is focused “on the work of the Bahamian people” yesterday as observers await word on how Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and his Cabinet will respond to allegations of fraud that have been brought against him.

He told reporters before

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest. a Cabinet meeting yesterday morning: “I think you guys have known me for at

least eight years now, most of you, and I’m focused on what I do.

“I’m very disciplined about what I do. The matters that are circulating out there are unfortunate, they will be dealt with in the due course of time, but again, I’m focused on working for the Bahamian people while I have the opportunity to do so and I will do the best to ensure we get through this crisis.”

SEE PAGE FOUR

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

DRONES TO RESCUE FOR VIRUS TESTS

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, November 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

HOT meals for 500 people were distributed by the Reach Out Youth Organisation, said leader Dudley Seide.

Photos: Denise Maycock/Tribune Staff

500 meals given out for Thanksgiving

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net DUDLEY and Katie Seide, of Reach Out Youth Organization, distributed Thanksgiving lunches to hundreds of needy residents and senior citizens on Grand Bahama.

According to Mr Seide, hot meals for 500 persons were prepared and distributed from their Reach

Out Community Centre on Banyan Lane, Freeport.

“People have been coming here since 10:30am,” he said. “And we delivered meals to the senior citizens at three local facilities, including Burrows’ Home, Home for the Aged and Raybertha’s Home.”

Mr Seide stated many families in Grand Bahama are still being challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We wanted to give them a good Thanksgiving dinner, and this year is our second annual Thanksgiving lunch event for the seniors,” he said.

COVID-19 protocols were observed and for those who came to the centre were required to wear a mask and practise social distancing.

“We are really excited that we can continue our effort to put food on the table for the folks in GB,” MR Seide said. “To date, we have fed over 20,000 families a hot meal from our centre since the COVID-19 (crisis).”

Steve Farquharson said Reach Out is a huge help for the people of GB. “We need the assistance because things have been tough here with the hurricane and COVID-19.”

Mr Seide was grateful

to local partners who have supported Reach Out in its efforts to assist those in the Grand Bahama community.

“We want to thank the GB Disaster Relief Foundation, and GB DEVCO that assist us, and RH Culmer who has always been a part of whatever we do,” he said.

“But we still need a lot of help because the demand is still high after COVID19, and people continue to come to us for assistance.

So, we are still appealing to people who want to help us continue our work here in GB.” The Reach Out organization has big plans for Christmas, said Mr Seide.

“We have something massive planned, something that has never been done.

We expect to feed 10,000 families in one day from East End to Hawksbill and West End on December 18, and distribute grocery packages to the entire island the same day,” he said.

“I am appealing to corporate GB to please be a part of that. I am excited about it, and anyone who wants to donate grocery items and Christmas toys can do so at our centre. This is dedicated to Vickie Martell and the Vickie Martell Christmas Giveaway,” he stated.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 25, 2020, PAGE 3

‘Shame on you’ from page one “It is shameful that certain people have used social media to attack the heroic efforts of our NGOs and their workers and volunteers at this time. The task force has worked tirelessly to ensure its efforts have been carried out transparently and equitably for all and every member of the task force is incredibly proud of what has been achieved.”

The statement was issued after a heated video was posted to Facebook, recorded by an irate man who alleged people were being turned away from getting food.

The two-minute-long cell phone video showed people waiting outside a food distribution centre while the man capturing the footage hurled profanities and claims at workers/volunteers inside. The man even claimed someone gave him the middle finger.

“See all these people here. I brought them from 601 (a former nightspot) looking for food. See all the food in here,” the individual said.

“See all the food but the woman say that Dr Minnis only giving the people who he want to give. He’s not giving food to everyone. All

of these people got turned around this morning. See the food there. The food for the white people, it ain’t for the black people. See it right there, ladies and gentlemen,” the man claimed.

Under phase two of the food programme, zone leaders are still operating in each of their areas, helping thousands of people in need each week, the task force noted. Some distribution locations have been consolidated to make operations more efficient and in some zones distribution has been changed to every other week.

“Changing the frequency of distribution in some areas was done because of the extraordinary logistics in getting thousands of food parcels out every week and also to reduce risks associated with the pandemic,” said Mrs Larson. “Effectively, we’ve doubled up portions to help households get through two weeks, not one.”

Zone leaders have contacted the households that were transitioned into phase two. The task force appeals to everyone to allow its focus on the most vulnerable to proceed in an orderly and peaceful manner.

Phase two and the work of the task force generally will end on December 31.

THE BAHAMAS Feeding Network team pictured distributing food parcels previously.

D’AGUILAR HOPES US WILL CHANGE TRAVEL WARNING

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar says he hopes the United States will soon change its decision to warn residents not to travel to this country.

While the US State Department has dropped its advisory for Americans from Level Four to Level Three, the Centres for Disease Control has issued a

Level Four advisory, warning its residents against travel here because it could increase their chances of getting and spreading the COVID-19.

Mr D’Aguilar said yesterday: “This is no change from what was said by the US government in July, so this situation has been in effect from July. It’s all about timing. When they released the July travel order at the end of July, it was very unfortunate,

because that’s at the end of June, we’d been doing so remarkably well in terms of our management of the COVID pandemic.

“And once again this is a matter of timing. At the end of October we had not been doing terribly well, here we are a month later doing better. So we’re hoping that the Americans see fit to do a reassessment as they see our numbers improve and see fit to change that rating.

“Obviously it is

concerning, but as I said it’s a function of timing… and this is why it’s important for the Bahamian public to do what they need to do.

Please don’t party, please don’t congregate, because if you contribute to a spike in numbers, this rating, or this warning will persist. And we are heading in the right direction, our numbers are coming down, and this will then lead to a change in that travel advisory so we need the Bahamian people

to do their part.”

Mr D’Aguilar noted that the state of COVID-19 in the US is worse than here.

“There is no doubt that the effect of COVID, the death rate, the positivity rate, in The Bahamas, is half that in the United States so it’s much better here than there,” he said.

“However, they will always respond that you can issue travel advisories, we can issue travel advisories, so there’s no point in

fighting that, we just have to improve and continue to improve our numbers and ensure that we keep our numbers respectable so they then see fit to change that rating. “Obviously we depend on the United States for almost all of our tourists, so it’s very, very important that in their eyes we change our status or level of community spread because if they change that rating that will be a positive result for The Bahamas.”

travel this week to Florida or wherever else you go in America a (good) number of the travellers will return to the country asymptomatic. The numbers will spike in eight to ten days just before the December 17 opening of the two hotels.”

It is unclear when the pastor and Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis spoke and the details of their conversation were not revealed prior to Bishop Ellis’ revelation.

“Do you know what that could mean for the thousands of our people who’ve been waiting to go back to work?” he asked. “Look at somebody quickly and tell them take one for the team.”

He said he was leading by example and opting not to travel this year for his annual sabbatical, but decided to stay here in the country. This would be the first time in 23 years his sabbatical would be spent in The Bahamas.

Earlier as he addressed

those gathered at the church, Bishop Ellis admonished fellow pastors about memorials for people who have died.

“For almost nine months now the world has been gripped by it, this COVID19 coronavirus, to the point where many of us now have pandemic fatigue. So, we are beginning to drop our guards a little bit and many people are becoming rather reckless and I want to call your attention to reality.

“Now, here in The Bahamas, Christian burials are cultural. We believe in sending our people off to their eternal rest in grand style even if they don’t know the Lord. We just got to have a funeral and the family gotta dress in uniform and we’ll be in service for three hours for a person who ain’t been to church in three years. That’s our culture.

“Now the health professionals and the leadership of our country have put a ban on funerals in service.

We could just do it at the grave site with ten people and I know how that feels.”

He continued: “…But we do all of these things for one another, even though it’s a difficult situation.

We do it because we have been advised that funeral services can become super spreaders.

“So, what has been happening is a number of people since they couldn’t have the funeral with the body, they’ve been having memorial services without the body, but they’ve been behaving just like they’re at a funeral so they are crying and falling over one another. People are holding them and they are proving to be super spreaders.

“So, I’ve come to ask all of my colleagues listening in today and watching to please don’t be provoked by your members in having memorial services right now.

“I’ve been assured by our prime minister that if we could hang for two to three weeks we should be

in a position where funerals can resume in service, but I need you to draw back from them memorial services over the next two to three weeks. Please refrain from having them.

“There is data that has been presented to us that people when they fall out and start screaming and you know when they miss people the emotions rise high and they all over people and when you see your sister or your cousin or your girlfriend falling out your first inclination is to run and give assistance and then by time she come to the two of y’all got the virus.

“So, I am asking you to please refrain.”

Bishop Ellis pointed to spiking numbers in the US, adding that professionals there continued to warn about holiday travel as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow.

“Now this week is Thanksgiving week, you ain’t too worried about all of that. What you

concerned about is Black Friday and I want to send out a caution because it really may become black for some people.

“Now over and over this week you’ve heard on the television in America all of the professionals are asking please give up the Thanksgiving dinners this year, give up the Thanksgiving gatherings. If you don’t live in the same house don’t gather for Thanksgiving.

“It’s better, they said, to give up this one and be here for the next one.

“Give up this Black Friday (shopping holiday) this week. Just give it up this week, give up the travel for this week and we are of the view, according to a conversation with him, that it looks like we have the possibility of having a Christmas. But we need all of us to take a blow for the team so if you don’t have to travel this week and next week, this ain’t the prime minister now this is your bishop speaking, I need you to hold the reins.”

ELLIS: STAY HOME - AND DON’T SPREAD THE VIRUS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

BISHOP Neil Ellis has cautioned Bahamians against travelling to the United States over the next few weeks, warning that those who return home could cause COVID-19 cases to increase, threatening the impending opening of major resorts.

In a special message to followers and supporters, the prominent pastor also urged other ministers to refrain from memorial services that have been similar to funerals, insisting the events are super spreaders for COVID-19.

“Finally, I have reasons and information to be satisfied that if the numbers in Nassau start going up in the next two to three weeks Baha Mar and Atlantis will not open,” the Mount Tabor Church pastor said as he approached the end of his message.

“The Prime Minister is of the view that if we

PAGE 4, Wednesday, November 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

‘Vicious’ infighting in PLP over candidate selection

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY Sean McWeeney has described the ongoing aspirant candidates’ process within the Progressive Liberal Party as being plagued by “vicious” infighting.

According to the former PLP chairman, the party has a “penchant” for fighting among supporters, an issue he suggested that has caused the organisation to lose elections.

Coupled with attracting too many people who come into politics for the wrong reasons, he said both issues were major faults of the PLP. “For some reason the PLP just loves infighting – loves to fight amongst themselves,” Mr McWeeney, QC, said in an interview with party member Quinton Lightbourne, posted on the PLP’s Facebook page in observance of the party’s 67th anniversary.

“You see this playing out right now in the competition for nominations for constituencies. I mean vicious infighting.

“People aren’t content just to put their case as to

why they should be made the nominee. No, they gotta bring the next guy down.

They gotta speak about the other person who is trying to get the nomination in the vilest baseless way.”

According to Mr McWeeney, this is nothing new for the party. He was asked his views on the biggest internal threats the PLP has had to face over the years and whether he believed the threats are still challenges for the party today.

“One of them I alluded to earlier is that the PLP has a very great weakness, which has been demonstrated throughout its political history and that is it has a tendency to resort to infighting that can very often be incredibly destructive,” he said early on in the interview.

“Destructive in the sense that it alienates people causing them to leave the party. There is a level of venomous action, which some people can never forget or get over and a lot of people have been deeply wounded and alienated by this over the years.

“The PLP has always been like this.”

He said if PLPs had put the same kind of energy

into opposing the Free National Movement, the party would “never lose an election”.

“As I said, if the PLP put half the energy into fighting the opposition party, the Free National Movement, put half of the energy into that than it puts into infighting, it would never lose an election.

“But it just has this penchant for distracting itself with this internal infighting and that’s a major weakness, a major problem and it’s evident throughout the history of the party any particular period of the party’s history you go back and you’re going to see that this is a major factor.”

Regarding the candidates the party has been known to attract, Mr McWeeney said this also presents a challenge for the PLP. “I think the other major fault that we have is that we seem to attract too many people who are going into politics for entirely the wrong reason.

“Again, you see this with some of the candidates who are coming forward and this has always been the case where people are going into politics for all of the wrong reasons. They are not going into politics to help

people. They are basically going into politics to help themselves and they – very naively and corruptly – think that this is a get rich quick thing for them.

