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PLP PARTNERED TO STAGE CARNIVAL

FACE TO FACE: NIKKIAH’S ROAD TO THE FRONTLINE AGAINST COVID-19

- SEE PAGE EIGHT

Process defended as standard practice in raising party funding

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement Senator Maxine Seymour tabled a letter in the Senate yesterday that purports to show that the Ministry of Finance gave the Progressive Liberal Party temporary approval to import “equipment, apparatus, trailers and supplies” for the Christmas Carnival event.

The letter, which is addressed to PLP Secretary General Barbara Cartwright, comes after the

Ministry of Health denied the operator of carnival, Midways by McCafferty Enterprises, approval to have the event, citing COVID-19 related health concerns.

Political insiders have said it is not unusual for political parties to partner with the carnival operator to bring the event to the country. Both the PLP and FNM have apparently used the event as a party fundraiser although this is not generally known to the public.

POLYMER WARNS VAT COULD BE A DISASTER

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A FREEPORT manufacturer yesterday warned its competitiveness will be undermined, and presence in The Bahamas endangered, by VAT reforms that have seemingly removed its “zero rated” status.

Greg Ebelhar, Polymers International’s chief operating officer, said it is “not

‘COME ON FOLKS, GET YOUR BOOSTER’

SEE PAGE THREE

going to take this sitting down” given the inability to recover, or offset, its VAT “input” costs from January 1 - a significant cost increase for a business on relatively thin margins.

Disclosing the company has been unable to get clarity from the Department of Inland Revenue, he said: “If they keep adding taxes I might as well be in the US.” FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

A WOMAN arrives at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium to recieve a booster shot yesterday as shots are made available to all those aged over 18 for the first time. See PAGE FOUR for the full story.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

‘TIME LONG OVERDUE TO COOPER - LIKE FNM - HOPES ACT ON GENDER VIOLENCE’ FOR LUCAYAN DEAL ‘SOON’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net SENATE President LaShell Adderley says the time is now to enforce, amend and enact legislation to curb the scourge of gender-based violence in the country. “Enough is

enough,” she said yesterday.

While noting there had been numerous incidents that have “rocked the national psyche”, she said the issue must be met with robust, “pragmatic and common sense holistic legislation” that protects Bahamians.

SEE PAGE FIVE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the Davis administration is determined to fix the Grand Lucayan resort, adding an announcement on the beleaguered property will

hopefully be made soon.

As the Minister of Tourism, he promised to do all he can to ensure Grand Bahama becomes the events and entertainment capital of The Bahamas.

Mr Cooper and his wife were in Freeport on SEE PAGE FIVE

OLYMPIAN’S WAIT FOR HELP DRAGS ON

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

OLYMPIC Gold medalist Ramon Miller says he’s still facing the “dilemma” of needing infrastructure at his Tropical Gardens home two months after his problem attracted national attention.

“I am still in a dilemma and still in the hole,” Mr Miller said yesterday when asked if there had been any

RAMON MILLER change to his and his family’s predicament. “I just hope to get this situation

sorted out as best as I could, but nothing has happened yet.”

In October, The Tribune broke the news of Mr Miller’s unsuccessful attempts to gain infrastructure to his home that was built on land given to him by the government in 2014 after he ran the anchor leg for the men’s 4x400 metre relay team at the London games. Those games were held in 2012.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE THREE

PETER YOUNG: AFTER SCANDALS, IS THE CLOCK TICKING LOUDLY FOR BORIS? - SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Tuesday, December 14, 2021

THE TRIBUNE MISS Bahamas Universe Chantel O’Brian, who finished in the top ten at the pageant in Israel.

The nation salutes Queen Chantel

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net YOUTH, Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg has congratulated Miss Bahamas Universe Chantel O’Brian on making history by placing in the top ten at the Miss Universe pageant held in Israel.

In a statement, he said she has demonstrated an ability to be resilient and to cultivate creativity.

He was one of several people who have praised Ms O’Brian, with Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis issuing a statement on her achievement on Sunday night.

The Bahamas watched in awe on Sunday when Ms O’Brian not only placed in the top ten but also managed to walk away with the “Spirit of Carnival” award which goes to contestants who display the values of Carnival Cruise Lines - fun, friendship, diversity and

inclusion.

“We applaud Chantel for the grace that she exuded on the world stage among more than 70 competitors, her ability to be resilient, to embrace innovation and to cultivate creativity has ultimately led to the transformation in Bahamian pageantry for years to come,” Mr Bowleg said.

“Again, we extend a hearty congratulations to Chantel.

“It is with great pride and pleasure that we take this opportunity to congratulate Miss Bahamas Universe 2021, Chantel O’Brian on becoming the first Bahamian to make it to the Top 16 and to the coveted Top 10 in the 2021 Miss Universe Pageant held on December 12 in Eilat, Israel.

“Chantel was also awarded the Spirit of Carnival award, an award which is presented to the contestant who represents all the Carnival Cruise Line values: fun, friendship, diversity and inclusion.”

The beauty queen is the proud owner of P S O’Brian Consulting, a pageant, etiquette, runway coaching, and consultation agency.

This agency offers services in catwalk skills, media and public speaking training, platform development, marketing and branding and overall pageant consultation for individuals as well as pageant organisations.

She is also the co-founder of the Leading Ladies Project, a programme started in 2017 aimed to encourage, motivate, and inspire young girls in inner city communities to pursue their dreams and aspirations.

Mr Bowleg highlighted Ms O’Brian’s charitable works.

“In the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, Chantel

used her background in pageantry to raise funds as she founded Runway for Relief, a fundraiser fashion show which highlights Bahamian talents in fashion, beauty, art and music,” he said.

“During the pandemic Chantel launched The Final Crown, a faith, beauty, and inspirational platform and in April 2021 she hosted, ‘Perfection is a Myth’ a virtual confidence conference.

“Chantel fully embraces youth development as her platform and is a certified youth leader with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.”

In a statement issued on Sunday night, Mr Davis said Bahamians around the world were celebrating Ms O’Brian’s “historic achievement”.

“As a mentor and advocate for children’s education, she is an inspiration and role model for all Bahamians who strive for excellence. Tonight, we are so very, very proud of Ms Chantel O’Brian. Congratulations,” Mr Davis said.

Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard also extended congratulations.

“We are so very proud of 27-year-old O’Brian, who remains passionate about the environment and her work as an etiquette coach and mentor to young Bahamian ladies,” Mr Pintard said.

“She has clearly demonstrated on a world stage that she’s an exemplary young person who has inspired an entire nation, especially young Bahamian ladies. We wish her continued success and hope that greater support would be given to these ambassadors who bring global recognition to our country.”

PATIENT HELD AFTER ATTACK IN HOSPITAL A PATIENT was arrested after he attacked another patient at Princess Margaret Hospital on Saturday.

In a statement about the issue, the Public Hospitals Authority said that around 1am on Saturday, a male patient who was being treated for injuries was attacked by a second male patient who was accompanied by an uninjured male in the trauma area of PMH’s Emergency Department.

The attacker was restrained by Emergency Department staff, Royal Bahamas Defence Force officers deployed to the Emergency Department

and hospital security officers.

Two knives were confiscated, officials said. No other patients or hospital staff were physically injured as a result of the incident.

“The Public Hospitals Authority and the Princess Margaret Hospital are committed to always ensuring the safety of patients and staff,” PHA’s statement said. “Persons seeking care, services or visiting public hospital institutions are reminded that weapons are not permitted on hospital grounds and abusive or violent behaviour will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.”

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 14, 2021, PAGE 3

PLP partnered to stage carnival from page one How the operator brought in and set up its equipment without having final approval from the Ministry of Health to host the event has so far been one of the central mysteries of the controversy.

Joseph Alberts, manager and coordinator of the company, told reporters last week that his company will encourage the government to reconsider its decision, saying it will now “talk to other people in the political platform.”

On the weekend, the company confirmed in a statement it has submitted a new application to the Ministry of Health for approval.

Asked yesterday about the letter Ms Seymour tabled, Fred Mitchell, chairman of the PLP, said: “I’m advised that this is the normal practice with the importations with the carnival. I think the operators have to get various permissions and that is playing out in the press and in official bodies. It would (be) imprudent for me to go any further.”

The letter, which is not dated, was signed by Whitney Kenny “For/Financial Secretary.”

It says: “Reference is made to your correspondence dated October 28, 2021 in connection to the

subject matter as captioned (RE: Request for Temporary Import-Carnival Extravaganza 2021-2022).

“I am directed to advise that approval is granted to the Progressive Liberal Party for the temporary importation of equipment, apparatus, trailer and supplies for the Carnival Extravaganza of 2021.

“Approval is granted under the provisions of Section 186 of the Customs Management Act and Regulations 86 (i) and 94 (2) (b).

“The Bond requirement for customs is also waived in this regard. The Comptroller of Customs is advised by a copy of the communication.”

Yesterday, former Free National Movement State Minister for Finance Zhivargo Laing said political parties have partnered with carnival operators to host the event in the past and have likely reaped substantial financial benefits for doing so.

“The party in power tends to be involved and gets some financial benefit from it, that’s basically what I know,” Mr Laing said. “I thought (the financial benefit for a party) could be $200,000 plus, but I think it all depended on the economic circumstances of what they have in the projections of what carnival could do, but I have no definitive number on it.”

Mr Laing said there is nothing untoward about a political party partnering with an operator to host an event like carnival.

“Say carnival was never coming here and say some political operative took some interest in saying ‘you know, I understand there is a carnival that could be brought and I was speaking with a person and they would be prepared to do something for the party and so forth and so forth as a matter of course for facilitating them coming in’; it certainly doesn’t breach any law and I don’t know what the ethical dilemma would be for something that would bring employment, engagement, business licences and other taxes that have to be paid as per the law so what could be wrong with that?”

Mr Laing said to his understanding, permission for an operator to host the carnival is not contingent on their willingness to team up with a political party and give them money.

“I’m not the person with all the details and facts on that; I’m only going based on what I understood over time,” he said. “There are certainly people who have been around politics a lot longer who should be able to be much more helpful than I.” One former government minister told The Tribune

yesterday that normally the process for considering an application to host a carnival would begin when a letter is sent to the government.

“Cabinet would deliberate, inclusive of all the relevant ministries’ opinions,” said the former minister who spoke anonymously because he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

According to the former minister, an application would be sent to the Department of Immigration for temporary work permits for foreign workers; the operator would need to clear sanitation and environmental health requirements; they would have to submit and receive approval for health and safety protocols, including food handlers certificates; the Beaches and Parks Authority would have to approve the use of Clifford Park and collect the required fees; the Ministry of Works would certify technicians, the set up and safety of the rides and issue an operational certificate; and Bahamas Power and Light would also require proof of this certificate to provide power.

The former minister said the purported waiver of a customs bond in the current case is unusual because it deprives the treasury of tax revenue.

ONE of the carnival rides set up already this year.

OPERATOR TO SEEK JUDICIAL REVIEW IF GO-AHEAD NOT GIVEN

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BJORN Ferguson, the newly retained lawyer for carnival operator McCafferty Enterprises, suggested yesterday his client would seek judicial review proceedings in the Supreme Court if his application to host the Christmas Carnival event is not granted approval.

In a statement over the weekend, the carnival’s operators confirmed they have reapplied to host the event after the Ministry

of Health denied them approval last week.

Asked yesterday what he will do if the ministry again rejects the application, Mr Ferguson said: “I’ll take further instructions, but obviously it’s a public law matter and it falls under judicial review. We’ll have the courts review the decision... and to our minds we have satisfied what is required as per law and so we will allow the body to reconsider the application and then we will go from there.”

In rejecting the initial application, the Ministry

OLYMPIAN’S WAIT FOR HELP DRAGS ON from page one

The home was completed in 2018, but despite following all of the necessary procedures from before the beginning of construction, he told The Tribune he encountered “roadblock after roadblock” in getting the necessary infrastructure.

“When the story initially ran, a few persons from Water and Sewerage came and observed and also there were some persons from the Ministry of Works. And one guy from (Ministry of) Works came and updated me, but other than that I got second hand information that the funding had been approved, but other than that I tried to reach out to the relevant officials, including Minister (of Works) Alfred Sears, but I haven’t gotten anything from him for a while,” Mr Miller said yesterday.

“Of course it’s disappointing and constantly having to use the generator is tedious, but I have to do what I have to do. A lot of people have been asking, but nothing has (changed).”

Works Minister Alfred Sears did not respond to inquiries yesterday.

However, in November, Mr Sears said it would be “sooner rather than later” for approval to be granted to fund the placement of light and water infrastructure at Mr Miller’s home.

At the time, the minister suggested a Cabinet paper

for the funding for the work in the subdivision was completed, adding it was just a matter left to come up on the executive branch of government’s agenda.

Previously, the Olympian told this newspaper his situation had not been resolved despite him writing to former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for intervention. He said he also spoke to Dr Minnis in person on one occasion and had two in-person meetings with former Prime Minister Perry Christie.

Mr Miller said he was also in contact with former Works Minister Desmond Bannister.

He also reached out to both the Water and Sewerage Corporation and Bahamas Power and Light to have utilities put in place.

Due to this dilemma, he has had to have a water well installed and continuously runs a diesel generator at a cost of $250 per week.

It is a sacrifice he says he makes so that his children can do their assignments and his family is comfortable.

After Mr Miller’s difficulty came to public attention, The Tribune also reported the Golden Girls’ troubles with government-gifted land that has also been dragging on since 2002. Olympian Pauline Davis-Thompson described the situation as a “secret” kept under wraps to avoid embarrassing the government.

of Health said the operator failed to respond to its emails or answer its calls, among other things. Health officials also had concerns about social distancing and the fact that children under 12, who cannot get COVID-19 vaccines, would be a “vulnerable” group attending the event.

Mr Ferguson said he has since ensured officials that all the ministry’s concerns are addressed.

“The document we’ve submitted is very comprehensive,” he said. “We went above and beyond and put together real protocols for them to consider. You have a situation where a public body has now been formed through the Health Services Rules. They’ve basically brought in this new regulatory regime

where businesses and any events, they must apply to the advisory committee of the Ministry of Health for approvals. “(The operator) submitted some documents of his own. He’s connected to The Bahamas for over 30 years, he has a Bahamian company and so he just thought, I guess, everything is as normal, he didn’t have an attorney initially. I don’t think the ministry properly considered (his application) in any event because you can’t give a decision on it unless you come and do physical site inspections and all of that, those things did not happen. They just basically denied it on the face of the documents.

Even if we wanted to challenge that in court I think we would be successful on

that because it wasn’t properly considered.

“Having regard for the Health Services Rules, rule 25 in particular that addresses businesses, we have gone out over the weekend and we have basically developed a protocol document, a very extensive document. He has been operating in the US and in compliance with all the CDC requirements and everything so we’ve basically taken some of those requirements and also added the Bahamian requirements and I don’t see how they could not grant approval to the carnival. We want to make sure we are in compliance with everything under this regulatory framework.

We’ve done everything that they’ve asked for now.”

In its statement, McCafferty Enterprises said if its new request is denied, the company will lose a substantial investment.

“The amusement park did not come to The Bahamas last year as the country was not open for business,” the statement noted.

“McCafferty’s amusement park has been providing entertainment and employment for Bahamians for more than 30 years. The park employs about 1,000 Bahamians. If approved to open, the carnival will remain in the country until January 25. The amusement park has brought new rides, inclusive of the largest roller coaster that The Bahamas has ever seen. If denied, McCafferty’s substantial investment will go down the drain.”

PAGE 4, Tuesday, December 14, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

LOW traffic at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium as locals arrived to receive their booster shot.

Photos: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

First arrivals get their booster vaccinations

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net WITH booster COVID19 shots available to the general public 18 years and older as of yesterday, a number of people showed up at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium to receive a third dose of the vaccine.

Nakeisa MunningsHall, site manager at the Kendal G L Isaacs National Gymnasium, said there were more than 200 appointments booked yesterday along with dozens of walk-ins.

“We would’ve had about 200 plus appointments booked and on top of that we would have had persons walk-in as well,” she said.

She said the crowd has been mostly older people, since those 65 and older were the first group eligible for booster shots.

The most popular choice for a booster is Pfizer, she said, however Johnson and Johnson is allowed as a booster as well.

Asked why she decided to get a booster shot, Stephanie Smith said she has a 78-year-old mother and wants to protect her.

“I’m a social worker. I come in contact with a lot of persons in my ministry.

That’s to prevent further illness. I would prefer to take it, so it would not come into my family and reach my mother. I take care of her.

She has dementia also.”

The 53-year-old said she would like to socialise and to see her family together because she hasn’t seen them for about two years.

She added: “They live right in Nassau, my mummy, sisters, and we’ve been talking on the phone and on WhatsApp. “They are all up in age.

Just to be safe — and then I have a son coming from university. He got his booster shot also.”

The need to spend time with family is even greater as the festive season draws near and she envisions a holiday with her loved ones.

“We would all come together this Christmas and not to worry about the COVID variant Omicron — nothing. Jesus gives God thanks and praises.”

Keith Simms said safety was a concern for him in getting the booster. He wants to keep himself safe and also those who are around him. He also has pandemic fatigue.

“I’m tired of the pandemic and I think this is one of the only ways that we can get ourselves back

35-YEAR-OLD Keith Simms speaking to the media outside of Kendal Isaacs Gym. to some sort of normalcy,” the 35-year-old told The Tribune.

He said he had the virus in the past and he does not want to contract it again.

“My experience with COVID - minimum symptoms. Just like a bad cold.

I don’t want to go through it again but it wasn’t that

bad,” he said.

Yesterday also marked the start of a monetary incentive for the jab. People who receive their first vaccination shot between December 13 and December 31 will be eligible to win a $25,000 cash prize. There are also weekly prizes of $500.

Ms Munnings-Hall pointed out only a few persons asked about the incentive programme yesterday.

“The majority of persons (who have come) in would’ve been for booster shots. However, we did have a few persons who would’ve come for their first dose and

did inquire about the incentive programme.”

Asked if there was a large increase in the number of people coming in for their first jab, Ms Munnings-Hall replied: “As it stands, the numbers are pretty much are kinda the same. The majority of persons are coming back for boosters.”

MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR OTHERS THIS CHRISTMAS

By TANYA SMITHCARTWRIGHT tsmith-cartwright@ tribunemedia.net

TWO local charities are calling on the public to assist them to make certain that those for whom they care feel loved during the upcoming Christmas season.

Heads of Bahamas Red Cross and the AIDS Foundation, Terez Curry and Lady Camille Barnett respectively, reaffirmed the need for donations to make their organisations run properly and fulfil their purpose of helping those who need help.

Mrs Curry, president of the BRC, said donations are always needed and told The Tribune of a new form of fundraising for her organisation during a time when large gatherings are not allowed.

“We are always in need of donations,” she said.

“Our financial sustainability continues with the various programmes that we are running and so we are humbly asking the Bahamian public for assistance.

“Before the end of this week, we will launch our ‘Give $5’ donation campaign. We are asking persons just to give five dollars a month to the donation campaign that helps us with our resilience programme in building resilience to hurricane disasters, our climate change programme, our psychosocial support for persons who are facing mental health issues.

“We also need assistance with our legacy programme of our meals on wheels as we seek to

provide our Family Islands with their Christmas parcels. Donations are always needed.”

She said generally fundraising is always a challenge and now everything has to be done on a smaller scale.

“Donations continue to be a challenge for the nation as we know through this pandemic we were unable to have our usual fundraising activities,” she said. “We have done some smaller fundraising activities, but not anything that would have yielded the proceeds as we would have received from the larger ones.

“Fundraising is always a challenge. As we go through this pandemic we will continue to raise funds on a smaller scale, more frequently that will help us to remain viable and be able to provide the assistance that the general public needs. Particularly those who are most vulnerable in our communities across the country, not just in New Providence.”

The popular and historic Red Cross Fair was held at Government House every year in March. This had to be put off for two years in a row — 2020 and 2021 — due to the pandemic.

Mrs Curry said in view of the fact that the pandemic is still quite prevalent, there will be no fair in 2022 as well.

“We are not looking to have the fair next year as we don’t anticipate that we will be able to gather in such large numbers by March 2022,” she said.

“So even though it’s open air and we can put in the stipulations, I think that we want to be careful,

we want to ensure public safety and so we are not planning to have our fair next year.

“It is our hope that by 2023, we can come back in a big way with the fair in March and also in a big way with the ball in January. We are anticipating a smaller event for a ball around February, March, but certainly not on the level we are accustomed to. By 2023 we will be back as we see the tail end, hopefully, of this coronavirus.”

The AIDS Foundation’s priority is children who have either been born with AIDS, or somehow contracted it. Lady Barnett, president of the AIDS Foundation of The Bahamas, said in the shortterm what is needed right now for those children are Christmas gifts.

“We absolutely need Christmas gifts for our kids,” she said. “We have about 75 kids of different ages and we’ve been trying to see what we can pull together for them because it’s been a rough year for them, like everybody else.