“I say it’s naive because the 67 years that the party has come through that period is littered with a whole lot of broken bones of bankrupt people who went into politics and lost everything because your constituents, I can tell you, are the most ungrateful people who you will ever find anywhere on the planet.

“If you think they are going to remember you for the couple dollars you put in their pocket today or the ham or turkey that you are going to buy this Christmas, you are more naive than you realise.”

He continued: “People have very short memories. They are not going to remember or be grateful to you. They’re not going to feel that that means anything to them a couple years from now and they’re never going to be satisfied. You can never give them everything they want. They are always going to have some new agenda for you. That part I can understand, but what

is infinitely worse is people who really think that by going into politics they are going to make themselves wealthy men. That they’ll be able to pull deals that will make them wealthy men and that is what politicians do.

“That’s not so, you know.

It’s never been that case.

You know that — unfortunately the PLP has this bad rep of being a corrupt party.”

Mr McWeeney said across the political divide there were people who come into politics for the wrong reasons, adding he remains concerned about people only worried about “feathering their own nests” entering politics whether it be for the PLP or FNM. Asked about Mr McWeeney’s assertions, PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell said the process now unfolding within the party for choosing candidates was in accordance with its new constitution and rules promulgated by the candidates committee.

He said what is happening is open and transparent and in the end democracy will prevail.

“This process is not to the downfall of the PLP,”

Mr Mitchell said. “No more damaging than Kamala Harris now the vice president-elect of the United States who ran in the primaries against the man who is now president-elect.

“The process of the competition for power in a democratic society and a democratic party like ours will sometimes be noisy, but the party is sound and is advancing under Philip ‘Brave’ Davis’ capable leadership to win the next election whenever it is called.”

As for the calibre of aspirant candidates, Mr Mitchell said this crop is “good” and from a wide cross section of demographics and abilities.

“The country will be very pleased at the blend which will emerge of youth and experience.

“This time around is different in the sense that while there was consultation before, this time each branch is required to make a formal input and recommendation into the process subject to due diligence by the candidates committee.

“It’s new and unfamiliar to many but I believe it is certainly healthy for democracy,” Mr Mitchell said.

MITCHELL COUNTERS SCOTT CLAIMS OF NO CONFLICT OVER TURNQUEST CASE

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

PLP chairman Fred Mitchell.

PLP chairman Fred Mitchell has chided Hotel Corporation chairman Michael Scott on his claims of “no conflict” regarding the explosive writ filed in the Supreme Court featuring allegations against Finance Minister Peter Turnquest.

Mr Mitchell said Mr Scott must have missed the lessons on conflict while he was in law school.

Mr Scott’s law firm, Scott and Co, filed the writ last week which alleges that Mr Turnquest and his Sky Bahamas business partner Captain Randy Butler, “dishonestly caused” Alpha Aviation and Advanced Aviation to “pay away” $20.68m and $5.917m respectively to the airline via “some kind of bogus loans”.

Mr Turnquest is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit and no details were given describing how the alleged scheme worked.

Both Mr Turnquest and Captain Butler have denied the claims.

Mr Scott, who is also head of Lucayan Renewal Holdings Ltd which is responsible for the sale of the Grand Lucayan resort,

is being accused of being conflicted as he holds a government appointment and has filed a writ with allegations against a sitting Cabinet minister.

Speaking to The Tribune on Monday Mr Scott denied it was a conflict of interest and said he was “no one’s prophylactic” when asked if a government official is propelling him to push the issue with Mr Turnquest in court. He also said his position as Hotel Corporation chairman is a part-time government appointment and he is still allowed to function in his law firm.

“There are some bothersome unwritten rules called conventions of the constitution,” Senator Mitchell said yesterday. “They are really common sense when you think about it. One such convention is that a minister and a public official must not have a conflict between their private duty and public duty. Another is that a minister is responsible to Parliament for his personal conduct and that of his department or ministry.

“Where and when the two clash, the official must choose his public duty over his private interest. If he chooses his private interest over his public duty, then he must give up the public

duty. Mr Scott seems to have missed that lesson in law school.”

He added: “The minister is the Minister of Finance who writes inter alia the cheques to keep the Hotel Corporation going. So the chairman of the Hotel Corporation in his supposed private character has said in discharging his duty to the courts that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance is (facing allegations). How, pray tell, tested or not, are these two public officials to coexist side by side with each calling the other a prevaricator?”

Senator Mitchell noted the Prime Minister has the right to overlook conflicts.

“This I submit is unsustainable,” the senator continued. “Now in our system the Prime Minister has the power to waive these obvious conflicts of both men between their private interests and their public duties.

“It will be interesting to see how the conflict is resolved. Given the Prime Minister’s previous sanctimonious comments about ethics in public office, it seems to the PLP that the honourable event must happen.”

The PLP has called for Mr Turnquest to resign.

‘I’M FOCUSING ON WORK, THAT’S ALL’ from page one Asked about calls from the Progressive Liberal Party for his resignation from Cabinet, he said: “We’ll see what happens but as far as I’m concerned I’m focused on the work of the Bahamian people.”

Dr Minnis on Monday told reporters Cabinet is deliberating on the matter.

A statement of claim filed in the Supreme Court last week claims Mr Turnquest and his Sky Bahamas business partner Captain Randy Butler, “dishonestly caused” Alpha Aviation and Advanced Aviation to “pay away” $20.68m and $5.917m respectively to the airline via “some kind of bogus loans”.

However, Mr Turnquest is not listed as a defendant

in the lawsuit and no particulars were giving describing how the scheme worked, but the plaintiff alleges Mr Turnquest and Captain Butler used “some 39 fraudulent invoices and/ or book entries, and for no adequate consideration” drained away some $3.8m paid by Alpha Aviation to Aviation Oversight Group via 39 separate cheque payments between February 2008 and July 2016.

A further $3.026m was also alleged to have been siphoned off “as at December 31, 2017, to AOG Maintenance Ltd, a company that owned Sky Bahamas’ maintenance hangar at Lynden Pindling International Airport.

“In breach of their duties of honesty and fidelity as directors and/or managers of both the plaintiffs (Alpha

Aviation and Advanced Aviation) and of the second and third defendants (Sky Bahamas and Aviation Oversight Group), and their duties to act in the best interests of the companies, Turnquest and Butler failed to keep or to ensure that the companies kept any, or any adequate, financial books of account or financial records recording and/or documenting the companies’ financial transactions, failed to maintain or keep any proper or any proper management accounts or bank or cheque or wire transfer reconciliations and failed to put in place any or any adequate financial controls or systems,” the statement of claim by the plaintiff’s company alleged.

Mr Turnquest and Captain Butler have strongly denied the allegations.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 25, 2020, PAGE 5

Emergency rule renewed PLP says ‘we won’t back it’ from page one issued last night because the government “wished to avoid debate on a new proclamation in the middle of the Christmas holidays”.

“It would take MPs out of their constituencies for about a week having regards to the need to table in both Houses (of

Parliament) and debate the next day.

“The Governor General in his own deliberate judgment decided to make the proclamation. He could have always said no. It was ultimately his decision,” Mr Bethel explained.

Last night, Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip “Brave” Davis said the opposition party “does not

and will not support the new Proclamation of Emergency issued this evening by the Governor General.”

Mr Davis said in a statement: “We will refuse to allow the matter to be debated tomorrow (Wednesday) in the House and will not waive the notice requirement.

“The issue of the proclamation is an abuse of power.

Civil liberties have been suspended long enough and we say the suspension must end and go no farther.”

The Bahamas has been under a state of emergency since the Governor General first issued a proclamation on March 18, shortly after the country recorded its first COVID-19 case.

That initial proclamation expired on June 29 after the

FORMER SPEAKER INGRAHAM DIES AT 82 from page one

Ingraham, who was Speaker during the second Christie Administration, also served as Deputy Governor-General. He was also the Member of Parliament for South Eleuthera for 10 years, from 2002-2012.

“Oswald Ingraham lived a full life and made his contributions to The Bahamas in both the private and public sectors,” Mr Davis said. “We thank him for his service as he transitions into eternity.

I am saddened to learn of the passing of a good friend, a parliamentary colleague and businessman, Oswald Ingraham.

“Oswald was fair in his rulings as Speaker and always protected the rights of the opposition, allowing them to have their say when the governing caucus would eventually have their way.”

Mr Davis touted Ingraham as an ardent supporter of the progressive movement.

“This native of Tarpum Bay, South Eleuthera would go on to represent his community in the halls of Parliament as the representative for South Eleuthera from 2002 and 2012 and served as the Speaker of the House of Assembly from 2002 to

OSWALD INGRAHAM 2007,” the PLP leader said.

“He would also go on to serve as Deputy Governor General between 2012 and 2017 where he presided over several official state recognised ceremonies. At all times Oswald was gracious in his deportment and the consummate statesman.”

Ingraham was an entrepreneur in the tourism and hospitality industry, operating a small hotel in his constituency of South Eleuthera. “Death is not a full stop, but a mere comma in the sentence of life, therefore, Oswald may be absent in the flesh but present in the spirit as he lives on in the hearts and minds of those who knew and loved him,” Mr Davis said, sending condolences on behalf of his wife and party executives and members to Ingraham’s family.

Former Prime Minister and PLP leader Perry

TOTAL CASES

Christie also said he is in mourning over the death of a treasured friend. “We have been political comrades for some forty years and shared a close common kinship with Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera,” Mr Christie said in a statement.

“Oswald Ingraham was a towering figure in the life of Eleuthera, where he achieved prominence and distinction in a variety of spheres. He was an outstanding Christian leader in the community and was highly regarded and admired for his success as a businessman and community leader. His reputation for integrity, decency, and productivity was never questioned. He was, in every sense of the term, a role model for the Island of Eleuthera, where he was born and spent his entire life.”

Noting that Ingraham entered frontline politics at a later stage in life, Mr Christie said he more than made up for his “late start” by the “exemplary service that he rendered in the House of Assembly as the representative for South Eleuthera”.

“He later achieved an even greater distinction as Speaker of the House of Assembly and enjoyed an enviable reputation for his fairness

and discipline in presiding over the proceedings of the lower body of the legislature,” Mr Christie said.

“Still, later I was pleased that Mr Ingraham accepted my invitation to serve on numerous occasions as Deputy to the GovernorGeneral. In performing this role, Mr Ingraham always acquitted himself with complete distinction. He upheld the dignity of this high constitutional office whenever he was called upon to fill a temporary vacancy, and he attended his duties in this regard with efficiency, reliability, and unfailing courtesy to one and all.

“Finally, on a more personal note, I am deeply indebted to the support and encouragement that Oswald extended to me all through my years before, during, and after his involvement in public life.

He was a great friend and a loyal and dependable ally through thick and thin, in good times and in bad.”

Mr Ingraham leaves behind his wife, Marie, several children and extended family in the community of Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera.

According to the Eleutheran newspaper, a family member said he had been ill for the past two years.

government failed to bring a resolution in time to have it extended.

However, the Governor General swiftly issued a second proclamation.

Last week, former Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez, QC, told The Nassau Guardian that the government may face litigation if a new proclamation of emergency was

issued.

“I think they’ll start to see litigation at that point,” Mr Gomez told The Nassau Guardian.

He also said: “My view of it is, firstly, you should only use states of emergency sparingly. Doing it repeatedly undermines the perception of the country as a country governed by laws and freedoms.”

OFFICERS SURVIVE SHOOTING from page one Police said shortly after officers arrived on the scene they were approached by a man, “believed to be involved in a dispute.”

“He produced a shotgun and shot two of the responding officers. One was shot in the stomach and face, the other was shot in the stomach. The officers drove themselves to the clinic and are being treated for their injuries described as non-threatening,” police said.

The suspect was also shot, and as a result, had to be taken to a local clinic.

Sources told The Tribune yesterday he later had to be airlifted to New Providence for further medical treatment. However, this was not confirmed by police up to press time.

Sources also told The Tribune that one of the injured officers is the chief superintendent for the Marsh Harbour district and the other is a police corporal.

The incident elicited a reaction from Abaco residents on social media, with some observers expressing shock and disappointment

about the crime situation there.

“Abaco is going crazy after Dorian.. so sad what’s happening,” said one Facebook user.

In Abaco there have been several police-involved shootings this year.

In May, a man who attempted to “chop” police with a machete, was shot and killed by officers on the island.

According to initial reports, police were responding to a dispute involving neighbours in the Dundas Town community when they were attacked by a man with a machete, prompting officers to open fire after “being in fear of their lives.”

Weeks later, an American boat captain had to be detained by police after opening fire on officers during a tense standoff on Green Turtle Cay. At the time, police said the shooting incident followed a heated argument between the captain and two Customs officers and a Customs broker, who alleged he was owed money by the ship’s captain.

However, there were no injuries reported in that incident.

TOTAL DEATHS

7,460 163

NEWLY CONFIRMED CASES MONDAY 29 CASES GRAND BAHAMA 18 BIMINI AND CAT CAY 4 NEW PROVIDENCE 3 EXUMA 3 ANDROS 1

TOTAL TESTS

42,053

HOSPITALISED

19

CASES IN ICU

1

RECOVERED

5,708

29 NEW CASES CONFIRMED - BUT ONLY THREE IN NEW PROVIDENCE

THE Ministry of Health recorded 29 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with only three of those cases in New Providence.

Grand Bahama saw 18 new cases, while there were

four in Bimini and Cat Cay, three in Exuma and one in Andros.

As of Monday, there were 19 cases in hospital, but only one patient in intensive care.

The country has had

7,460 cases to date and 163 deaths.

The Ministry of Health said 42,053 tests have been completed in the country, according to data released yesterday morning.

MAN ACCUSED OF GUNPOINT ROBBERY

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 38-YEAR-OLD man was remanded to prison yesterday accused of robbing a man at gunpoint of $9,000 last week.

Wayne Kelly stood before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis, charged with armed robbery. He was accused of using a handgun to rob George Henderson of $9,000 on November 19.

During yesterday’s hearing, Kelly was not required to enter a plea to the charge and his case was adjourned to February 22 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment.

He was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim.

Also appearing before Magistrate Rolle Davis yesterday was Zhavargo Rolle, 25, who was arraigned for stealing.

Officers alleged that on November 22, Rolle stole 10 alternators, five starters, five compressors, eight Nissan doors, five Passo doors, 10 lights, two car engines, four steering racks and three transmissions from Bryant Rolle – all valued at $7,300.

Rolle pleaded not guilty to the offence. Bail was denied and the case was adjourned to November 22.

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

STOREWIDE EXCEPT SCHOOL UNIFORMS

PAGE 6, Wednesday, November 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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Praise the helpers - and keep the support coming SOMETIMES, there is little in the way of thanks for those trying their hardest to help others.

The latest example of social media outrage comes courtesy of one angry man posting a video to social media claiming members of the food task force were only handing parcels out to white people and not black people.

“See all the food but the woman say that Dr Minnis only giving the people who he want to give,” said the man as he made his wild accusations.

It’s enough to dishearten the most determined of workers, who are going out during the pandemic to try to feed all those who need it – not selectively, as the man alleged.

Social media is a great boon for allowing people to spread the word on all manner of subjects – but it can also make unfounded accusations that much louder too.

We have said before that we are going through unprecedented times – but it is true. We have never seen a time when so many people were so desperate – and desperation can lead to anger.

Those who have been working their hardest to help others do not deserve abuse. Indeed, the chairwoman of the National Food Distribution Task Force, Susan Larson, called their efforts “heroic”.

Might there be ways in which things could be done better? Perhaps. Is being a loudmouth with a cellphone the way to suggest improvements?

Not at all.

The task force does need to make sure it is directing aid to those who need it most. Resources are not limitless, and we have previously heard stories of some who don’t need aid trying to exploit what was being offered.

If you just hand out everything to whoever shows up, that’s a surefire way to end up with nothing left in store and people left with empty stomachs.

Mrs Larson said: “The task force applied internationally recognised criteria to the process and used a weighting system to calculate vulnerability levels objectively.”

In other words, they are doing their level best to be fair.

And think about it – what sense would it make for workers to come out, risking the prospect of catching

COVID-19, offering their time and effort… only to deny people who were in need? They have come out because they want to help, not because they want to say “no”.

There is, however, one matter that does need greater thought. The work of the task force is due to come to an end on December 31.

What then? Will the money run out and the work come to a stop all at once?

Many hotels will only be partially reopened at that stage, and some not at all – leaving many families still needing a helping hand to get by.

A phased end to the support effort would make much more sense, to match the dropping numbers of those in need as people get salaries back in their pockets.

This has been an invaluable safety net – best not take it away too soon.

Officers in danger The dangers that police officers face on a daily basis was clear to see after an incident in Abaco yesterday.

Two officers arrived at the scene of a reported dispute, only for the man at the location to apparently pull out a shotgun and open fire. One officer was shot in the stomach and face, the other in the stomach.

Thankfully, they were able to drive to a clinic for treatment – and their injuries were not life-threatening. The suspect was also shot and reportedly had to be airlifted to New Providence.

When police arrive on the scene of a crime, there is always the risk that they face deadly weapons.

In this column, we have highlighted on many occasions cases of police brutality – but this is the other side of the equation. This is the danger officers face every day in trying to protect our communities. It is unacceptable, and there should be no occasion when someone feels it is appropriate to open fire on police officers.

There remain too many guns in our country, and there remain too many people too willing to attack police officers.

We wish the officers well in their recovery – and are very thankful that their injuries were not even worse.

Dangers of oil drilling EDITOR, The Tribune.

I RECENTLY read with interest the comments espousing the multiple advantages with very few disadvantages of drilling for oil in our pristine waters.

As there has been very little erudite comment by our Government and even less by the Official Opposition with regard to this potentially toxic venture, I began to wonder why.

With BPC’s recent price collapse, the world moving away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, could it be that many Bahamians are knee-deep in financial ruin – with little to zero probability of recovery – if BPC is not allowed to drill for oil?

Full financial disclosure by our Members of Parliament, Members of the Official Opposition and possibly all major

Bahamian shareholders would go a long way in soothing the concerns of the Bahamian electorate.

I have attached documents of my email to BPC’s shareholder enquiries division (not published here), one analyst’s opinion of BPC’s financial report card, BPC’s collapsed share price and the number of shares and stock options owned by Director James Smith.

Please note that the information about the directors is from BPC’s official website.

Also, I do not wish to cast aspersion on our former Central Bank Governor, Mr James Smith, therefore, if he is not the director listed, I wish to whole-heartedly apologise for any untoward implications.

As an aside, if Mr Simon Potter, Bahamas Petroleum Company’s CEO, is so sure that an oil spill will not occur, BPC should be

made to insure the life (and health) of each Bahamian citizen for an amount that will guarantee our financial survival in the event of an oil spill eg $5m-$10m per person, adjusted annually for inflation.

If the risk of an oil spill is miniscule, the cost of insurance would also be miniscule relative to the profits.

I’m sure our Bahamian insurance adjusters could provide the service.

Please make no mistake, a major oil spill would destroy our way of life and most of us would have to uproot ourselves and our families to find a decent country in which to live.

I’m just asking?

SY COOLIDGE PIERRE, MD A Concerned Bahamian Citizen Nassau, November 24, 2020.

Eroding Bahamian ownership EDITOR, The Tribune.

SOME months ago, I predicted that the Economic Recovery Committee would (in part on account of its composition) do little more than repeat and amplify some of the same misguided ideas that got this country into the mess exposed (though not caused) by Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 crisis.

I predicted that the common strand weaving through all of their recommendations would be the false premise that this and every crisis can be resolved by simply opening the floodgates to ever more foreign investment – even where that means dissolving or weakening the linkages that make foreign investment beneficial to The Bahamas in the first place.

While it gives me little satisfaction to be proved right so quickly, I cannot help but note the brazen and unabashed manner in which co-Chair Marlon Johnson has now made my point for me.

His solution to the COVID-19 crisis? Give away ten percent of the (‘reserved for Bahamians’) domestic economy to foreigners in order to attract more investment.

At present, a company doing business in The Bahamas must either have

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net on its face a permit or approval from the cabinet, or a statutory declaration that it is at least 60 percent Bahamian owned. Mr Johnson proposes reducing that threshold to 50 percent, so that a company owned in equal parts by a Bahamian and a foreigner is treated as Bahamian for all regulatory purposes.

Combined with the widespread and pernicious phenomenon of Bahamians “fronting” for foreigners and permitting them to drain opportunity out of our domestic economy, this proposal, if enacted, will deal a death knell to the last meaningful semblances of Bahamianisation. We will go the way of Puerto Rico.

As a Bahamian businessman, I am very aware that there is no level playing field between Bahamians and foreigners once the latter are permitted to compete with us within our domestic economy. Unlike them, we are subject to tortuous foreign exchange rules and a psychopathic banking industry which not only does not support business investment, but smothers us with fees and restrictions.

As an example, my business is charged cumulative

fees amounting to four percent to make a simple wire transfer abroad, while my colleagues in the United States pay a standard 40-dollar fee, no matter what the amount. On a $100,000.00 wire, the difference is 100-fold.

Even worse, I am not the first Bahamian businessman to be told that a local Canadian bank is closing his account because of too much deposit activity!

We are simply regarded by these (foreign) banks as fee-paying consumers of dead-end trinkets.

As businessmen, we are regarded with contempt or suspicion.

In short, the difficulties of doing business (or indeed of just living) within the domestic Bahamian banking and regulatory eco-system render it unconscionable to subject Bahamians to competition from others facing none of the same encumbrances and to pretend that this is somehow good for the economy. It clearly is not.

From a macro-economic standpoint, the Bahamian economy will not grow by being sold to others. We will simply see more of the profit remitted abroad as the vital linkages that once sustained a growing middleclass continue to be eroded.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, November 10, 2020.

Trump and racism EDITOR, The Tribune.

THERE was a letter earlier this week in The Tribune from a black conservative praising Trump as a non racist and alluding to the reason why Trump lost the election as being due to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Were does one begin?

The reason Trump lost the election is as plain as the nose on your face his non response to COVID.

He stated in March we have 11 cases but it will be down to zero by the weekend! He completely ignored the science. Trump closed his eyes and hoped COVID would disappear as it ravaged the USA. That’s why he lost.

A couple of minutes on reputable websites destroy the notion of Trump being a non racist. So many examples were to start? Pretty convincing one is Trump saying blacks are too dumb to vote for him. A plethora

of others take your pick.

In Germany in 1933 when Hitler won power there was a powerful lobby of Jews called the Association of German National Jews who supported Hitler and were elated when he won power. They still ended up in the gas chambers, can’t help but thinking your correspondent above would have been in that camp?

THE REALIST Nassau, November 20, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 25, 2020, PAGE 7

Baldness link to severe symptoms from COVID BALD men may be at higher risk of suffering from severe COVID-19 symptoms, emerging evidence suggests.

The link is so strong that some researchers are suggesting baldness should be considered a risk factor called the “Gabrin sign”, after the first US physician to die of COVID-19 in the United States, Dr Frank Gabrin, who was bald.

The lead author of the key study behind the association, Professor Carlos Wambier of Brown University, told the UK’s Telegraph: “We really think that baldness is a perfect predictor of severity.”

Data since the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in January has shown that men are more likely to die after getting coronavirus. In the UK, a report this week from Public Health England found that working-age

males were twice as likely as females to die after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

Until recently, scientists have been at a loss as to why this might be, pointing to factors such as lifestyle, smoking, and immune system differences between the sexes. But increasingly they believe it could be because androgens – male sex hormones like testosterone – may play a part not only in hair loss, but also in boosting the ability of coronavirus to attack cells.

This raises the possibility that treatments suppressing these hormones, such as those used for baldness as well as diseases like prostate cancer, could be used to slow the virus down, giving patients time to fight it off.

“We think androgens or male hormones are definitely the gateway for the virus to enter our cells,”

said Professor Wambier.

As well as the trial being discussed using baldness drugs in the US, a separate trial has been launched by Matthew Rettig, an oncologist at UC Los Angeles, in 200 veterans in Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York, using prostate cancer drugs.

The trials follow two small studies in Spain led by Professor Wambier, which found that a disproportionately high number of men with male pattern baldness were admitted to hospital with COVID-19.

In one study, 79 per cent of the men suffering with COVID-19 in three Madrid hospitals were bald. The study of 122 patients, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, followed an earlier piece of work among 41 patients in Spanish hospitals, which found 71 per cent were bald. The background rate of baldness in

white men of a similar age to the patients studied is between 31-53 per cent.

A similar correlation was found in the study among the smaller numbers of women with hair loss linked to androgens.

Other scientists said that more work needed to be done, but were excited by the potential link.

“Everybody is chasing a link between androgens …and the outcome of COVID-19,” Howard Soule, executive vice president at the Prostate Cancer Foundation, told Science Magazine.

Prostate cancer specialists are familiar with the role androgens can play in disease because in the prostate, the hormones stimulate an enzyme that boosts cancerous growth.