“So we definitely need donations of gifts. It doesn’t have to be anything big.

They will be happy with whatever they receive.”

Lady Barnett wants the public to know how donations work for the AIDS Foundation and in what areas they are used.

“In terms of donations, one of the things we have been able to do is get specific donations earmarked for the work that we have to do,” she continued. “For example, we have a donation for groceries, because we have been providing groceries since March of

2020. We deliver groceries once a week to our families.

“We do that because when the kids were able to come to us for the afterschool programme that we ran, we gave them a hot meal and we felt that we should continue to feed them. They don’t need all grocery items so we supplement their grocery items.

“We have a partnership with the Greek Orthodox Church. They have a food kitchen called, ‘The Lord’s Kitchen’ and they give us hot meals every Friday which we take to our families.”

As mental health is very important to the AIDS Foundation, there is a donation specifically for psychological counselling that is ongoing.

Because of the confidentiality policy, the public is unable to see the children, however Lady Barnett itemised their ages and needs for those who want to purchase them gifts.

“With our kids we go up to 24 years of age because they are young people, but they still depend on us,” she said. “The ones from 13 to 24 we like to give them toiletries – basic things like deodorant and soap and toothpaste. The younger ones, we would like them to get some kind of a toy.”

There are 75 children in the care of the AIDS Foundation and their ages and gender are as follows: under one to two years old, three boys and five girls; three to five years, four boys and seven girls; six to 12 years, six boys and 11 girls; 13 to 18 years, nine boys and 18 girls and 19 to 14 years, eight boys and 15 girls.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 14, 2021, PAGE 5

‘Time long overdue to act on gender violence’ from page one “The continuous courage and fortitude demonstrated by vulnerable women who stand and say a resounding ‘no’ to the traumatic stress and pain of domestic violence must be supported by the enforcement of legislation policies and procedures to eradicate gender based violence,” Ms Adderley told the Senate in welcoming remarks to the Zonta Club, which is ending its 16

days of activism to end gender-based violence.

“The President of the Senate and the Senate body as a whole denounces and stands in complete and total solidarity against any form of violence and in particular domestic violence against elderly women, children and marital rape.

“When passing or creating legislation, the Senate body must ensure that the gender-based violence scourge facing our nation is

addressed with robust pragmatic and common sense holistic legislation, which is buttressed by policy initiatives that protect Bahamians.

“The empowerment of women cannot be exclusive to or solely focused on socio-economic celebratory accomplishment but must equally include the provision of practical and efficient safety nets for the vulnerable.

“The status quo must be

challenged and changed for the better.

“I submit that we must move swiftly. The many victims who now lay in their cold graves did not have the luxury of time and neither do the emotionally, physiologically and mentally devastated survivors and their families. The best time to act to enact, amend and enforce legislation is now for enough is enough.”

She noted that instances of domestic violence

had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and praised the Zonta Club for its activism work.

“With the objective of ending domestic violence generally and in particular against women and children, the Senate body congratulates the Zonta Club for exercising its best efforts to orange The Bahamas and to also orange the Senate.

“In so doing, their focused initiative has

brought awareness and sensitivity to the basic human rights issue facing our nation.

“The Zonta Club has positioned itself as a powerful voice within the public domain calling for an end to domestic violence.

“In this regard the Senate body extends to president Mason Smith and members of the Zonta Club heartfelt appreciation for your unselfish advocacy and patriotic determination.”

THE GRAND Lucayan Resort.

COOPER - LIKE FNM - HOPES FOR LUCAYAN DEAL ‘SOON’ from page one

Saturday at the Bahama Brass Band Sounds of Harmony 8 concert at the Grand Lucayan. The event was held under the patronage of Mr Cooper, who brought brief remarks.

“It is delightful to be here at the Grand Lucayan. In my appointment, the Prime Minister said you know you are a businessman, if anyone can fix it, you can.

So, we are endeavouring to fix the Our Lucayan Resort.

“Hopefully, we will make some announcement soon.

We will do whatever is necessary to ensure we are back in business at Our Lucaya (Grand Lucayan).”

In 2018, the Minnis administration purchased

the property for $65 million from Hutchison Whampoa.

Prior to the general election, it had allocated more than $3 million in subsidies in the 2021-2022 budget for the property.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and the ITM Group had signed a Heads of Agreement in March 2020 for a joint venture purchase and redevelopment of the hotel. This also included redevelopment of Freeport Harbour. However the deal has not yet been finalised.

Mr Cooper said Saturday’s event brought a spirit of hope to the island.

“I come from Ragged Island where I opened an airport terminal, and I said it was a signal of hope and restoration after being devastated by Hurricane Irma.

You have had your share of bad experiences with hurricanes right here in Grand Bahama.

“I like to say this event is a signal of hopefulness. I feel a spirit of hopefulness and renewal, and I congratulate you for holding this event here today.

“I think this is good for Grand Bahama; it is a signal we are open for business here in tourism. I note your theme…tells me there is a vision that Grand Bahama will be the religious tourism capital of our country.”

He said it is also a signal that “the groups and events and weddings and all of those things” that Grand Bahama has been known for is coming back.

“It is a signal that God has not forgotten you,” he

said.

He indicated the Ministry of Tourism will work to strengthen the island’s tourism product in the east and west.

“We will bring the charm and the heritage; we will strengthen and deepen the product here. Minister Moxey likes to call Grand Bahama the events and entertainment capital of The Bahamas. As minister responsible for tourism, I will do all in my power to make it so.”

Mr Cooper congratulated the Bahama Brass Band for its years of entertainment in The Bahamas and abroad.

He commended Pastor Barry Morris for organising the event.

“It’s been almost 100 years the Bahamas Brass

Band has been delighting the world, not just The Bahamas, but the legacy, accomplishment, and achievement of the band is legendary.”

“You have brought leadership to music. We are only 50-years-old, and the PM formed a secretariat for our 50th anniversary, and we are going to ensure that the BBB plays a pivotal role in this celebration.”

Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey said the band has positively influenced and changed the trajectory of the lives of hundreds of young men in the community while travelling throughout The Bahamas and countries around the world spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ through music.

“I am excited about this religious tourism Initiative, which has attracted domestic and international tourists to the beautiful shores of Grand Bahama and aligns with the Davis/Cooper administration’s plans to create a robust economy for our island with emphasis on culture and entertainment, as outlined in our Blueprint for Change,” she said.

Ms Moxey said the Bahama Brass Band was created to fill a need for a music ministry in the Church of God of Prophecy. It was assembled on New Providence in 1925 and on Grand Bahama in 1956 in the original city of Pineridge and it has been a powerful ministry and unstoppable force during its 96-year life span.

PAGE 6, Tuesday, December 14, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

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Published daily Monday to Friday

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A Christmas party for the party in power A NEW twist on the Christmas Carnival saga emerged yesterday – that the request for temporary approval to bring in equipment, apparatus, trailers and supplies for the event came from no less than the Progressive Liberal Party.

With that knowledge in mind, let’s flash back to some of the comments earlier in this debacle.

After a representative of the carnival said that Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis gave them permission to hold the event, Press Secretary Clint Watson dismissed that as “absolute nonsense”.

He went on to say: “The Prime Minister has never spoken about this issue, neither has he been involved in this issue.”

That would be the Prime Minister who is also the leader of the party that requested the approval.

Mr Watson went on to say: “The Prime Minister does not approve carnivals coming into the country.”

Again, it seems the PLP was involved in this process – so why did Mr Watson not avail himself of the opportunity to tell the public how closely involved with the organiser the ruling party was?

Meanwhile, the Health Minister, Dr Michael Darville, was busily saying approval had not been given to date.

Then came the news the ministry had rejected the request.

It’s all a bit of a tangled web.

Now, it seems that both the PLP and the FNM have used the carnival as a party fundraiser, although this is not generally known to the public.

Asked yesterday about the letter showing the PLP’s request for approval, party leader Fred Mitchell promptly buried his head in the sand saying it would be “imprudent for me to go any further”.

Former FNM State Minister for Finance Zhivargo Laing said that political parties have partnered with carnival operators in the past.

He said: “The party in power tends to be involved and gets some financial benefit from it, that’s basically what I know. I thought (the financial benefit for a party) could be $200,000 plus, but I think it all depended on the economic circumstances…”

Mr Laing said there was nothing untoward about such a partnership – but if that is the case, why is it not common knowledge?

You have an instance where a foreign company is coming in to host an event that will financially benefit the party in power which is being asked to give its approval. On the face of it, that doesn’t look good. When you add it being kept quiet from the public, it looks even worse.

The party in government shouldn’t really be in the position of organising events to financially benefit itself that it has the final say on whether it goes ahead.

It is hard to imagine a firm line between the party as applicant and those aligned with the party in a position to approve or reject.

Think of what Mr Laing says – that it is the party in power that tends to be involved. Not a single party, not a particular entrepreneur, rather the carnival has become a Christmas pass the parcel for whoever is in charge.

And yet the most curious thing of all given this apparent connection is that the event didn’t get the go-ahead after all. We wonder how Dr Darville’s department’s ruling is being taken by those parts of his party that will now be left out of pocket.

Whatever deal linked the operators to the PLP, neither side will be making any money if the event doesn’t proceed.

In yesterday’s Insight, it was suggested that the government should publish all of the communications in relation to the approval or rejection of the carnival.

The revelation that the party in power is involved in bringing the carnival to the country only furthers the need for that transparency.

What was promised in terms of payments to Customs, the price of work permits and so on? We hope too that this foreign company followed all the appropriate US regulations, especially if it has partnered with a political party on this and perhaps other occasions.

The Christmas Carnival situation was already a mess – without clearing everything up, it just might become a scandal.

Health visa decision EDITOR, The Tribune.

WHEN I read yesterday in The Tribune of Tourism Minister Chester Cooper’s refusal to remove the Health Visa for overseas visitors my initial reaction was “What a disaster - it takes my breath away!”

As the owner of two travel agencies in suburban Toronto, Canada, and being of Bahamian ancestry our staff have always promoted The Bahamas and this has been successful. The direct nonstop flights from Toronto had made it easy to sell trips to you. However, all of that has changed. We now have very little interest in Bahamian vacations.

Some of that has, of course, been the aversion and inability to travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cruise bookings have also

collapsed.

However, your Government has made it far too difficult to enter The Bahamas. The Health Visa is expensive and requires too many hassles to complete and the uncertainties concerning confirmation to travel have caused some of the few trips we have sold to be cancelled. Expensive Health tests to return to Canada worsen the situation. We can book to other countries with minimal problems.

We were told the Visa was for health safety. Then the Visa was removed for some cruise ship passengers. Now residents do not need the test. The only reason remaining we are told is to get marketing information and get money from people just to enter The Bahamas. Over

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

all the years the Tourism Ministry received personal details on the entry cards required for Immigration on arrival. I just cannot understand from a business point of view how your Government could justify measures which turn people away and cause economic problems by depressing tourism. When I was young Air Canada had flights to very few southern destinations.

Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica and Barbados were the only places served.

Now there are more Canadian airlines and they fly to dozens of locations. Your competition has become fierce. I would have thought you would be making a great effort to encourage more tourism rather than turning people off by harsh measures. The Health Visa has to be abolished before we can ever return to the high level of bookings we previously had for Nassau and the Out Islands. It is a very regrettable situation.

DAVID RUSSELL JOHNSON Canada, December 10, 2021.

Corporate and govt partnership EDITOR, The Tribune.

I WAS pleased to see and hear about the roll out of a financial motivational lottery for unvaccinated Bahamians who volunteer to receive their first jabs this month. This is wonderful news and a great holiday gift from The Fox Foundation and its Board of Directors/Trustees. It is vital that all Bahamians should be vaccinated against the worst ravages of the ongoing pandemic if we are to successfully reopen the economy.

It is also very dangerous and unfair to allow unvaccinated individuals to mix and mingle with the vaccinated

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net general population and visitors. There is too much at stake and it is mandated that we do all to ensure that the maximum number of Bahamians get over what might be the hesitant and reluctant attitudes.

Money is a great motivator, especially with the holiday season upon us. I don’t know about you all but my own non-profit, Common Cause could use that grand prize of B$25,000. Imagine the holiday cheers and other goodies that even a B$500

winning would be appreciated. In addition, persons taking the first dosage of their vaccine of choice, are eligible to have their names selected electronically.

The Fox Foundation has always played an integral role in the communities, throughout the years, but especially around this time of the year. This corporate/government partnership is just what the doctor (not Minnis) ordered. On behalf of myself and Common Cause we thank all of the parties who made this a reality.

Happy Holidays to all!

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, December 11, 2021.

IMF and taxation EDITOR, The Tribune.

WITH regard to the article which appeared in your paper on Friday, Mr James Smith is quite correct in saying that we should not be led like blindfolded sheep to the slaughter by the tax-loving, socialist leaning IMF. What does, however, need challenging in the otherwise excellent article is the false

narrative that the current Business Licence regime is widely disliked and should be replaced. It is in fact the only practical way to ensure that all businesses pay their fair share. While a tax solely on profits sounds more reasonable it is not in fact so – companies could and would simply use creative accounting to show either very small profits or none at all, and thus pay minimal tax.

As for “penalising the likes of food stores and gas stations”, well boohoo. The monopolists who run the food stores and continue to bleed poor Bahamians do in fact need either much more competition or their own special tax on their massive profits.

AEQUITAS Nassau, December 13, 2021.

Banking services EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS WE come to close of a very difficult financial year certain of our banks are celebrating operating here for some years. One would have thought as part of their celebration high on their list to do would be: How can we improve customer relations, but, no, hell bent instructed from Ottawa reduce our services make it more and more impersonal and clap our hands and slap our backs – job well done.

What’s good in Ottawa or Toronto Bank officials just may not be good for Nassau, and let alone the special treatment the

islands need.

No one bank removes and refuses to reinstate the $20.00 bill in ATM change they have or refuse not to recognise the issues that this creates... as simple as buying a $30.00 pizza presenting a $100.00 bill makes it difficult for the pizza store, but imagine the Mom and Pop they have to keep more change in their stores.

Islands a total disaster as ATM’s are the sole source for cash — sole as in only.

Now one celebrating 50 plus years announces the day before closure of branches... Boy, no one thinks of the negative proClear indication Ottawa don’t care.

Once upon a time high on the services of banks was and they took pride in it to excel was personal service — today it seems it is a no-no hell why give that.

This new digital dollar thing... Did the Central Bank under estimate or didn’t estimate how few people on the islands actually have bank accounts — a prerequisite to transfer money to the digital wallet?

Hmm Central Bank rolling in the fame from outside the country but the reality.

Annoyed customer.

K THOMPSON Nassau, December 3, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 14, 2021, PAGE 7

Bain insists he will appeal after being ordered by court to pay woman $64,000

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

COALITION of Independents leader Lincoln Bain yesterday repeated his determination to appeal a court ruling that ordered him to pay $64,000 to a woman after finding he did not invest or return the money she wanted him to hold in a trust for her for three years.

He spoke about the matter at a press conference at the COI’s headquarters repeating his decision to appeal which he first told The Tribune last week.

Mr Bain said despite the ruling, he is receiving support from his party.

COI deputy leader and attorney Maria Daxon believes there were “a lot of inconsistencies” in the case that were not addressed.

“Looking at all of these inconsistencies — judge ruling and the evidence that Mr Bain presented — we would’ve advised Mr Bain to appeal this ruling. It is up to him whether he’s going to appeal or not,” she said.

In deciding the case, Justice Cheryl GrantThompson found that a witness Mr Bain brought was not credible after the man testified that he had forged Mr Bain’s signature

LINCOLN BAIN, leader of the Coalition of Independents, alongside deputy leader Maria Daxon yesterday.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff on the agreements solidifying the transaction between Mr Bain and the plaintiff.

The plaintiff in the

Supreme Court matter, Zinnia Rolle, claimed two agreements were breached, one dated April 20, 2010

and another executed on April 23, 2010.

Mr Bain is the first defendant in the matter

and Bani Shoe Warehouse is listed as the second defendant.

For his part at the press

conference, the party leader highlighted a series of email correspondence and his arguments to support his position.

“We are looking to appeal and make a final decision once we talk to our attorneys. It is our plan to appeal this,” he added.

Asked what impact the court’s judgement had on him as leader, he replied: “I have met with the executives of the organisation.

They have gone through the facts of this because I am very open and everyone in the organisation will tell you that I’m very open and transparent. I let them see everything and, on seeing this, it was even hard getting past the email. They decided that there’s something more to this.

“They decided that they will support me. As our deputy leader said a minute ago, they’re gonna stand with me on this and I’m gonna stand with this. If in the end the courts say I have to pay someone, I’m gonna pay them. That’s no problem.

The court has the final say.”

At the end of the day, he said the issue boiled down to a “business dispute”.

“There is no leader in this country, political leader, who has not had some kind of lawsuit,” he said.

US MAN SAYS VISITORS GAVE HIM MARIJUANA, JUDGE GIVES HIM FINE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN American caught trying to travel with marijuana that he claimed was given to him by other visitors while staying at a local resort was fined $500 yesterday.

Steve Chokpelle, 28, was arrested after officers found 17 grams of marijuana among his belongings when they searched his luggage at Lynden Pindling International Airport on December 10.

The court was told that after the drugs were found, Chokpelle was taken to the Drug Enforcement Unit and during his interview with police, he admitted to

the offence.

The prosecution said Chokpelle told police the drugs were for his personal use.

During his hearing before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis, the 28-year-old pleaded guilty to possession of dangerous drugs.

When given the opportunity to speak, Chokpelle told the court he did not know marijuana was illegal in the country and said he received the drugs while staying at Baha Mar. The 28-year-old said he was staying at the resort on a one-day business trip with his client, American singer Sean Kingston, who, he said, performed there last Thursday.

Chokpelle said after the show ended, the group went to SLS Skybar and were offered drinks and marijuana from some other American visitors who were at the bar.

Chokpelle told the court he took the “weed”, assuming it was legal based on conversations he had with local taxi drivers and apologised for his actions.

“I apologise. I was here for one day. I would never disrespect the country. I travel for work and I hope y’all can forgive me,” he said.

In response, Magistrate Rolle-Davis ordered for the drugs to be destroyed and subsequently fined Chokpelle $500.

In a separate matter,

Edson Joseph, 25, also appeared before Magistrate Rolle-Davis after he was found with five grams of marijuana on December 9.

The prosecution said that around 5.30pm that day, officers in the area of Robinson Road observed a Suzuki and beckoned for the driver to stop.

The court was told that officers conducted a search of the vehicle after smelling a strong scent of marijuana emanating from the vehicle.

While searching, officers found five clear plastic bags containing suspected marijuana in Joseph’s pocket.

The defendant was subsequently arrested, cautioned and taken to the nearest police station.

During his interview with

police, Joseph admitted having the drugs, which had an estimated street value of $25, for his personal use.

During the hearing, the 25-year-old also confirmed this, telling the court he used the drugs to cope with depression as life had thrown him some “unexpected curveballs” over the last two years.

When asked to elaborate on this by the magistrate, Joseph spoke of his family’s difficulties in finding work in New Providence after relocating from Abaco following Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

“Since we came back to Nassau… no one was working. Everyone was hustling trying to put food on the table and that’s just how

it started and ended up to this,” he said.

The 25-year-old also went on to describe himself as a non-violent person who stayed out of trouble.

Asked if he was currently employed, Joseph said he was trying to learn a trade.

In response, Magistrate Rolle-Davis told him to stop using drugs, adding drugs will not make his problems go away.

However, the magistrate said he took into consideration that he had pleaded guilty at the onset of the hearing and subsequently placed him on probation for a year.

Failure to comply with the conditions of his release would result in a $250 fine or three months in prison.

MAN DENIES DECEIVING POLICE BY GIVING FALSE NAME

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 38-YEAR-OLD man was remanded to prison yesterday after being charged with unlawful possession and deceit of a public officer.

Presley McKee was arrested after he was found with a bag of cement on December 9, which officers had reasonable suspicion to believe had been stolen.

The court was told that around 5.20 am that day, officers were on mobile patrol in the area of Cowpen Road when they observed McKee walking down the street with a bag of cement.

Officers subsequently approached the accused and questioned him about the bag of cement.

However, the court was told McKee gave an unsatisfactory account as to how the bag came into his possession.

While being questioned, police also said McKee deceived them by giving a false name.

During his hearing before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis, the accused pleaded guilty to the offences.

However, when given the chance to speak, the 38-year-old told the court he never lied to police and said the name he gave to officers was what he was known by.

“I never gave them no wrong name or nothing,” he said, adding that the officers just wanted to see him placed behind bars.

Asked by Magistrate Rolle-Davis what his real name was, McKee initially listed several different names, including the one he gave to officers the night of his arrest.

However, when pressed on the issue, the 38-year-old told the court his real name was “Presley”.

In response, Magistrate

Rolle-Davis asked him if had any documents to verify the matter, but McKee said he did not.