In April, researchers published a paper in the journal Cell which showed that the enzyme TMPRSS2 is also

SOME of the tablets being distributed, above and below, to help students in disaster zones in the northern Bahamas.

TABLETS GIVEN TO HELP STUDENTS

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

ABOUT 1,500 students in the disaster zones in the northern Bahamas have received tablets for virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation was possible through the partnership of several organisations, including the Disaster Reconstruction Authority’s (DRA) education priority, the member of Parliament for North Abaco Darren Henfield, and the Bahamas Hope Foundation, Odyssey Aviation, and STARS Bahamas (Supporting Technology Access and Research for Students).

Students in Abaco, and the cays, as well as Grand Bahama received the Alcatel 1T 10-inch tablets as schools throughout the northern Bahamas are still recovering from challenges caused by Dorian and now COVID-19. The Ministry of Education and

the DRA coordinated the distribution.

Mr Henfield said the current pandemic had put an added burden on families with students in the disaster zones.

“Having witnessed firsthand the impact of Dorian on Abaco, I am pleased to see the rebuilding of the island,” he said recently.

“Much of the work has been done, but much more has to be done. I would like to thank the Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) team for their continued efforts and to the Bahamas Hope Foundation, Odyssey Aviation, and STARS for their continued support of our northern islands.”

Dominique Russell, district superintendent of education for Abaco, recently said that students are beginning to return home to the island.

Less than 300 students had remained in Abaco and the cays following evacuations after Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.

At last report, more than 1,400 students are registered in the public-school system and 200 in the private school system.

“We are ecstatic about that,” she said. “We want students to come home and we know that for them to return home they need access to educational opportunities,” she said.

“Although school repairs continue, we are excited that so many organisations, companies, and foundations have helped us in the donation of devices that will allow our children to access the virtual learning platform. We are thankful.”

“Abaco is certainly coming back strong, more resilient, and better prepared for education,” Mrs. Russell said.

The tablet distribution took place in October. In addition to the tablets, students in grades one through 12 in Abaco received backpacks, headphones, solar chargers, and other items donated by several additional donors.

involved in coronavirus infections.

To infect a cell, coronaviruses – including the novel SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 – use what is called a ‘spike’ protein that binds to the cell’s membrane, a process that is activated by an enzyme.

In this case, it appears that TMPRSS2 may be that enzyme.

Scientists do not yet know if the enzyme responds in the same way to androgens in the lungs as it does in the prostate, but other evidence appears to support the potential link.

A study from Veneto, Italy, of 9,280 patients found that men with prostate cancer who were on androgen-deprivation therapy – drugs that cut testosterone levels – were only a quarter as likely to contract COVID-19 as men with the disease who were on other treatments.

Karen Stalbow, Head of Policy at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “There have been several recent pieces of research which indicate there may be a link between male hormones and increased risk of COVID-19. This has led some researchers to investigate whether hormone therapies commonly used to treat prostate cancer, such as enzalutamide, could reduce this risk.

“However, most of the research so far has been in the lab, and there is conflicting evidence over whether the hormone therapies have the same impact in the lungs as they would in prostate cells. There are now several clinical studies starting which hope to address these issues, but much more evidence is needed before we can know whether these hormone therapies would be an effective treatment for COVID-19.”

PAGE 8, Wednesday, November 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Throwing the spotlight on a problem which just won’t go away

TODAY, International Day to End Violence Against Women (IDEVAW), is the first of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.

This global campaign started in 1991 and is coordinated by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership.

Ending on December 10, International Human Rights Day, the campaign highlights the connection between ending violence against women and promoting human rights. Other significant days within this period are International Women Human Rights Defenders Day on November 29, World AIDS Day on December 1, and Femicide Awareness Day on December 6.

These awareness-raising days are important because they draw attention to issues that people either do not know about or are easily able to ignore.

By Alicia Wallace When scores or hundreds of organisations and thousands of people are talking about one issue, however, it’s much more difficult to overlook. We see who is working on what, how they are thinking about it, and what makes it different from one location to the another.

As an example, “femicide” is a term we do not typically use here. The broadest, most general definition of femicide is the murder of women. Other definitions specify that it is perpetrated by men, that it

is a hate crime, and that it is because of their gender.

It is a form of gender-based violence.

The murder of Alicia Sawyer was femicide. By using this term, attention is drawn to the specific issue of women being murdered by men, separating cases of femicide from murders overall. It generally results in changes to the way data is collected and stories are reported, particularly in Latin America were there are high incidences and the term is used.

During the 16 Days campaign, people will definitely

see posts that are about or mention femicide, whether or not it is familiar.

By following the campaign or people participating in it, people will be exposed to this pervasive issue and the way advocates, organisations, countries, and regions are working to address it.

In The Bahamas, National Women’s Week — which includes the anniversary of women’s suffrage — is celebrated during the 16 Days campaign, so this is an important time of year for women’s rights organisations and advocates.

The global campaign is focusing on women in the workplace for a few years, and this year centers women informal workers alongside the push for countries to ratify International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Convention 190 on Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the Workplace.

As in previous years, Equality Bahamas has organised a series of events during 16 Days. Today, we launch the summary of our policy recommendations to the government to address the issue of gender-based violence. We will be in conversation with community members about the ways the policy recommendations address the needs of vulnerable communities including LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. These conversations will take place on Instagram Live with Equality Bahamas (@equality242) from noon to 3pm.

Tomorrow, bystander intervention training is being delivered by Lauren Glinton, reviving the work of Hollaback! Bahamas which is one branch of a global movement to end street harassment. In our research with Cornell

University in 2014, we found that most people who experienced street harassment in The Bahamas noted that bystanders did not help. It was also noted that when bystanders did take action, it was not helpful. Lauren’s training will give participants tools to safely and effectively intervene when they witness harassment in a range of circumstances including public space and the workplace.

On Friday, we will be joined by Aneesah Abdullah from the Sustainable Development Goals Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister, Barbadian psychotherapist and activist Patrice Daniel, Executive Director of the Center for Women’s Global Leadership Krishanti Dharmaraj, and Head of Digital at EyeWitness News Ava Turnquest to discuss the ways we respond to violence against women, the need to redefine peace and the utility of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security.

At this event, Redefining Peace: Global Strategies to End Violence Against Women, will be able to make connections between international mechanisms, government systems, and the practices of various sectors including the media and nongovernmental organisations.

How do we report on domestic violence, rape, stalking and murders of women?

How do communities respond to those reports?

What do we expect of the government, and what do we demand of each other?

Many people rightly point out that we need to start having these conversations earlier, with younger people.

While we cannot depend on any generation to “save the world” on its own, we do

need to put resources into education and youth work.

People leave high school without information and skills necessary to navigate the world on their own, and that needs to change.

Those responsible for raising, education, and training young people have to push past their own discomfort in order to fill in the gaps. We need people who are able to peacefully resolve conflict, identify and communicate their own needs, understand consent and recognise red flags in relationships. We have to teach them. This is one way to prevent domestic violence, intimate partner violence and gender-based violence.

Equality Bahamas is holding a workshop for parents, guardians, teachers and youth leaders on talking to young people about healthy relationships on Saturday at noon. Led by the Head of the Women and Development Unit at University of the West Indies Open Campus Taitu Heron, this session will give people the necessary tools for building trust, sharing information, asking questions, and answering challenging questions.

When we provide young people with the information they need and create environments where they can ask for what they need, we give them the ability to assess their own situations, apply the knowledge they already have, seek help from the best institutions and people and resolve conflict without violence.

All of the events are free and virtual, requiring registration to join via Zoom.

The full schedule and event details are available on the Equality Bahamas Facebook page and all registration links are at tiny. cc/16daysregistration.

CHRISTMAS GIFT SUGGESTIONS

It’s the time of year that has everyone rushing around, trying to find the perfect gifts for loved ones.

This year is, of course, quite different due to significant loss of income and restrictions in place. While it is tempting to shop online, especially since many of us will not be traveling and making use of that good ol’ Customs duty exemption, it’s important to support the local economy. Here are a few gift ideas that can be tweaked to suit your budget and the tastes of your loved ones: 1. Kitchen garden. Interest in gardening increased exponentially since the first COVID-19 case was announced here. Some people had great success while others struggled. Do you know someone who gave up? Do you know someone who didn’t have a chance to give it a try? It may be nice to get a small container garden going for them. Visit a plant nursery, find out what grows well together, and get some seedlings going. Your loved ones will be happy to receive an already-growing garden with tips on keeping it healthy.

2. Meal delivery. In the lead-up to big food-centred holidays, many households

go light on meals. After those holidays, leftovers may seem to last forever.

Fill in a gap by providing a meal to a family. Whether you prepare it yourself or order from one of the many small businesses offering meal delivery, this is sure to be appreciated.

3. Personal care. Spending more time at home means there is more work to do all the time. The cooking and cleaning can seem endless. Do you know someone who works from home and is responsible for the care of other people all day long?

That person needs a break.

They need time to focus on their own needs. Give them a virtual yoga class or meditation session. Consider a spa service that can be delivered safely by a professional with the appropriate certifications and approval to operate.

4.

Masks.

Everyone needs masks. The first ones we bought are probably boring by now, so help your favourite people add more colour, patterns, and style to their protective gear. If you don’t sew, find someone who does and pay them to make masks with suitable material. Visit a fabric store and be thoughtful in your selection. What colours do they like? What

do they wear often? What would make them laugh?

What might remind them of a special day? You can take this in a lot of different directions. Have fun with it.

5.

Treats.

Whether it’s cookies, guava duff, popsicles, or other local favourites, it’s always nice to get a delicious treat. There are more than enough bakeries, candy shops, and home-based businesses to support. Don’t forget everyone’s favourite, Mortimer’s Candies which needs our support to stay open.

6. Vibes. We’re spending a lot of time at home, and it would be great to make the atmosphere more suitable. For many of us, home has worked quite well when we just went there to sleep, but now it’s everything.

After work, when it’s time to wind down, a spa-scented candle can help send relaxation signals to the brain.

During the work day, it may be helpful to have a whiteboard set up with a to-do list. Maybe even markers to colour code it. Little things can help to get the vibe right to transition and transform different areas of the home and our brains. Check out local candle-makers, signmakers, and decor gurus to give your favourite people exactly what they need.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 25, 2020, PAGE 9

DRONES TO THE RESCUE: BERLIN LAB SEEKS QUICKER VIRUS TESTS

By JONA KALLGREN Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — A German lab is hoping to cut the time it takes to send coronavirus tests across Berlin by using drones, thereby avoiding the capital’s clogged roads.

California-based company Matternet is currently testing drone deliveries between a hospital and Labor Berlin, one of the largest laboratories in Europe.

The route from drone to lab is about 11 kilometres (7 miles) as the drone flies, and officials expect to cut standard delivery times from about an hour to around 10 minutes when service on the route begins in January.

Eventually, the hope is that drones will provide regular deliveries to the lab from six points around Berlin, shaving vital minutes off the turnaround time for COVID tests.

“The whole topic of ‘time to the result’ is really important, especially when there is the suspicion of an infection,” said Klaus Tenning, who is leading the project for Labor Berlin. “You want to identify the person and get the result as soon as possible so that the person can self-isolate or be able to just continue with normal daily life.”

Each route will be served by two drones that can theoretically fly 24 hours a day. The batteries in the drone simply get switched when they are running low,

DRONE and logistic operator Peter Trempeck monitores the automatic landing of a drone with a case for medical stuff during a presentation for media, near the Labor Berlin laboratory in Berlin, Germany, Monday. Each drone can carry about 40 test samples, not only for Corona tests, that need to be examined in a laboratory. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) eliminating charging time.

Each drone can carry about 40 samples. It won’t just be COVID tests that are transported, but any samples that need to be examined in a lab.

“We said from the start that this would be a working project,” said Tenning.

According to Germany’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute, 175 laboratories in Germany have a combined COVID-19 test capacity of 307,000 tests per day.

Each week over a

million standard PCR tests for COVID-19 are carried out, some at designated test centers but also in doctors’ practices and at hospitals.

Tenning thinks there’s room for improvement when it comes to delivering samples from some testing sites to the labs.

“An emergency situation like a pandemic can bring about faster change and innovation,” he said.

Matternet is already running similar drone delivery systems in Switzerland and the United States, but Berlin

will have the first such system in the European Union. The company is waiting for new drone regulations to come into effect on Dec. 30 before starting regular operations.

Should an engine unexpectedly fail, the drones have a parachute. They can also detect other aircraft, such as helicopters, and the control center will be connected to helicopter operations to avoid a drone flying in the same area.