As a result, the magistrate deferred sentencing until Thursday and McKee was remanded to prison in the interim. The court was also told McKee had previous convictions.

Also appearing before court on similar charges yesterday was 31-year-old Raynaldo Rolle.

Rolle was charged with deceiving a public officer after police found that he gave them a false name when they searched him on December 11.

The prosecution said when officers stopped and searched Rolle he told them his name was Rashard Richardson.

While conducting their checks, officers found there were several outstanding warrants for Richardson in their system.

Rolle, who was believed to be him, was subsequently arrested.

MAN ACCUSED OF RAPING TEENAGER

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 22-YEAR-OLD man accused of raping a teenaged girl earlier this month was remanded to prison

yesterday. Keith Barr Jr, appeared before Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, yesterday faced with one count of rape.

It is alleged that on December 5, he raped an 18-year-old girl.

Due to the nature of

the charge, Barr was not required to enter a plea and the case was adjourned to February 28 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment.

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

ROBBERY SUSPECTS REMANDED TO CUSTODY

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

TWO men accused of robbing a man with a knife earlier this month were remanded to prison yesterday.

Calvin Johnson, 35, and Revaldo Pierre, 19, stood before Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis, charged with armed robbery after police said they used a knife to rob Edward Smith of $250 cash and $168 Samsung phone on

December 3.

During yesterday’s hearing, the two were not required to enter a plea to the charge and the matter was adjourned to January 31 for a service of voluntary bill of indictment.

However, after the accused was transported to the police station, officers then discovered his real name.

During yesterday’s hearing, Rolle admitted to the offence and apologised for his actions.

Rolle told the court the name he gave police was his cousin’s own, adding he did so out of fear of losing his job. “(My boss) told me that any mix up with the law will cost me my contract,” he said.

Rolle was subsequently placed on probation for one year.

However, Magistrate Rolle-Davis warned him if he breached the conditions of his release, he would spend three months in prison.

PAGE 8, Tuesday, December 14, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Nikkiah’s road led to her being in the frontline in the fight against COVID M ANY years ago, a wonderful little food store with family charm and great prices was located on the corner of Market and Quakoo Streets. Utoy’s Food Mart was special. It was owned by Eustan and Mary Forbes.

A charming couple, the Forbes were hands-on with their business. They served you themselves and they always took an interest in their customers. When I was a youngster, they showed genuine interest in my success and encouraged me in my pursuits. When I began having children, they continued to encourage me as they watched me grow and mature. They extended these virtues to the entire community. They never acted like it was too many people to get to know, or show care and concern for. This made Utoy’s special – a place to not just buy a necessity, but also to get a little dose of love – something we all need in life.

Eustan is a native of Long Bay Cays, South Andros. He met and married the love of his life, Mary. A first-generation Bahamian, Mary’s parents were Chinese, and they owned a restaurant that was at Utoy’s location.

Together, Eustan and Mary raised their children Nikkiah and Damian with love and with that same respect for others and community spirit.

Nikkiah says her parents are “the most decent people who believe in doing the right thing all the time – dedicated, committed, caring people” who have helped mould her into the person she is today.

Indeed, the Forbes have a lot to be proud of, as their daughter has found her own way to be of service to the community.

Since she was a little girl, she always wanted to help her family if one of them got injured or sick. This natural inclination for caring for others grew into a clear vision for her future. Nikkiah

LEFT: Dr Nikkiah Forbes

FAR LEFT: Dr Nikkiah Forbes and her daughter, Lauren.

BELOW LEFT: Dr Nikkiah Forbes (left) at Princess Margaret Hospital, where doctors battle daily to save lives, including those infected with COVID-19.

BELOW: Mr Eustan and Mrs Mary Forbes, Nikkiah’s parents.

decided she wanted to be a doctor.

She schooled at Queens College from grade one straight to grade 12. She took her GCEs and did well in all the sciences, setting her on a path to make her dreams come true. After graduating, she spent two years in tertiary education at the College of the Bahamas before going off to Barry University in Florida to continue to pursue her dream. She graduated from Barry with a Bachelor’s degree in PreMed and Biology, with a minor in Chemistry. Then, it was on to medical school.

Nikkiah attended the University of the West Indies’ St Augustine’s campus in Trinidad before returning to the Bahamas to complete her internship at the Princess Margaret Hospital. This is where interning doctors get their feet wet in the field, working all of the wards in the hospital and getting a true and practical feel for the profession before their year is up. After this period, Nikkiah

had to decide which area of medicine she would like to specialize in. She chose internal medicine, then began her six-month period in supervised training. Internal medicine deals with complex problems in all organs.

In this specialty, physicians apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to diagnose and treat people with a very broad range of health concerns and diseases. When Nikkiah was assigned specifically to infectious diseases, it piqued her interest. She found an area of medicine where she wanted to make a difference.

“Princess Margaret Hospital was a good training ground,” she said.

“I got a lot of practical skills. It equipped me for my specialization in infectious diseases. Internship was intensive and I had good medical training.”

She then returned to school, attending the University of the West Indies, this time at the Mona, Jamaica

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campus. There, she underwent rigorous training in her sub-specialty – infectious diseases. By the time Nikkiah returned home and began her Residency training, she was well-equipped for the task. Because she had spent time dealing with infectious diseases as an intern, the management and staff already knew her. They saw her passion and her concern for her patients. So, they called on her every week that clinic was held.

“I got all the infectious disease patients,” she said.

“I got better with practice, medical reading and expert training, with mentors like Dr Perry Gomez.”

Her mentors have made a major impact in her life. She learned from some of the best – people who exhibit high levels of leadership, managing medical teams and pushing their doctors to do and be their best.

When Nikkiah left UWI Mona, lecturers told her she had scored the highest passing grade ever of any fellow before her. It set the tone for what would be a successful career filled with helping the sick and the injured, just like she dreamed of when she was a little girl. Through a network of hospitals Nikkia trained around the world, including the Caribbean, South Carolina, and her last rotation – the University of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

Her efforts to help, heal and care for her patients did not go unnoticed. While in Toronto, she was asked to stay on and continue working there. But Nikkiah, with that sense of native community building that her parents have, landed back on Bahamian shores. At the time there was no Infectious Disease Specialist at the hospital, so her skills and talents were greatly needed. She is able to prescribe treatment, head to toe, for a wide variety of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms.

She works with resistant infections from viruses like HIV and Hepatitis, and emerging infections such as Chickengunya, Zika, and now COVID-19.

I spoke with her about the drive to vaccinate a larger portion of the population and why it is so important.

She explained that vaccinating the population helps to bring the virus under control.

“When COVID is out of control, the virus can change and become a variant that the vaccines don’t work as well on,” she explained.

“If we could get to the point to where most of the world is vaccinated, it would help to reduce the amount of COVID in the world, which reduces the chances of it mutating.”

Some ask why countries like Israel experienced a spike, even though at least 60 percent of the population had already been vaccinated.

Nikkiah pointed out that vaccination doesn’t absolve people from following health protocols. It’s still necessary to wear a mask, physically distance at least six feet from others, avoid crowds and so on. The spike, she said, occurred when new variants affect the population.

Israel, she explained, was not deterred by the spike, and continued its vaccination programme and administering boosters. Infection rates in that country are low once again.

With the internet right at our fingertips, much information – and also misinformation – is available.

Nikkiah encouraged those who may be hesitant to seek out the facts in order to protect their health.

“Not everything you hear or read is true,” she said, “and that’s in all areas of knowledge.”

“Make sure the information you get is cited in a reputable place. There are many persons purporting to be professionals. Seek out information from the Medical Council, the Medical Association of The Bahamas, the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control, and so on.

“Vaccination prevents hospitalization and death.”

Let that sink in… considering that more than 700 Bahamians have died as a result of contracting COVID-19 – a virus with a vaccine that helps to prevent hospitalization and death. Of those who died, the overwhelming majority were unvaccinated. In 2019, about 70 people died from HIV. When crime was peaking in The Bahamas, murder rates were still under 300. So, there’s a heavy weight that the pandemic has set upon this country. People Like Nikkiah are doing their part to help protect as many of their fellow Bahamians as possible.

As of December 8, 8.3 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. About 36.4 million doses are given daily around the world.

The majority of people who take the vaccine won’t have side effects, she said.

Roughly ten percent of them will have side effects that will go away in a couple of days.

The number of people who have adverse side effects are miniscule compared to the number of people who experience adverse side effects from Covid. About 12 cases in every million people may have an adverse effect to the vaccination. That should be compared with the statistics available concerning the effects of COVID-19:

10-40 percent of people experience blood clots; 7-28 percent have heart damage; up to 20 percent experience acute respiratory distress syndrome; it makes Diabetes much harder to manage; and has a worse effect on people with medical problems like high blood pressure. Forty percent of people who contract COVID-19 experience Longhauler Syndrome, experiencing persistent conditions long after they initially contracted COVID. Nikkiah also explained that RNA vaccines are not as new as some people think.

This new technology in science, designed to save lives, has been around and under research for many years.

They have been used in the fight against SARS, the virus that causes COVID-19, Zika, Rabies and even in cancer research.

While Nikkiah continues to work to educate the public and help her patients, she takes great pride in making a difference in policy. She is currently the Director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Ministry of Health, Consultant in Infectious Disease at the Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctor’s Hospital, and she is an Associate Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, School of Clinical Medicine and Research. She is also a member of the Pan Caribbean Partnership on HIV/AIDS. Nikkiah has been able to work with “an amazing team” of health professionals who have made a major impact on HIV/AIDS in the Bahamas. They have made such great inroads that today, many people are living and thriving, even with HIV in this country. She has been able to help make a difference in optimizing treatment for HIV/AIDS patients, ensuring that care is accessible and free for all, that high quality medicines are available, and helping to remove the stigma and discrimination. She and her team also helped push for the HIV Prep Pill to come to the Bahamas, making it the first English-speaking country in the Caribbean to implement it. It is a one a day pill used for HIV prevention for those most at risk of contracting the virus.

Of all her accomplishments, Nikkiah is most proud of raising her daughter, Lauren. She is emulating her parents’ values in a way that would set a good example for her daughter, and even for the younger doctors who are coming up like she did – with great aspirations to make a difference at home and in the world.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 14, 2021, PAGE 9

After scandal and blunders is the clock ticking loudly for Boris?

IN BRITAIN, it is said politicians as a species need to have the skin of a rhinoceros to thrive or even survive in the hurly-burly of their chosen occupation.

Politics at Westminster can be a particularly brutal business, not least in the bear-pit of the House of Commons with political adversaries physically facing one another across the chamber at relatively close quarters in a fearsome cauldron of noise and confrontation as emotions often run high. Prime Ministers - with their high public profile and vulnerability to attack not only from the opposition party but also from their own ambitious MP colleagues with eyes on the top job are under constant scrutiny and relentless pressure, and Boris Johnson is no exception.

Currently, it is no exaggeration to say he is under siege after a series of scandals rocked the Conservative Party. The last few weeks have been calamitous for him. Despite winning the 2019 election handsomely with a

thumping 80-seat majority, his handling of a series of crises and accusations of chaos and disorganisation at the heart of government in No 10 Downing Street has brought his personal stock tumbling down. He has managed to go from triumph to near-disaster. He is now being called by some a serial liar and his integrity and judgment have also been called into question. According to the latest

SOME critics of the Nobel Peace Prize maintain it is losing credibility.

They cite, among other controversial recipients, the then-President Obama who was awarded it in 2009 for his “extraordinary effort to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation” when at that early stage of his presidency he had not made any impact worthy of the award.

Nonetheless, there is no denying the continuing worldwide prestige and honour of Nobel Prizes that recognise excellence in a variety of fields. So, the sharing of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize between two well-known journalists has attracted much attention and publicity, not least because the last time it was awarded to a journalist was as long ago as 1935.

Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, who lead independent news outlets in, respectively, the Philippines and Russia, were awarded the prize at a ceremony in Oslo in October for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace”. In 2012, the former co-founded Rappler, an investigative journalism website critical of the Philippines government, while the latter was one of the founders in 1993 of the independent Russian publication Novaya Gazeta, one of the media outlets that does not simply follow the Kremlin line.

Journalists around the world have hailed this achievement by their two brave colleagues who have been subject to harassment and attack in their own countries but have had the courage to speak out in an era of increasing authoritarianism and tyranny - together with dissemination of endless

misinformation designed to manipulate people and control opposition to those in power.

Investigative journalism now seems to be under unprecedented global attack. It has become an increasingly dangerous occupation with more violations around the world of journalists’ rights and media freedoms. According to the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists, 45 writers and media workers have lost their lives this year while the number of journalists imprisoned around the world is on the rise, with 365 incarcerated in 2021 compared with 235 the year before. In the Philippines 22 have been killed since President Duterte came to power in 2016 while in Russia during the last 20 years six journalists from Novaya Gazeta have also died.

Maria Ressa has recently created a stir by speaking forcefully about the growth of authoritarianism, saying the greatest threat to democracy was “when lies become facts because that breaks our shared reality and allows the manipulation of the public”. She said that facts and truth are at the heart of solving society’s biggest challenges: “Without facts, you can’t have truth.

Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy and it is impossible to deal with the world’s problems”.

What telling words, indeed. As she says so dramatically, facts are facts and lies are lies but there is a constant danger of lies being regarded as facts.

Moreover, there is a growing tendency for beliefs and opinions to replace facts and truth; for example,

BRITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson giving an address to the nation at Downing Street, London, on the booster vaccine programme on Sunday.

Photo: Kirsty O’Connor/AP polls, some two-thirds of under real threat as a result even from being with family of growing resentment members as they lay dying voters no longer trust him.

Reportedly, over the among Conservative MPs from COVID. Mr Johnson’s general years Mr Johnson has had about the shambles of mismany sworn enemies inside takes, miscalculations and a handling of the pandemic the political establishment. lack of discipline at the very has also come under fresh But he is now said to be top of the government as it scrutiny. His critics say he has lurched from one crisis has allowed himself to be to another. steamrollered into unnecAs the Prime Minister’s essarily harsh restrictions grip on power weakens, by public health advisers some of the US mainstream these have included a series who will always err on the media which have turned of humiliating U-turns side of ultra-caution while into political platforms for together with, for example, it is his responsibility as expressing opinions as facts trouble over the illegality of leader to take into proper rather than practising real outsiders paying for redeco- account the whole picture journalism. rating his flat at Downing of the nation’s economy But cynics often say it is Street, his mishandling of and the effects on people’s not what actually happens recent Tory sleaze allega- lives. The new restrictions that matters but rather what tions and holding Christmas imposed last week because people think happens. They parties last year in viola- of the highly transmissible reckon the truly ignorant tion of his government’s variant, Omicron, are due are gullible and hence pre- own COVID-19 regulations to be debated in the House pared to believe anything if which he claimed had been of Commons today. There it is presented to them per- adhered to. Some people is the threat of a substansuasively since they do not may regard the latter as tial Tory rebellion with exercise critical judgment. trivial, but it has become some 60 of his own MPs Hence the importance of a matter of serious public voting against him since journalists sticking to the concern when ordinary they believe the governfacts because the pen is people were prevented by ment’s new proposals are a mightier than the sword the rules at the time from step too far in a society pro- and there is a need to be associating with others and tected by mass vaccinations on guard against propaganda which in the hands of those with ill intent is a dangerously effective tool.

That said, objective truth is often hard to determine other than being roughly defined as whatever is valid regardless of parameters or context - and for those interested in philosophical concepts of perception and reality that esoteric debate is never ending.

Notwithstanding all this, in practice it is incumbent on journalists to determine the facts and the truth as they see them. Press freedom is a key plank of democracy. It should enable people in the media to hold to account those in power and curb their excesses or any wrongdoing. But, of course, in the case of an authoritarian regime that is much more difficult if not impossible.

There is clearly widespread agreement that both Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov deserve much praise for their courageous stances as investigative journalists - and recognition of them as Nobel Prize winners will surely be a welcome tonic to their journalistic colleagues everywhere.

LAST week’s court hearing in London of the US appeal against the earlier blocking by a UK judge of the extradition of Julian Assange, co-founder of WikiLeaks, has brought this long running saga to public attention again.

The decision to prevent extradition - on mental health grounds and the risk of suicide if he were committed to a US prison - has now been overturned by the High Court on the grounds of US assurances about humane treatment of him. He is facing charges under the US Espionage Act over illegally acquiring and publishing a decade ago thousands of classified documents disclosing sensitive defence information.

News that he has recently suffered a mini-stroke, which his supporters claim was brought about by the stress of his continued incarceration in a

UK high-security prison and the prolonged uncertainty about extradition, could now produce fresh sympathy for him in some quarters, though public opinion in Britain about the seriousness of his actions has always been divided.

Assange’s supporters say he was “shining a light on all the corruption in the world” and exposing war crimes and other abuses carried out by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan; and they portray his treatment

by US and UK authorities as a blow to free speech and a free press since his activity essentially amounted to nothing much more than investigative journalism.

However, others regard such claims as baseless if not risible - since he is accused of proactively and systematically conspiring to hack into US military databases to acquire highly classified material and then

to publish such information that had been obtained illegally; and, by any reasonable yardstick, that goes beyond the bounds even of investigative journalism.

The issue remains whether it can ever be right or acceptable in a democratic society for a self-appointed body like WikiLeaks to determine what is in the public interest and thereby justify the theft and leaking of classified documents belonging to an elected government.

All that said, the punishment should fit the crime and everybody has the right to their day in court, until which time they remain innocent and should be treated humanely in accordance with the law - and the sad fact is many in Britain harbour doubts about the likely fairness of Julian Assange’s treatment in the US if he is eventually extradited there.

The Peter Young column

WORTHY WINNERS OF THE PRIZE

AND THEN THERE’S JULIAN ASSANGE

already administered. But he is expected to survive this vote since the Labour opposition will probably support him even though the Party is now calling him the “worst possible leader at the worst possible time” and unfit for office.

So, during such trying times the big question now is whether Boris Johnson can recover. Or could the increasing pressure lead to his political demise? He has alienated some of his own Party, Labour are now in the lead in the polls and his personal ratings are well down.

But he is well known for always bouncing back from political adversity and is a proven election winner so, in the words of one commentator, can he pull off another Houdini act of recovery?

Amid all this political turmoil, it was interesting to watch online last week what seemed like the normality of everyday business in the shape of the new Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, delivering a significant policy speech on foreign policy at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, also known as Chatham House. This was her first major speech in her new role. She emphasised her vision of a “confident, outward-looking, patriotic and positive future for the UK”, saying it was time for “Britain to be proud once again of who we are and what we stand for”. She stressed it was time to promote “the best of British business, culture and values of freedom, democracy and human rights around the world”.

Some say that projecting a strong global Britain in this way is linked to Ms Truss’ own political ambitions. But how reassuring her speech was as a sign of business as usual while the political infighting at Westminster continues to hit the headlines.

PAGE 10, Tuesday, December 14, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Aid groups struggle to help as violence in Haiti spikes PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Associated Press A SPIKE in violence has deepened hunger and poverty in Haiti while hindering the very aid organisations combating those problems in a country whose government struggles to provide basic services.

Few relief workers are willing to speak on the record about the cuts — perhaps worried about drawing attention following the October kidnapping of 17 people from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries — 12 of whom remain held hostage.

But several confirmed, without giving details, that they had sent some staff out of the country and have been forced to temporarily cut back aid operations.

Gang-related kidnappings and shootings have prevented aid groups from visiting parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and beyond where they had previously distributed food, water and other basic goods.

A severe shortage of fuel also has kept agencies from operating at full capacity.

“It’s just getting worse in every way possible,” said Margarett Lubin, Haiti director for CORE, a US nonprofit organisation.

“You see the situation deteriorating day after day, impacting life at every level,” Lubin said, adding that aid organisations have gone into “survival mode”.

Few places in the world are so dependent on aid groups as Haiti, a nation frequently called “the republic of NGOs”. Billions of dollars in aid have been poured through hundreds – by some estimates several thousand – of aid groups even as the government has grown steadily weaker and less effective.

Shortly after the July 7 assassination of the president, Prime Minister Ariel Henry assumed leadership of a country still trying to regain political stability. Nearly all the seats in parliament are vacant and there’s no firm date yet for long-delayed elections, though Henry said he expects them early next year.

Less than a dozen elected officials are currently representing a country of more than 11 million people.

And in the streets, the gangs hold power.

More than 460 kidnappings have been reported

by Haiti’s National Police so far this year, more than double what was reported last year, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.

The agency said Haitians are “living in hell under the yoke of armed gangs.

Rapes, murders, thefts, armed attacks, kidnappings continue to be committed daily, on populations often left to fend for themselves in disadvantaged

INJURED people lie in beds outside the Immaculee Conception Hospital in Les Cayes, Haiti, in August, two days after an earthquake struck the country. and marginalised neighbor- was set on fire in mid-June hoods of Port-au-Prince amid fighting between and beyond”. police and gangs.