But for the most part the drones are fully autonomous.

“They start themselves

and follow a pre-defined route and then they land autonomously at the destination,” said Alex Norman, Matternet’s project manager.

The next phase of the coronavirus pandemic will likely begin when vaccines become available. At this stage there are no concrete plans to use drones to ship vaccine shots, but it could be a possibility in the future, he said.

Matternet is developing temperature-controlled cases that could also provide the very cold storage that some vaccines need, he said.

GM: NEW BATTERIES CUT ELECTRIC CAR COSTS AND INCREASE RANGE

By TOM KRISHER ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT (AP) — General Motors says a pending breakthrough in battery chemistry will cut the price of its electric vehicles so they equal those powered by gasoline within five years. The technology also will increase the range per charge to as much as 450 miles.

The company’s product development chief promised a small electric SUV that will cost less than $30,000 and pledged to roll out 30 batterypowered models worldwide by 2025.

Nearly all current electric vehicles cost more than $30,000.

The announcement last week shows how fast electric vehicle technology is evolving and how it may become the primary fuel for transportation sooner than almost anyone believed.

The GM announcement is among a series of recent tipping points from internal combustion vehicles to electric, Guidehouse Insights Principal Analyst Sam Abuelsamid said. Ford and Fiat Chrysler recently announced plans to build electric vehicles and components at Canadian factories, and Volkswagen, the world’s topselling automaker, is increasing its EV spending and models. “There’s going to be a lot more EVs coming,” he said.

The challenge for automakers and startups has always been balancing

range against battery costs, and GM appears to have gone beyond that, Abuelsamid said.

“What we’re seeing now is that they’re confident enough on their costs that they think they can offer those 300-to-400 mile range vehicles, and the upfront cost is similar to internal combustion vehicles,” Abuelsamid said.

The developments arrive as government pollution regulations tighten worldwide, with California and the United Kingdom recently announcing plans to ban gas-powered new vehicle sales in 10 to 15 years. President-elect Joe Biden is likely to restore government fuel economy regulations that have been rolled back by President Donald Trump, with Biden vowing to spend billions on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. GM supported the rollback.

“If you look at all the forecasts the estimates, generally, the demand is kind of potentially being forecast to pick up,” said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president of product development. “We think the industry is transforming, and so we want to be at the leading edge of this.”

The company also wants to supplant Tesla as the global electric vehicle leader, saying it has done great things and was able to get the jump on GM and other traditional automakers.

To back up its claims, GM said it

A 2020 Chevrolet Bolt EV is displayed at the 2020 Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh in February. General Motors says a pending breakthrough in battery chemistry will cut the price of its electric vehicles so they equal those powered by gasoline within five years. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) will raise spending on electric vehicles from a promised $20 billion, to more than $27 billion through 2025.

The new battery cell chemistry, now undergoing early tests at a lab inside GM’s suburban Detroit technical centre, can hold twice as much energy as the company’s current electric vehicle batteries, Parks said. They’ll also cost 60% less than current battery packs now in the Chevrolet Bolt electric car, he said.

The chemistry, which will use lithium metal anodes, will help GM package battery cells for a wide range of vehicles at different price points and ranges, Parks said. The new battery cells also will be used by Honda, which is partnering with GM and battery cell supplier LG Chem of Korea.

Parks said GM’s next generation of batteries due out next year already

are getting close to reducing electric vehicle costs so they are similar to internal combustion engine vehicles, especially when fuel costs are factored in.

He said GM will build its own batteries to take advantage of economies of scale as more electric vehicles are sold. “We’ll learn it. We’ll perfect it.

We’ll scale it and we’ll ride that cost curve down,” Parks said.

Slides presented at the virtual Barclays Global Automotive Conference last Thursday made reference to future electric Chevrolet sedans and sports cars, GMC and Chevrolet fullsize electric pickups, an electric GMC Hummer full-size SUV, Chevrolet and Buick electric crossover SUVs, and electric Cadillac full-size SUVs, smaller crossover SUVs and sedans or sports cars. Several “key high volume” vehicles will come by 2023.

TECHTALK US-EUROPEAN OCEAN MONITORING SATELLITE LAUNCHES INTO ORBIT VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — A U.S.-European satellite designed to extend a decades-long measurement of global sea surface heights was launched into Earth orbit from California on Saturday.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:17 a.m. and arced southward over the Pacific Ocean. The Falcon’s first stage flew back to the launch site and landed for reuse.

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite was released from the second stage about an hour later.

It then deployed its solar panels and made first contact with controllers.

Named for a former NASA official who had a key role in developing space-based oceanography, the satellite’s main instrument is an extremely accurate radar altimeter that will bounce energy off the sea surface as it sweeps over Earth’s oceans.

An identical twin, Sentinel6B, will be launched in 2025 to ensure continuity of the record.

Space-based sea level measurements have been uninterrupted since the 1992 launch of the U.S.-French satellite TOPEX-Poseidon, which was followed by a series of satellites including the current Jason-3.

Sea surface heights are affected by heating and cooling of water, allowing scientist to use the altimeter data to detect such weather-influencing conditions as the warm El Nino and the cool La Nina.

The measurements are also important for understanding overall sea level rise due to global warming that scientists warn is a risk to the world’s coastlines and billions of people.

“Our Earth is a system of intricately connected dynamics between land, ocean, ice, atmosphere and also of course our human communities, and that system is changing,” Karen St. Germain, NASA’s Earth Science Division director, said in a pre-launch briefing Friday.

“Because 70% of the Earth’s surface is ocean, the oceans play an enormous role in how the whole system changes,” she said.

The new satellite is expected to have unprecedented accuracy.

“This is an extremely important parameter for climate monitoring,” Josef Aschbacher, the European Space Agency’s director of Earth observation, told The Associated Press this week.

“We know that sea level is rising,” Aschbacher said. The big question is, by how much, how quickly.

Other instruments on board will measure how radio signals pass through the atmosphere, providing data on atmospheric temperature and humidity that can help improve global weather forecasts.

Europe and the United States are sharing the $1.1 billion (900 million euro) cost of the mission, which includes the twin satellite. ____ Associated Press journalist Frank Jordans contributed to this report from Berlin.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, November 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

BATMEN AND UNICORNS: INSIDE THE ORIGINAL MOON HOAX

By KEITH WILLIAMS Senior lecturer in English, University of Dundee IN 16th-century Britain a common saying to describe hoaxing someone was “to make one believe the Moon is made of green cheese”.

Absurd, of course. So perhaps people were more credulous by the middle of the 19th century, when a newspaper editor perpetrated what became known as the Great Moon Hoax, persuading gullible readers that on the Moon you could find unicorns and other fantastic beasts.

The Great Moon Hoax refers to six articles in the New York Sun headlined “Great Astronomical Discoveries” and allegedly reprinted from The Edinburgh Journal of Science.

Beginning on August 25 1835, they revealed a lunar ecology and civilisation.

The hoax tested the parameters of media credibility and “fake news” in the pretelegraphic age. The stories circulated to other papers around the world.

The newspaper published these supposed reports from observations by astronomer royal,

THE MAIN players: Richard Adams Locke, Sir John Herschel and the Rev Thomas Dick.

Photo courtesy of University of Dundee John Herschel, using the telescope apparently caught observations about evolumost powerful telescope fire – its enormous lens tion offering evidence to yet invented. According exposed to South African the contrary. So Locke’s to the reports, this tele- sunlight acting as a “burn- descriptions of the planets – and even the Sun – included scope was connected to an ing glass”.

New York Sun reporter details about populations “oxy-hydrogen” projector which enabled it to screen Richard Adams Locke of “unfallen” beings that moving pictures. They (1800–1871) later admitted God had put there – as the visualised forests, seas and writing the articles, satiris- Bible told the story, it was vast deposits of precious ing speculations by the Rev only Earth that had been minerals, teeming with life Thomas Dick (1774-1857), corrupted by “original sin”. forms, including unicorns, the most widely read popu- It was Locke’s way of satiintelligent beavers and lar astronomer on both sides rising what he called Dick’s “man-bats” (Vespertilio- of the Atlantic at the time, naïve “science fiction”.

The Moon Hoax is a sighomo). These flew around who kept to what he saw nificant event in Dundee’s naked and worshipped in as a literal interpretation of the Bible’s account of crea- cultural history – but also triangular temples.

The wonders of the moon tion. This despite geological science fiction in general. were revealed ever more finds dating back into “deep It’s a springboard for issues sensationally, until the time” and Charles Darwin’s still topical today: clashes between cosmic views of faith and science as well as the growth and power of modern media and their relationship with public trust, facts and imagination.

Googling “moon hoax” immediately directs you to internet conspiracy theory sites dismissing NASA’s www.ub.edu.bs 1969 landing as simulated, ironically inverting debates sparked in 1835 by dismissing documented facts as mere fictions.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION

University of The Bahamas extends an invitation for suitably qualified candidates to apply for the position of Vice President of Human Resources.

The successful candidate will be responsible for providing creative vision, inspired leadership and strategic management for all human resources functions in support of the University’s mission and strategic plan, especially in setting goals and analyzing ways to raise standards, increasing the quality of efforts and improving overall performance of the human resources functions at the institution. To read the complete position announcement, visit http://www.ub.edu.bs/about-us/career-opportunities/ administration/

Science and religion Dick’s The Christian Philosopher, or the

Connexion of Science and Philosophy with Religion (1823) predicted that signs of “lunarian” life would soon be detected once telescopes could observe them in sufficiently close-up detail. He devoted himself to scientific, philosophical and religious works, acquiring widespread popularity and influence among politicians, writers and thinkers, particularly in the evangelical United States.

Dick promoted the “plurality of worlds” – the theory that every planet must be inhabited because the divine plan would never create without purpose.

His magnum opus Celestial Scenery or The Wonders of the Planetary System Displayed (1838) showcased this, calculating our solar system contained more than 21 trillion inhabitants.

He based this calculation on planetary surface areas multiplied by English population density. Hence the Moon might contain “beings far more numerous, and perhaps more elevated in the scale of intellect, than the inhabitants of our globe”.

Ironically, Celestial Scenery also rebuked the Hoax author’s disregard for facts: The “Law of Truth” ought never for a moment to be sported with … It is to be hoped that the author of the deception to which I have adverted, as he advances in years and wisdom, will perceive the folly and immorality of such conduct.

Locke responded with an open broadside: So far from feeling that I deserve the coarse reproaches of Dr Dick, I think it quite laudable in any man to satirise … that school of crude speculation

and cant of which he is so eminent a professor.

New genre Locke’s lunar paradise hoodwinked a global readership because of expectations raised in the popular imagination by Dick’s “outrage upon science”, which prepared them “to swallow any thing however absurd … recommended by this peculiar stamp”.

Though not destroying Dick’s reputation, the hoax challenged his prioritisation of belief over evidence, foreshadowing the fundamental intellectual crises of the mid-Victorian age.

Nevertheless, Dick continued to popularise science and democratise access to astronomy. Dundee’s unique public observatory is a bequest from one of Dick’s devotees, John Mills.

Whether or not Dick’s speculations constituted science fiction, they inadvertently midwifed the modern genre through Locke’s parodies.

The editor and owner of the New York Herald, James Gordon Bennett, credited Locke with inventing what he called “A New Species of Writing” – “the scientific novel”.

The Dundee Moon Hoax certainly inspired the “lost Scottish father” of American sci-fi, Robert Duncan Milne who grew up in nearby Cupar in the 1840s. His own tales of astronomical discovery bear many similarities to Locke’s lunar utopia.

It provided a rich context which shaped Milne’s imagination, driven by creative tensions between scientific secularism, fantastic new technologies and orthodox beliefs.

Qualifications include an earned master’s degree in Human Resource Management or Public Administration or a related field from an accredited institution; at least five (5) years of work experience at a leadership level in human resources in a complex organization, preferably in higher education; and applicable human resources certification and training.

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THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 25, 2020, PAGE 11

Biden transtion can begin as Trump runs out of options WASHINGTON Associated Press THE federal government recognised President-elect Joe Biden as the “apparent winner” of the November 3 election, formally starting the transition of power after President Donald Trump spent weeks testing the boundaries of American democracy. Trump relented after suffering yet more legal and procedural defeats in his seemingly futile effort to overturn the election with baseless claims of fraud.

Trump still refused to concede and vowed to continue to fight in court after General Services Administrator Emily Murphy gave the green light Monday for Biden to coordinate with federal agencies ahead of his January 20 inauguration.

But Trump did tweet that he was directing his team to cooperate on the transition.

The fast-moving series of events seemed to let much of the air out of Trump’s frantic efforts to undermine the will of the people in what has amounted to a weekslong stress test for the nation’s confidence in the political system and the fairness of US elections.

Those efforts haven’t ended and are likely to persist well beyond his lame-duck presidency.

Murphy, explaining her decision, cited “recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results”.

She acted after Michigan on Monday certified Biden’s victory in the battleground state and a federal judge in Pennsylvania tossed a Trump campaign lawsuit on Saturday seeking to prevent certification in that state. Pennsylvania certified its results, and its 20 electors for Biden on Tuesday morning.

It also came as an increasing number of Republicans were publicly acknowledging Biden’s victory, after weeks of tolerating Trump’s baseless claims of fraud.

The Republican president had grown increasingly frustrated with the flailing tactics of his legal team.

In recent days, senior Trump aides including chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone had also encouraged Trump to allow the

PRESIDENT-elect Joe Biden. transition to begin, telling the president he didn’t need to concede but could no longer justify withholding support to the Biden transition.

Meadows, late Monday, sent a memo to White House staffers saying that their work was not yet finished and that the administration would “comply with all actions needed to ensure the smooth transfer of power,” according to a person who received it.

Yohannes Abraham, executive director of the Biden transition, said the decision “is a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track”.

Murphy, a Trump appointee, had faced bipartisan criticism for failing to begin the transition process sooner, preventing Biden’s team from working with career agency officials on plans for his administration. The delay denied the Democratic president-elect access to highly classified national security

briefings and hindered his team’s ability to begin drawing up its own plans to respond to the raging coronavirus pandemic.

Murphy insisted she acted on her own.

“Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official — including those who work at the White House or GSA — with regard to the substance or timing of my decision,” she wrote in a letter to Biden.

Trump tweeted moments after Murphy’s decision: “We will keep up the good fight and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”

Still, Trump continued to spread false information about the vote and indicated he would not concede. He tweeted

Tuesday morning, “the GSA does not determine who the next President of the United States will be.”

Max Stier, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, criticised the delay but said Biden’s team would be able to overcome it.

“Unfortunately, every day lost to the delayed ascertainment was a missed opportunity for the outgoing administration to help President-elect Joe Biden prepare to meet our country’s greatest challenges,” he said. “The good news is that the president-elect and his team are the most prepared and best equipped of any incoming administration in recent memory.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the GSA action “is probably the closest thing to a concession that President Trump could issue”. Noting that the nation “faces multiple crises that demand an orderly transition,” Schumer urged Democrats and Republicans to “unite together” for a smooth and

peaceful transition.

Murphy’s action came just 90 minutes after Michigan election officials certified Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in the state. The Board of State Canvassers, which has two Republicans and two Democrats, confirmed the results on a 3-0 vote with one GOP abstention. Trump and his allies had hoped to block the vote to allow time for an audit of ballots in Wayne County, where Trump has claimed without evidence that he was the victim of fraud. Biden crushed the president by more than 330,000 votes there.

Some Trump allies had expressed hope state lawmakers could intervene in selecting Republican electors in states that do not certify. That long-shot bid is no longer possible in Michigan. “The people of Michigan have spoken.

President-elect Biden won the State of Michigan by more than 154,000 votes, and he will be our next president on January 20th,” Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS AXED AMID PANDEMIC BELLE PLAINE, Kansas Associated Press IT’S barely a town anymore, battered by time on the windswept prairie of northwest Kansas. COVID19 still managed for find Norcatur.

Not much remains of the rural hamlet, save for service station, a grain elevator, a little museum, and a weekend hangout where the locals play pool, eat pizza and drink beer.

The roof has collapsed on the crumbling building that once housed its bank and general store. Schools closed decades ago and the former high school building is used for city offices.

But for the 150 or so remaining residents, the cancellation of the beloved Norcatur Christmas Drawing has driven home how the global coronavirus pandemic has reached deep into rural America.

“Due to individuals who have COVID and refuse to stay home and quarantine it has been determined it is not safe for the citizens of Norcatur and the area to proceed,” read the notice tucked in the town’s newsletter and posted on its Facebook page. It blamed “negligent attitudes of lack of concern for others” for the cancellation.

In a decades-old tradition that evokes Norman Rockwell nostalgia, the whole town typically gathers for a potluck dinner at Christmastime. Its namesake drawing features a plethora of donated meats, crafts and other goodies so every family can go home with prizes. The local 4-H

ERIC KUHLMAN, three, helps master of ceremonies Stan Miller draw names for the annual Norcator drawing held in Norcatur, Kansas. For the 150 or so people who still call the rural hamlet home, the cancellation this year of the town’s Norcatur Christmas Drawing has shone a spotlight on a global coronavirus pandemic that has reached deep into rural America.

Club puts on its bake sale.

Santa Claus comes riding the firetruck.

Decatur County has fewer than 3,000 people scattered across farms and small towns like Norcatur.

As of Monday, the county had 194 coronavirus cases and one death, although medical providers say there are at least four more deaths of local residents that have yet to be added to the official toll.

Carolyn Plotts, a 73-yearold Norcatur resident who never had symptoms and only found out she was positive for COVID-19 when

tested for a medical procedure in October, said two of her former high school classmates who live in the county died because of the virus. Her husband also tested positive.

“It’s been very real to me,” she said.

Plotts wondered whether the cancellation notice was maybe “talking about me.”

During her quarantine she would only leave her house — with her doctor’s permission and wearing a mask, she said pointedly — to care for a housebound friend who still believes the pandemic is a hoax.

Carl Lyon, the Norcatur mayor who takes on the annual Santa role, said while most residents are “pretty good” about social distancing and wearing a mask, some have gotten the virus.

“I know a couple of people had it and they were still kind of running around and whatnot,” Lyon said.

“Didn’t seem to bother them that they infected everybody else.”

Decatur County Sheriff Ken Badsky estimated that 5% of county residents who should quarantine violate the restrictions and go

out. His office has called some and “insisted they do what they are supposed to do,” but has taken no legal action.

“I have so much other stuff to do. I don’t have time to follow people around,” Badsky said. “We have 900 square miles, we have three full-time officers and a part-time to take care of that and we are busy with everything else.”

Such sentiments anger medical providers as coronavirus cases surge and it gets more difficult to find beds for their sickest patients as hospitals across the state fill up.

“We need some backing to stop this virus and we are looking to people that need to do their job to do it, and so otherwise this thing is going to run rampant and it is going to put more pressure on our hospital,” Kris Mathews, the administrator of Decatur Health, a small critical access hospital in Oberlin, just 19 miles west of Norcatur.

Stan Miller, the announcer for the Christmas Drawing for more than 25 years, has mixed emotions about the decision to forgo it this year. The 63-year-old Norcatur resident said he understands that there are elderly people who you don’t want to get the virus. But it’s also disappointing.

“I like to see all the joy, especially the little kids,” Miller said. “We have Santa Claus after the drawing is over and to see them sit on Santa’s lap and tell them what they want for Christmas, you know, always puts a smile on my face.”

MISSION TO THE MOON SHOWS CHINA AMBITIONS

CHINA’S latest trip to the moon is another milestone in the Asian powerhouse’s slow but steady ascent to the stars.

China became the third country to put a person into orbit 17 years ago and the first to land on the far side of the moon in 2019. Future ambitions include a permanent space station and putting people back on the moon more than 50 years after the US did. But even before the latest lunar mission lifted off before dawn Tuesday, a top program official maintained that China isn’t competing with anyone.

“China will set its development goals in the space industry based on its own considerations of science and engineering technology,” Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center at the China National Space Administration, told reporters hours before the Chang’e 5 mission was launched.

“We do not place rivals (before us) when setting those goals,” Pei said.

Whether that is true or not is debatable. China has a national plan aimed at joining the United States, Europe and Japan in the top ranks of technology producers, and the space program has been a major component of that. It also is a source of national pride to lift the reputation of the ruling Communist Party.

What’s clear is that China’s approach has racked up success after success since it first put a person in space in 2003.

That has been followed by more crewed missions, the launch of a space lab, the placing of a rover on the moon’s far side and, this year, an operation to land on Mars.

NEW ZEALAND SOLDIER IS CHARGED WITH SPYING A NEW ZEALAND soldier has been charged with spying and will face up to 14 years in prison if found guilty.

It is the first time somebody from the military has faced such a charge in New Zealand, at least in modern times, the New Zealand Defense Force said Wednesday. The soldier faces a total of 17 charges and will be tried in a court martial.

The military is releasing few other details about the case ahead of the trial, and the soldier’s name is being kept secret by court order.

The soldier was based at the Linton Military Camp, the nation’s main army camp with about 2,000 people near the city of Palmerston North.

The website Newsroom said the man was first arrested in December and has close ties to far-right extremist groups.

As well as four counts of espionage, the man has also been charged with accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose, possessing an objectionable publication, and negligence in his duties.

EX-CHAMPION FIRST TO HOST JEOPARDY “JEOPARDY!” recordholder Ken Jennings will be the first in a series of interim hosts replacing Alex Trebek when the show resumes production next Monday.

Producers announced Monday that Jennings, who won 74 games in a row and claimed the show’s “Greatest of All Time” title in a competition last year, will host episodes that air in January.

A long-term host to replace Trebek, who died of cancer on November 8, will be named later.

SPORTS

PAGE 12, Wednesday, November 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

SERBIA’s Novak Djokovic holds the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup after defeating Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the men’s singles final of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, February 3, 2020.

(AP Photo/ Andy Wong)

Sports minister: Australian Open ‘most likely’ to be delayed MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The sports minister for Victoria state says the 2021 Australian Open in Melbourne will “most likely” be delayed by a week or two from its scheduled start of January 18.

Martin Pakula also said negotiations between various levels of governments and tennis officials were close to a conclusion and that the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year was expected to go ahead.

“There’s a number of potential dates on the table. I’ve seen reports that suggest that it’s likely to be delayed by a week or two.

I think that’s still most likely,” Pakula said Wednesday. “But it’s not the only option. As you know, the French Open was delayed by many months and Wimbledon didn’t occur at all.

“I still think it’s much more likely that it will be a shorter rather than longer delay. I don’t want to unduly repeat myself

but these are very complex negotiations.”

Australian Open tournament director and Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley last weekend said the final dates should be confirmed within two weeks. The Australian Open is usually held in the last two weeks of January, which coincides with summer school holidays in Australia.

Victoria was hard-hit by a second wave of COVID-19, forcing the city of Melbourne into a lengthy lockdown, a night curfew and travel and other restrictions in the state. But it no longer has any active cases and its last deaths from the virus in the state were on October 28.

Pakula, the sports minister, wouldn’t comment on the players and their entourages’ quarantine arrangements amid speculation the process may be shortened to only 10 days, other than to reaffirm that they would definitely

SERBIA’S NOVAK DJOKOVIC, right, plays Austria’s Dominic Thiem on Rod Laver Arena in the men’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, February 2, 2020.

(AP Photo/Andy Wong) be required to quarantine. All “The quarantine requirements arrivals in Australia currently will be those that are ultimately must undergo a 14-day hotel agreed with the public health quarantine. (authorities) and then it will be a “The exact nature of that quar- matter for the ATP and the WTA antine, whether or not it’s their about whether or not they are own bubble, or something more acceptable.” common, is still part of those conOfficials conducted some 10,000 versations,” Pakula said. coronavirus tests before and

during the successfully-staged US Open in New York in September, with Frenchman Benoit Paire the only player to return a positive to COVID-19.

“An extremely rigorous testing regime will apply to the players both before they leave the port that they come in from and when they arrive,” Pakula said.

“And then I imagine consistently through the time they’re in their (biosecure) bubble,” he added Last week, Tennis Australia announced that all the lead-up tournaments usually held in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide would be relocated to Victoria state to avoid any conflicts with the differing domestic border restrictions within Australia.

But doubt was cast over the lead-up events when Victoria’s state Premier Dan Andrews said negotiations on those tournaments and player quarantines were far from a done deal.

COVID-19 CAUSES GOPHERS TO CANCEL GAME WITH NO. 18 WISCONSIN MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For the first time in 114 years, the MinnesotaWisconsin game has been bumped off the schedule.

Minnesota called off its annual battle with Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan’s Axe — which was slated for Saturday afternoon — due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases within the programme.

The decision made yesterday by Minnesota will also likely make the 18thranked Badgers ineligible for the Big Ten championship game, because of two

earlier cancelled games.

Utah’s game against Arizona State — scheduled for Sunday — was also added yesterday to the cancellation list because the Sun Devils still don’t have enough scholarship players available due to numerous COVID-19 cases that includes coach Herm Edwards.