The agency added: “With“I have been in the out being able to access streets since,” he said as he these areas under the con- lay on a blue sheet he had trol of gangs, we are far from spread on the hard floor knowing and measuring the of a Port-au-Prince school extent of these abuses and temporarily converted into what Haitians really experi- a shelter. ence on a daily basis...

Things could soon get “Humanitarian actors even worse: A prominent have also limited their gang leader warned Haiinterventions due to the tians this week to avoid security risks to their staff the embattled community and access challenges,” it of Martissant because rival added. gangs will fight each other Large organizations like in upcoming days. the UN World Food Pro“Even the dogs and the gram have found alternate rats won’t be saved. Anyways to help people, such thing that moves, trucks, as using barges rather than motorcycles, people, will vulnerable trucks to ferry be considered allies of goods from the capital to Ti-Bois,” the gang leader Haiti’s southern region. But known as “Izo” said in smaller organisations don’t a video, referring to a always have such means. rival gang. “Martissant is World Vision United declared a combat zone, States, which is based in and those who ignore this Federal Way, Washington warning will pay with their and helps children in Haiti, life.” told The Associated Press Most already avoid the that it has relocated at least area for fear of being kid11 of 320 employees as a napped, shot or having result of the violence and is cargo looted. That has taking undisclosed security largely cut off the country’s measures for other staff. southern peninsula because Water Mission, a South the main highway runs Carolina nonprofit, said through the neighborhood. it’s exploring relocating to Those recently killed other areas in Haiti and it by crossfire in Martissant said kidnappings and over- include a nurse, a sevenall violence have forced it year-old girl and at least to change staffing plans to five passengers aboard a ensure people’s safety. public bus. The violence “These issues sometimes forced the aid group Docresult in slower progress in tors Without Borders in our ongoing safe water pro- August to close an emerject work,” the organization gency clinic that had served said. “However, we con- the community for 15 years. tinue with our work despite Liman Pierre, a 40-yearany temporary interrup- old mechanic, said he tions that arise.” recently had to cross MarThe difficulties come at tissant to go to work and a time of growing pleas saw four dead people, for help. A magnitude 7.2 including two elderly neighearthquake in mid-August bors and the motorcycle destroyed tens of thousands driver transporting them. of homes and killed more “The criminals kill with than 2,200 people. The impunity and abandon country also is struggling the dead to the dogs,” he to cope with the recent said. “Those who aren’t arrival of more than 12,000 devoured by dogs are set on deported Haitians, the fire, pure and simple. This majority from the US. can’t be.”

In addition, more than For now, Pierre is sleep20,000 people have fled ing on the streets of their homes due to gang Port-au-Prince because he violence this year, accord- fears having to cross Maring to UNICEF, with many tissant to get back home: living in temporary shelters “You don’t even get the amid extremely unsanitary opportunity to visit parconditions and the pan- ents and friends who are in demic. The UN agency difficulty.” estimates it needs $97m to “The state doesn’t help one million people in exist,” Pierre said. “CrimiHaiti next year. nals have been in power Among them is Martin for over six months. It is Jean Junior, a 50-year-old December, and we do not who used to resell scrap see the light at the end of metal. He said his house the tunnel.”

CHAUVIN EXPECTED TO PLEAD GUILTY IN FLOYD RIGHTS CASE MINNEAPOLIS Associated Press FORMER Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin appears to be on the verge of pleading guilty to violating George Floyd ‘s civil rights, according to a notice sent out yesterday by the court’s electronic filing system.

The federal docket entry shows a hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday for Chauvin to change his current not guilty plea in the case. These types of notices indicate a defendant is planning to plead guilty.

The court system also sent out instructions for media to attend the hearing.

Chauvin has already been convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges for pinning his knee against Floyd’s neck as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe during a May 25,

2020, arrest. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in that case.

He and three other former officers — Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao — were set to go to trial in late January on federal charges alleging they willfully violated Floyd’s rights.

A message left with Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, was not immediately returned. The US Attorney’s Office had no comment.

The information sent out gives no indication that the other officers intend to plead guilty.

According to evidence in the state case against Chauvin, Kueng and Lane helped restrain the 46-yearold Floyd as he was on the ground — Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back and Lane held down Floyd’s legs. Thao held back bystanders and

kept them from intervening during the 9 1/2-minute restraint.

Floyd’s arrest and death, which a bystander captured on cellphone video, sparked mass protests nationwide.

All four officers were charged broadly in federal court with depriving Floyd of his rights while acting under government authority, but the federal indictment broke down the counts even further. A count against Chauvin alleged he violated Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and from unreasonable force by a police officer.

Thao and Kueng are charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure by not intervening to stop Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd’s neck. All four officers are charged for their failure to provide Floyd with medical care.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 14, 2021, PAGE 11

UNIVERSITY OF THE BAHAMAS ATHLETICS COURTESY CALL ON MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORTS AND CULTURE THE University of The Bahamas’ Athletics Department paid a courtesy call on Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg yesterday.

The UB delegation included director of athletics Kimberley Rolle, vice president of administrative services Dr Marcella ElliotFerguson, and assistant director of athletics, Sean Bastian. Minister Bowleg was joined by permanent secretary Eugene Poitier.

The meeting focused on collaborations between UB and the ministry in terms

of developing sports in the country and UB Athletics’ plan to move into the (NAIA) National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.“The meeting was very productive as we look for ways to leverage the expertise that we have here at UB Athletics,” Rolle said. “We focused on funding opportunities along with becoming a training ground for the country’s future athletes, coaches and administrators. “We also want the minister to know our plans to move into the NAIA and how the

SHOWN, from left to right, are Dr Marcella Elliot-Ferguson, Sean Bastian, Minister Bowleg, Kimberley Rolle and Eugene Poitier. minister and ministry can help in that endeavour.”

Rolle and Bowleg discussed the role UB could play in developing a

national sports academy along with increasing the participation of athletic trainers in national team development.

UB Athletics currently competes in cross-country and track and field for men and women along with men’s soccer, men’s

ROMA BEATS SPEZIA 2-0 TO RELIEVE PRESSURE ON MOURINHO ROME (AP) — Roma relieved a bit of pressure on José Mourinho by beating relegation-threatened Spezia 2-0 in Serie A yesterday.

Chris Smalling and Roger Ibañez scored in separate halves for Roma, which moved into sixth spot.

Although it is still eight points below fourth-placed Napoli and the final Champions League qualifying spot.

Spezia remained just two points above the bottom three.

Mourinho was already feeling the pressure at Roma after just two wins in his previous six Italian league matches, including a hefty 3-0 loss at home to Inter Milan last time out.

But his side got off to a perfect start when a corner was floated in from the right and Tammy Abraham nodded it on for Smalling to head Roma into the lead in the sixth minute.

Abraham almost doubled his side’s lead in first half stoppage time but he headed onto the bar. It was the fifth time he has hit the woodwork this season.

Roma did get its second 11 minutes after the break and it came after another corner, which Ibañez headed in.

The only negative note for Roma was that teenage forward Felix Afena-Gyan was sent off in stoppage time after receiving a second yellow card for a handball. That led to a goal that was disallowed.

basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s softball, men and women’s golf, along with men and women’s judo.

LA LIGA SELLS SPANISH BROADCAST RIGHTS FOR $5B+ FOR 5 YEARS

MANCHESTER City’s Raheem Sterling celebrates after scoring his side’s first goal on a penalty kick during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, on Saturday.

(Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

MATCHDAY: Premier League leader Man City, Bundesliga frontrunner Bayern play A LOOK at what’s happening in European soccer today: ENGLAND Pep Guardiola is expecting another difficult game against a Leeds side that took four points off Manchester City last season.

City went on to win the title and has a one-point lead in the standings over

Liverpool approaching the midway point.

“Leeds are one of our toughest opponents,” Guardiola said.

“We have to adjust a few things because it is different to other opponents.

“We are not much used to these type of games,” he added.

But Leeds is 15th in the 20-team standings and with a lengthy injury list.

Across in east England, last-placed Norwich’s manager, Dean Smith, comes up against Aston Villa, which fired him last month.

Steven Gerrard’s Villa has been hit by a coronavirus outbreak but its game is not in doubt.

But COVID-19 infections at Manchester United led to its game at Brentford being postponed until a later date.

GERMANY Bayern Munich can extend its lead at the top of the Bundesliga with a win over Stuttgart.

Jamal Musiala scored the winning goal in Bayern’s 2-1 win over Mainz on Saturday, but the 18-year-old attacking midfielder is an injury doubt with a broken bone in his hand. Leon Goretzka is also doubtful

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s top soccer league has generated 4.95 billion euros ($5.6 billion) from the sale of subscription broadcast domestic rights for five seasons.

La Liga has sold games for live broadcast in Spain to a streaming service for the first time with DAZN picking up the rights to 175 matches per season.

Telefonica-owned Movistar has the rights to the other 205 games, including three complete rounds.

La Liga will be making 990 million euros per season from these rights packages, a slight uplift from 980 million euros a year in the current deals.

More cash will be generated in Spain from live free-to-air rights, the packages to show games in bars, hotels and airports, as well as for the second division. and Joshua Kimmich is out with lung damage after a coronavirus infection.

Wolfsburg has lost five consecutive games ahead of hosting inconsistent Cologne.

Promoted Bochum is on a high after a hard-fought draw with local rival Borussia Dortmund and now plays Arminia Bielefeld. Mainz hosts Hertha Berlin.

Clemson wins NCCA men’s soccer title CARY, N.C. (AP) — Isaiah Reid scored twice, including a goal just 27 seconds into the match, and Clemson defeated Washington 2-0 to win the NCAA College Cup championship on Sunday.

It was Clemson’s third national championship. The Tigers also won in 1984 and 1987.

“I think it’s going to take days and weeks to set in, but it’s unbelievable. It’s euphoric. I mean, it makes everything worth it. Everything was worth it before, but there’s no words,” Clemson goalkeeper George Marks said.

Washington goalkeeper Sam Fowler was caught out of position and Reid easily scored his first just moments into the match.

Reid scored again on a header in the 15th minute.

A junior, Reid finished the season with nine goals, including a pair of two-goal games. But he had scored just one goal in the last 14 matches.

“It was extremely special.

Yeah, I hadn’t scored much

in 14 games. But I didn’t let that deter me from trying to help out the team and try and score goals,” Reid said.

“My team supported me and it just feels really good to score two goals and help my team win the natty.”

Second-seeded Washington struggled in the final third after the early Clemson goal put the Huskies on their heels. Marks had a pair of saves, including one in the final minutes as Washington scrambled to score.