By the end of the day, Utah was rescheduled to play Washington on Saturday. The Huskies had their scheduled game with Washington State cancelled last Sunday.

No. 24 Tulsa’s game on Saturday against Houston also was postponed because of Houston’s COVID-19 issues.

Ten scheduled games this week involving FBS teams have been postponed or cancelled. The MinnesotaWisconsin game and the Utah-Arizona State game won’t be made up. Tulsa and Houston have no common open dates left and will only be able to reschedule the game if neither team is in the American Athletic Conference championship game on December 19.

Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle and president Joan Gabel made the decision at the recommendation of athletic medical director Dr Brad Nelson, who’s on the conference’s COVID-19 task force, after consultation with Big Ten officials.

Minnesota said nine players and six staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last five days. There were additional presumptive positive tests that turned up Wednesday from daily antigen testing, with the programme awaiting confirmation of those results.

Coyle spoke several times this week with Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez about what the Badgers went through with their cancellations.

“Disappointment is a good word,” Coyle said, later adding: “It’s something that none of us can control. The virus remains undefeated. We just have to do everything we can to make sure that our student athletes and our coaches and staff are safe as possible.”

According to Big Ten protocols this season, teams must play at least six games to be eligible for the conference championship game December 19.

If the average number of league games played by all Big Ten teams is below six, programmes must play no less than two fewer league games than that average to be eligible.

Wisconsin (2-1) has only two games remaining on its schedule and won’t reach the six-game minimum.

The Badgers dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak earlier this season that caused them to call off scheduled games with Nebraska and Purdue.

The Badgers’ only remaining games are at

home against No. 12 Indiana (4-1) on December 5 and at Iowa (3-2) December 12. Wisconsin’s Big Ten title bid was already jeopardised last week by losing 17-7 at Northwestern, a result that enabled the 11th-ranked Wildcats (5-0) to take command of the West Division race. Minnesota is scheduled to play Northwestern on December 5.

“We will continue to rely on the guidance of our medical experts as we navigate the next several days,” Coyle said. “We are doing everything we possibly can to miss the fewest amount of days possible.

Our goal is to be healthy enough and ready to compete on December 5 against Northwestern.”

This will mark the first gap in the MinnesotaWisconsin series since 1906, when safety concerns around the sport kept some of the most intense rivalries from being played.

The Gophers and Badgers have faced each other 129 times, making it the most-played series involving FBS teams. Wisconsin leads the series 61-60-8, winning 15 of the last 16 matchups.

The Badgers worked out yesterday morning knowing Minnesota had called off its own practice that day, still hoping the game would go on Saturday as scheduled.

“Like I always say, it’s 2020,” Wisconsin offensive tackle Cole Van Lanen said before the game was officially cancelled. “Things are out of our control.”

Big Ten slated December 19 for all 14 teams to play against the team finishing in the same place in the opposite division, including the annual championship game.

The conference could always alter that plan and stage a Minnesota-Wisconsin redo, but Coyle declined to speculate on that.

Arizona State had its November 14 home opener against California cancelled after multiple positive tests left the Sun Devils short of the 53 player minimum required by the Pac-12.

The Utah game was pushed back a day to Sunday to give the Sun Devils an extra day of practice after coming out of contract tracing protocols.

Edwards said this week he was feeling better and hoped to be back at practice this week, but contact tracing and cardio evaluation results left the Sun Devils without enough players to play.

The timing of the previously reported positive results coupled with the return-to-play guidelines have stretched over parts of three weeks, which makes it unsafe for several of our players to compete this Sunday,” Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement.

“I sympathise for our student-athletes and everyone associated with Sun Devil Athletics, as well as Sun Devil Nation. This also has an impact on the University of Utah football programme and we extend our appreciation for their understanding of the situation.”

Utah will instead travel to Seattle for a night game against the Huskies.

Washington’s Apple Cup matchup against Washington State was cancelled due to coronavirus issues with the Cougars and the Huskies were aggressive in seeking a replacement game. “I’d like to thank the Pac-12 for their ability to work on behalf of students at both schools to make this happen, as well as our staff for all of their efforts behind-the-scenes to prepare for a home game,” Washington athletic director Jennifer Cohen said.

SPORTS

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 25, 2020, PAGE 13

Juventus, Barcelona, Chelsea and Sevilla advance in Champions League

By CIARÁN FAHEY AP Sports Writer JUVENTUS, Barcelona, Chelsea and Sevilla all reached the knockout stage of the Champions League with two matches to spare yesterday.

Alvaro Morata scored in injury time to send Juventus through with a 2-1 win at home over Hungarian team Ferencváros, ensuring the Italian champions finished at least second in Group G. Barcelona tops the group and booked its spot in the last 16 for the 17th straight season with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv despite the absence of Lionel Messi, Frenkie de Jong and a number of others.

Both Chelsea and Sevilla left it late to advance from Group E. Olivier Giroud came off the bench to score an injury-time header as Chelsea won 2-1 at Rennes, and Munir El Haddadi scored in the final minute of stoppage time as Sevilla defeated Russian newcomer Krasnodar 2-1 away.

Elsewhere, Erling Haaland maintained his remarkable scoring pace with two goals to put Borussia Dortmund in touch of reaching the last 16 with a 3-0 win at home over Club Brugge.

AMERICAN JOY United States right back Sergiño Dest scored his first goal for Barcelona and another American, 19-yearold forward Konrad de la Fuente, came on as a substitute in Kyiv for his debut.

De la Fuente, who made his debut for the US earlier this month, became the record seventh American to play in Europe’s premier competition this season.

It was only the second time two Americans played together for a club in the Champions League. Tim Howard and Jonathan Spector played for Manchester United against Fenerbahçe on December 8, 2004.

Martin Braithwaite scored twice and Antoine Griezmann grabbed the other as Barcelona secured its fourth win in four games

LEIPZIG’S IBRAHIMA KONATE, left, duels for the ball with PSG’s Neymar during their Champions League group H soccer match at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris yesterday.

(AP Photo/Thibault Camus) from Group G. It currently has a three-point lead over Juventus.

Barcelona was without the injured Sergio Busquets, Gerard Piqué and Sergi Roberto.

NO EUROPA LEAGUE Sevilla qualifying for the last 16 means the Spanish side cannot defend its Europa League title, as only the third-place finishers in each group enjoy the cushion of playing in Europe’s secondary competition.

It will be a strange feeling for the Spanish side, which already has a record six Europa League titles, all since 2006.

Julen Lopetegui’s team defeated Inter Milan 3-2 in last season’s final.

“Qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League is fantastic,” Lopetegui said on his return to Krasnodar, where he was previously

A perfect 10, Steelers again rule atop AP Pro32 poll

By SIMMI BUTTAR AP Pro Football Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers are a perfect 10.

And they’re also once again No. 1 in the latest AP Pro32 poll.

The Steelers improved to 10-0 for the first time in franchise history with a 27-3 rout of the one-win Jacksonville Jaguars.

Pittsburgh received 10 of the 12 first-place votes for 382 points in balloting yesterday by media members who regularly cover the NFL. And the Steelers have a quick turnaround as they’re scheduled to host the rival Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving night.

“After a layup win over the Jaguars, the Steelers can take another decisive step forward with a win over the Ravens and keep an eye on winning the allimportant No. 1 seed in the AFC,” Newsday’s Bob Glauber said.

The Kansas City Chiefs, who are coming off a 35-31 win over Las Vegas, stayed at No. 2 in the poll. The Chiefs earned the remaining two first-place votes for 374 points.

And even without Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints remained at No. 3. Backup quarterback Taysom Hill led the Saints to a 24-9 win over the Atlanta Falcons. The 41-year-old Brees is out at least two more games because of fractured ribs.

“Taysom Hill better than expected and defence improving in all facets,” Fox Sports’ John Czarnecki said.

The Los Angeles Rams climbed four spots to No. 4 after holding off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 27-24 win on Monday night. The Rams moved atop the NFC

fired as coach of Spain’s national team before the 2018 World Cup for taking a job with Real Madrid without telling the Spanish soccer federation.

Both Sevilla and Chelsea have 10 points in Group E, while Krasnodar and Rennes stayed at one point each after four matches.

GOAL MACHINES Haaland took his tally to 16 goals in 12 Champions League games in Dortmund’s 3-0 win over Brugge, while Jadon Sancho scored an eyecatching free kick to put the German side on course to qualify from Group F. Dortmund next faces second-placed Lazio on December 2.

Former Dortmund forward Ciro Immobile scored twice on his return from the coronavirus in Lazio’s 3-1 win over Zenit Saint Petersburg. Immobile has 46 goals

in 53 appearances in all competitions for Lazio since the beginning of last season.

Only Robert Lewandowski (68 goals) has scored more in Europe’s five top leagues over the same period.

Dortmund has nine points, Lazio eight, Brugge four and Zenit one.

FERNANDES KEEPS UNITED ON TRACK Bruno Fernandes scored two early goals in Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir, keeping the Premier League team on track to qualify from Group H. Fernandes might even have scored a hat trick, but he handed over spot-kick duties to Marcus Rashford, who had been brought down for the penalty, and the England forward converted to make it 3-0 at an empty Old Trafford. Daniel James scored the fourth as

United made up for its surprise 2-1 loss in Istanbul.

United now has nine points, three more than both Paris Saint-Germain and Leipzig.

A penalty from Neymar was enough for a nervouslooking PSG to scrape a 1-0 win against Leipzig, which wasted a number of chances to equalise.

PSG’s win gives it a better head-to-head record against Leipzig, thanks to grabbing an away goal from their previous game and not conceding any.

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(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack) West and into the No. 2 spot in the conference’s playoff race while the Buccaneers slid five spots to No. 10.

“The Rams reminded us that they’re one of the NFC’s best teams with back-to-back wins against Seattle and Tampa Bay,” said Jenny Vrentas of The Monday Morning Quarterback. “And this season, it’s (coordinator) Brandon Staley’s defense that is leading the way.”

The Buffalo Bills, who are coming off a bye, moved up one spot to No. 5.

In an unusual twist, three teams, each 7-3 on the season, are tied at No. 6: the

Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts. The Seahawks gained seven spots, the Colts jumped five places and the Packers slipped two places after Indy outlasted the Packers 34-31 in overtime on Sunday.

“If Philip Rivers keeps playing like he did against Green Bay, the Colts are a dangerous team heading toward the postseason,” said Alex Marvez of Sirius XM. The Tennessee Titans, tied with the Colts for the AFC South lead, also moved up five spots to No. 9 in the poll.

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PAGE 14, Wednesday, November 25, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Heat, Adebayo agree on five year, $163m extension FROM PAGE 16 in all three categories, until Adebayo. “They going to push you no matter what, whether you’ve got 160 M’s or you’ve got 1.5. We all get treated the same and that’s what I love about this organisation,” Adebayo said.

He told The Associated Press during the NBA’s restart earlier this summer at Walt Disney World that his lone financial goal is to take care of his mother, Marilyn Blount.

She raised him by herself in North Carolina, making about $15,000 a year from her multiple jobs and with them calling a

single-wide trailer their home.

“That competitive nature comes out when I feel like I’m playing bad and when things aren’t going right,” Adebayo said in the September interview with AP. “I think about how she fought through struggle. ...

“You see that for 18 years straight, you take that load on and

feel that responsibility. And my responsibility is to provide for my mom, and the best way to make sure I can do that is to help us win.”

His first plan: to buy his mom a house, wherever she wants.

“To know that she’s set for life is a real stress-reliever for me,” Adebayo said.

PELICANS ACQUIRE ADAMS AS FINAL PIECE OF 4-TEAM HOLIDAY DEAL

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer

NEW Orleans Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram heads to the basket during the first half against the Utah Jazz in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, July 30, 2020. Ingram - a restricted free agent - has agreed to a five-year, $158 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, said a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to the Associated Press yesterday on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been announced.

(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Agents: Brandon Ingram agrees to maximum deal extension with Pelicans

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Restricted free agent Brandon Ingram has agreed to a five-year, $158 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Ingram’s agents, Jeff Schwartz and Jordan Gertler of Excel Sports Management, confirmed the deal on Tuesday to The Associated Press.

Ingram is the NBA’s reigning most improved player after averaging a team-high 23.8 points in his first season with the Pelicans.

The 23-year-old Ingram, a 2016 second overall draft choice by the Los Angeles Lakers, was dealt to New Orleans during the 2019 offseason as part of a blockbuster trade that sent perennial All-Star Anthony Davis to the Lakers.

New Orleans also received guards Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, as well as multiple draft picks in that deal.

The 6-foot-7 Ingram this season developed into an effective and reliable scorer from the perimeter as well as on dribble drives.

He shot a career best 39.1 percent from 3-point range but also routinely finished above the rim in the

free-flowing, up-tempo offence the Pelicans ran last season under previous coach Alvin Gentry.

Now Ingram will play for new coach Stan Van Gundy, who said shortly after his hiring that viewed Ingram and Pelicans 2019 top overall draft choice Zion Williamson “two of the most unique young guys in the entire league.”

“There’s just a lot to build around there,” Van Gundy said.

This past season represented a personal triumph for Ingram on multiple levels.

Not only did he begin to fulfil the potential he was widely believed

to possess when he turned pro after starring at Duke, but he also made it through virtually an entire season after his last season with the Lakers had been cut short by a blood clot.

Ingram showed little interest in leaving New Orleans, saying, “I’m enjoying where I’m at,” when last season ended.

His decision allows him to continue to develop his game alongside Williamson and Ball.

The Pelicans this offseason also have made trades to acquire 7-foot centre Steven Adams and guard Eric Beldsoe.

VETERAN 7-foot NBA centre Steven Adams has agreed to a two-year extension with the Pelicans following his trade to New Orleans as part of a fourteam deal that also sent guard Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans to Milwaukee.

Adams’ extension is for $35 million, said a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because financial terms have not been announced.

The acquisition of Adams comes after Derrick Favors left New Orleans in free agency for Utah, where he’s spent much of his career.

Now the 265-pound Adams, known for his feisty play under the basket and aptitude for setting screens, will be creating room to operate on the offensive end for the likes of wing Brandon Ingram, forward Zion Williamson and guard Lonzo Ball.

Adams is a New Zealand native who has spent all of his seven NBA seasons in Oklahoma City, averaging 9.8, 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, a block and 0.9 steals during his career. The deal, which also sent guard Eric Bledsoe from the Bucks to the Pelicans, additionally provides New Orleans with Milwaukee’s first-round draft choices in 2025 and 2027, along with the right to swap first-rounders with the Bucks in 2024 and 2026.

Oklahoma City gets a future first round draft pick from Denver; guard George Hill from Milwaukee; and wing player Zylan Cheatham, guard Josh Gray, forward Darius Miller, forward Kenrich Williams, and two second round draft picks from the Pelicans.

The Bucks acquired the draft rights to Sam Merrill, who was picked 60th overall by New Orleans, as part of the trade, while Denver acquired the draft rights to R.J. Hampton, who was selected 24th overall by Milwaukee on draft night.

Milwaukee also re-signed guard Pat Connaughton Tuesday to a three-year deal worth nearly $16 million.

Elsewhere yesterday, veteran guard Wayne Ellington agreed to terms with the Pistons, according to Priority Sports.

TOKYO Governor Yuriko Koike arrives for a news conference in Tokyo yesterday.

(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

OLYMPICS from PAGE 16

Koike, to showcase their determination to pull off the games. Koike said widespread use of masks among the Japanese is one of most effective safety measures that have spared Japan from the high rate of infections that have taken place in the United States and Europe.

Many Japanese used them as “moral duty” in trying to cooperate in disease prevention efforts, she said.

The recent steady climb in cases, however, could call into question plans to hold the Olympics. Bach said “participants” and athletes would be encouraged to get vaccinated in order to protect the Japanese public, but it is unclear how that would be addressed if cases surge in the host country.

Koike has met with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to

discuss how to mitigate the recent resurgence of infections. Tokyo’s daily cases have also spiked in recent weeks.

Suga on Sunday announced a decision to partially suspend the government’s GoTo campaign that encourages travel and eating out with discounts to support the pandemichit businesses, after a wave of criticisms that his government was too slow to take steps despite experts’ repeated calls for government action.

Japan, during its sevenweek state of emergency in April and May, had nonbinding stay-home and business closure requests but still did better than many other countries. Japan had about 134,000 cases with nearly 2,000 deaths as of Monday, according to the health ministry. Tokyo, after topping 500 cases last week, reported 186 new cases yesterday for a total of nearly 38,200 cases.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, November 25, 2020, PAGE 15

BAHAMAS Professional Golfers Association executives Glenn Pratt, Chris Lewis and Keno Turnquest with a photo of the late Leroy “Roy” Bowe.

Golf pros invited to tee off in BPGA Championship THE Bahamas Professional Golfers Association is scheduled to host its 2020 National Championship at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island, November 30 to December 3.

All golf pros are invited to compete in the 2020 BPGA Championship. This event will be 72 holes with a tee-off at 12 noon on November 30.

The entry fee for members is $325 and for resident pros/non-members - $425.00.

There will be cash prizes and a Roy Bowe Championship Trophy.

For additional information, please contact tournament director Keno Turnquest at 242-457-1981 or Raquel Riley, newly appointed secretary, BPGA and co-tournament director at 242-812-5408, or by email - BPGA.exec@gmail.com For more information about the BPGA, please contact Chris Lewis at 242-727-1690 or by email at clewisgolfpro@hotmail.com

‘TIGER WOODS: AMERICA’S SON’ PREMIERES NOVEMBER 29

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer

A LOOK at Tiger Woods through the prisms of race and identity will be the subject of an of an ESPN documentary debuting later this month.

“Tiger Woods: America’s Son” will premiere on November 29.

The one-hour documentary explores the significance of Woods becoming the first Black golfer to win a major championship at the Masters in 1997 and how it changed

perceptions of him across racial and ethnic lines.

The documentary is the latest project from ESPN’s The Undefeated, which explores the intersection of sports, race and culture.

TheUndefeated.com launched in May 2016 to provide reporting and analysis centred on Black athletes as well as issues outside sports.

Director and producer Lauren Stowell said the original idea of the Woods documentary was to examine how his Masters victory impacted generations of

past Black golfers before it morphed into a larger examination of Woods’ own history with racial identity.

Stowell, a three-time Sports Emmy Award winner, also comes from a multiracial family. She said she could relate to Woods, whose father was Black and whose mother is Asian, trying to honour all sides of his family’s heritage.

“I think it’s an important time right now for this to air because I think it makes us kind of question what is it that makes us uniquely American,” Stowell said.

SPORTS PAGE 16

DIAMOND LEAGUE TRACK SERIES PLANS FOR 14 MEETS IN 2021

MONACO (AP) — The Diamond League track and field series will visit 14 cities in 2021 to rebound after the coronavirus pandemic limited the traditional meets this year.

Organisers said yesterday the series is scheduled to start on May 23 in Rabat, Morocco, take a one-month break for the postponed Tokyo Olympics, and end with a September 8-9 meet in Zurich. “The calendar is strictly provisional at this stage and remains subject to changes depending on the global health situation in 2021,” organisers said in a statement.

A meet on July 13 in London would be the last Diamond League stop before Olympic track events in Tokyo. The first post-Olympics meet is scheduled for August 14 in Shanghai. A second meet in China is scheduled for August 22 at a venue to be confirmed.

The only meet in North America is set for August 21 in Eugene, Oregon, at the revamped Hayward Field — the host of next world championships in 2022.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020

In Spain, Lashann scores 10 in loss

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

A

lthough her trek to Spain to begin her professional basketball career has not been a great one winning wise, Harbour Island native Lashann Higgs has been making the best of her appearances with the Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM. Higgs scored 10 points as Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM lost a close 54-52 encounter to Kutxabank Araski on Sunday, dropping their eighth straight game to post a 1-10 record in the Spanish League.

“I felt as if it was a solid performance. There were times when I should have been more aggressive and attacked the basket, but other than that, it was a decent game for myself,” Higgs said.

Despite their losing season, Higgs said there’s still a ray of hope for Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM. “I felt as if we had a good game.

There were a few times throughout the game that we made some mistakes at critical moments, but we played well together,” she reflected on their latest performance.

The 5-foot, 9-inch guard and Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM will be back in action on Friday when they take on Quesos El Pastor.

HARBOUR Island native Lashann Higgs scored 10 points as Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM lost a close 54-52 encounter to Kutxabank Araski, dropping their eighth straight game to post a 1-10 record in the Spanish League.

Hopefully they can get back on the winning track.

“My expectations for myself would be to be more aggressive throughout the entire game, but as for my team and I collectively, I would say if we can lessen the amount of mistakes we make and stay as focused as we possibly can,” she stated.

Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM will take a break until December 12 when they play the first of five games up to December 27.

After taking the Christmas break, Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM will return on January 3 to play their first game in the new year.

The regular season will wrap up on February 27.

“My team-mates and I are growing continuously. We just have to continue to work hard and put into action the amount of work we put in on our own and within the practice setting,” she pointed out. “We just have to translate it.”

The product of the Frank Rutherford Development Programme in Houston, Texas, who went on to attend Cedar High School and the University of Texas, has not had to worry about the translation of Spanish on and off the court.

“There are some people on the team that can speak both English and Spanish, so it isn’t as hard,” Higgs said.

What is hard is adjusting to life as a professional basketball player in Spain.

“My experience here so far is what I expected it to be with a few bumps here and there,” Higgs summed up.

“But that’s expected in any new place you live in.”

The 24-year-old Higgs certainly makes the best out of it.

SEE PAGE 13

TOKYO GOVERNOR: JAPAN CAN HOST THE OLYMPICS DESPITE VIRUS SPIKE

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike remains firm about being able to safely hold the Olympics next year despite growing concerns about Japan’s recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

Japan has experienced an uptick of the infections this month with a nationwide daily total exceeding 2,000 as the government tries to balance preventive measures and business activity without further hurting the pandemic-hit economy.

“As the host city, I’m determined to achieve the games whatever it takes,” Koike told a news conference in Tokyo yesterday.

Her comment comes a week after International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach’s visit to Tokyo, where he held a series of talks with Japanese Olympic officials, including

SEE PAGE 14

Heat, Adebayo agree on five-year, $163m extension

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo came to the NBA with the goal of providing for his mother and changing her life.

His first contract took care of that.

And the way he sees it, his next contract sets his family up for generations.

Adebayo and the Miami Heat agreed on a five-year extension that will be worth at least $163 million, the team and Adebayo’s agent Alex Saratsis said yesterday. The contract has not been signed and won’t be until Adebayo completes a physical, something that is likely to occur in the next few days.

It will be the richest contract in terms of total value in Heat history.

“This is an accomplishment I always wanted to

get,” Adebayo said. “Just being able to reach this milestone and being able to generationally change my family’s life and also take care of the people around me, it’s a big deal to me.”

Adebayo will make $5.1 million this season, the final year of his rookie contract.

From there, the extension will kick in with a starting salary of somewhere around $28.1 million for the 2021-22 season. And if he makes an All-NBA team or wins another top leaguewide honour this season, his annual salary would only rise more.

“It’s another challenge I’m willing to take on,” Adebayo said. “I’m all about helping this team win. If my individual accolades help, then I’m for sure in.”

The Heat had until December 21 to agree with Adebayo on an extension

MIAMI Heat’s Bam Adebayo (13) dunks during the second half in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, October 11.

(AP Photo/Mark J Terrill) this season, or else would have had to table the matter until next summer.

Miami has said the team’s intention was to give Adebayo a new deal — the question was only when. By waiting until next summer,

the Heat would have had more salary-cap flexibility.

They’ll still have plenty of space next summer, and the Heat have a history of swinging deals even when their spending power is limited.

In the summer of 2019, when Miami had no cap space, they found a way to secure Jimmy Butler — who wanted to come to the Heat, in part, because of the chance to play alongside Adebayo.

The 6-foot-10 Adebayo is coming off the best season of his career. He was an All-Star for the first time, won the skills competition at All-Star weekend, had the game-saving block of a Jayson Tatum dunk attempt in the final seconds of Miami’s Game 1 win over Boston in the Eastern Conference finals and made the NBA’s All-Defensive team.

Adebayo got hurt in the NBA Finals — a six-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers — as did Heat point guard Goran Dragic. Both are healthy now, and the Heat are bringing back much of the core from the team that won the East.

“I want to get back there and I want to do something special for the city,” Adebayo said, speaking Tuesday night at a Thanksgiving holiday giveaway where he was distributing turkeys to families.

When this deal is done, he’ll become the fourth member of the 2017 NBA draft class to secure a max extension, the others being Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Tatum.

Adebayo averaged 15.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists this past season.

Only one other player in the league had those numbers — two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, with whom Adebayo shares an agent. And no player in Heat history ever finished a season with those averages

SEE PAGE 14