“I don’t think for a second we doubted that we were out of the game,” Washington defender Ryan Sailor said. “We always have belief in ourselves. We played right in the second half and things just didn’t go our way and sometimes that’s the way it is.”

The eighth-seeded Tigers dogpiled in celebration at the final whistle and fans streamed on to the field in a flurry of confetti. One fan waved a giant Clemson flag.

Clemson was playing in its fifth national championship game. The last

CLEMSON’S ISAIAH REID, centre left, and Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador, centre right, celebrate after scoring a goal against Washington during the first half of their NCAA college soccer tournament championship in Cary, N.C., on Sunday.

(AP Photo/Ben McKeown) appearance came in 2015, draw with Notre Dame in appearance, beat Georgewhen it fell to Stanford. the semifinals. town 2-1 on Friday night at The Tigers advanced on a Washington, making Wake Med Soccer Park to penalty shootout after a 1-1 its first-ever College Cup advance.

Washington coach Jamie Clark said it was an honour to play for a national championship, even if the team fell short.

“We got every minute out of the season we could,” Clark said. “We all said we wanted to take every drop out of this season, and we got it.”

Clemson was the defending ACC tournament champion but fell to Duke in the semifinals of this year’s conference tournament. But they had a solid tournament run, knocking off the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 and No. 9 seeds.

Washington finished a half-game back of Oregon State for the Pac-12 title.

The Huskies had just one regular-season loss.

It was the second overall meeting between the two teams. The Huskies beat Clemson 4-1 in a neutral site game in 1996.

Announced attendance was 7,238, many of them Clemson fans who were able to drive under five hours to attend the title match.

PAGE 12, Tuesday, December 14, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

FIBA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AMERICAS

David Nesbitt scores game high 22 points in Boca Juniors debut

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net DAVID Nesbitt made his debut for Boca Juniors in the FIBA Basketball Champions League Americas and helped lead the club to a 1-1 weekend in Group D. The veteran forward scored a game-high 22 points to lead Boca Juniors to a 71-62 win over Universidad de Concepion in Buenos Aires on December 11. He shot 9-15 from the field, including 2-7 from three-point range.

In the weekend’s opener, Nesbitt finished with six

points and four rebounds in an 88-66 loss to Flamengo on December 10.

Nesbitt continued his momentum from the first window of the FIBA World Cup ‘23 Americas Qualifiers last month when he averaged 15 points per game in a pair of losses to Canada.

Locally in Argentina’s Liga Nacional de Básquet, Nesbitt is averaging 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game en route to a 6-2 start.

He is currently shooting 57 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range.

In the season opener, Nesbitt finished with a

season high 16 points and three rebounds in a 75-72 win over Argentino.

He moved into the starting lineup in game two and finished with eight points and four rebounds in an 82-71 win over Regatas. He also totalled 12 points and four rebounds in a 77-68 win over Olimpico.

Nesbitt made the move to Argentina after a four-year tenure in Brazil’s Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB).

The veteran 6’6” forward spent last season with Minas. In 31 games, he averaged 10.4 points and 5.5 points per game en route to being named an NBB All-Star.

Minas finished with the second best record in the league, reached the semifinals, and finished third in the FIBA Basketball Champions League Americas Final.

He scored 10 points and eight rebounds in the thirdplace game and Minas defeated Sao Paulo 75-58 at the Alexis Argüello Sports Center in Managua, Nicaragua.

Minas finished second in Group D during the BCL Americas group stage at 2-4. Through four games, Nesbitt averaged 9.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

He also shot 41 percent from three-point range.

BOCA DEBUT: David Nesbitt (25) scored a game-high 22 points to lead Boca Juniors to a 71-62 win over Universidad de Concepion in the FIBA Basketball Champions League Americas.

Injury-hit UConn down to No. 7, lowest Top 25 spot since 2007

WNBA TO PLAY RECORD 36-GAME REGULAR SEASON

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — WNBA teams will play a record 36 games in the regular season next year.

The season will tip-off May 6 and all 12 teams will play over the opening weekend. The season will end on August 14, followed by the postseason, using a new format that will have the top eight teams seeded one through eight. All 12 teams will play on the regular season’s final day.

The early end date is due to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup that begins in September in Australia.

The WNBA All-Star Game will be July 10. and the second annual Commissioner’s Cup championship game will take place July 26.

“The 36-game schedule will provide fans greater opportunities to see the best players in the world compete at the highest level,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “And year two of the Commissioner’s Cup brings added incentive to the first half of the season for players and teams, while offering fans conference rivalry competition through which to support their favourite teams.”

UCONN dropped four spots to No. 7 in the women’s AP Top 25 released yesterday, its lowest ranking in 14 years after losing its first game against an unranked team since 2012.

The Huskies fell to Georgia Tech last week in its first game without sophomore star Paige Bueckers, who is sidelined for at least six weeks with a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee.

The Huskies have not been ranked this low since January 22, 2007, when they were also seventh.

South Carolina remained the unanimous top choice after holding off then-No. 8 Maryland on Sunday.

The Gamecocks received all 30 votes from a national media panel and have now beaten four teams that were ranked in the top 10 this season. The Gamecocks visit No. 15 Duke on Wednesday.

N.C. State was again second in the poll, followed

by Stanford, Arizona and Baylor. The Wildcats now have their best ranking ever at No. 4.

Louisville moved up to No. 6, just ahead of UConn, and the two teams will play Sunday in the Hall of Fame Showcase.

Baylor will face Michigan in the other game at the event held in Connecticut; that contest will be a rematch of last season’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchup that the Bears won in overtime.

Despite their loss to Georgia Tech, the Huskies kept alive their incredible streak of not losing consecutive games dating to 1993 by rallying to beat UCLA over the weekend. Georgia Tech returned to the poll at No. 18 after its 57-44 win over UConn.

Tennessee was tied with UConn at No. 7. Maryland and Indiana rounded out the top 10.

WELCOME BACK No. 25 North Carolina (9-0) entered the poll this week for the first time since the preseason poll in 2015.

The Tar Heels are one of 10 unbeaten teams left in women’s college basketball. They have been blowing past many of their opponents, although they haven’t faced a Top 25

CUNANE POWERS NO. 2 NC STATE WOMEN PAST SAINT MARY’S 101-73

By MITCHELL NORTHAM Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State coach Wes Moore keeps thinking about last March, when starter Kayla Jones’ knee injury kept her out of the Wolfpack’s Sweet 16 defeat.

It’s impacted the way he substitutes, and he’s trying to get his reserves more playing time this season.

“In the NCAA Tournament, I thought it was a real blow to us,” Moore said.

“So, this year, even though we’ve played a really, really good schedule, we’ve had opportunities to play some of the young players. Hopefully it’s going to pay off down the stretch.”

Second-ranked 2 N.C. State got 52 points from its bench Sunday and won its 10th straight game, beating Saint Mary’s 101-73.

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Elissa Cunane led the Wolfpack (10-1) with 15 points and nine rebounds.

The senior centre, who scored her 1,500th career point, had nine points during an early 18-0 run that put the Wolfpack in control.

“It’s pretty cool,” Cunane said of the milestone. “I just give it all to my teammates, because they’re the ones that have to give me the ball.

“I appreciate them doing what they do for me.”

Jones added 13 points, while Jakia Brown-Turner had 11 points and six rebounds for N.C. State.

Off the bench, freshman Aziaha James tallied 11 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Jade Kirisome led the Gaels (5-4) with 17 points.

Ali Bamberger had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Saint Mary’s tied it at 7 on a 3-pointer from Makena Mastora in the first quarter.

The Wolfpack then broke away with their big run.

N.C. State grew its lead to as much as 30 points, and Saint Mary’s was unable to trim the deficit to single digits over the final three quarters.

CONNECTICUT guard Evina Westbrook (22) sits on the bench in the final moments of the team’s loss to Georgia Tech in an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, in Atlanta.

(AP Photo/John Bazemore) team yet. Coach Courtney Banghart’s team first chance at a ranked opponent comes on January 6 against N.C. State.

“When I took this job I knew this was a programme that could be nationally prominent consistently,” Banghart said. “As we’re in pursuit of winning a national

championship this is a step in the right direction.”

The Tar Heels bumped Colorado out of the poll one week after the Buffaloes entered the rankings.

North Carolina edged Colorado and Oklahoma by one point to secure the final spot in the Top 25 this week. Oregon State also fell out.

GAME OF THE WEEK Stanford at Tennessee, Saturday. The Cardinal will fly across the country to face the rival Lady Vols in a top 10 showdown. Stanford, which will also play at South Carolina three days later, has already played four games against ranked teams.

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

COOKE LEADS NO. 1 GAMECOCKS TO 66-59 VICTORY OVER NO. 8 TERPS

By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Zia Cooke knew South Carolina needed a late lift and she was more than ready to deliver.

Cooke scored 20 points, including the go-ahead layup with 5:13 to play, and the top-ranked Gamecocks outlasted No. 8 Maryland 66-59 on Sunday in the Jimmy V Classic for their fourth victory over a top-10 opponent this season.

Cooke had tied the game moments earlier at 55-all with two foul shots, then took the ball away from Maryland point guard Ashley Owusu and sped down court for the basket that put South Carolina ahead for good.

“In game like this, I don’t think at all, I just know what to do,” said Cooke, a junior.

“I think it comes with maturity. Oh my gosh, that play where I got the steal, there was a rush than went through me.”

It sparked the rest of her team to keep pushing to close out the game.

Maryland got within 61-59 on Angel Reese’s threepoint play with 2:04 left, but South Carolina held

SOUTH Carolina forward Aliyah Boston (4) battles for a rebound against Maryland forward Mimi Collins, left, and Katie Benzan (11) during the second half on Sunday.

(AP Photo/Sean Rayford) the Terrapins (9-3) scoreless the rest of the way to improve to 10-0 for the first time in six seasons.

“I was telling myself, ‘I got to get one, I got to get one,’ because we have to get the lead up,” Cooke said.

Aliyah Boston added 16 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocked shots for the Gamecocks.

Maryland overcame a 53-47 deficit in the fourth quarter with eight straight points closed by Faith Masonius’ basket. That’s when Cooke turned things

around — and showed some life after the career 14-point-per-game scorer was 3 of 20 for a combined 14 points her past two games.

Reese had 20 points to lead the Terrapins, who were seeking their first win over a No. 1 team since topping North Carolina in 2006.

Cooke and Boston, juniors who were part of South Carolina’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class three seasons ago, both went over the 1,000-point mark in their careers.

Brea Beal had 10 rebounds and Laeticia Amihere had eight as South Carolina outrebounded the Terrapins 61-34. The Gamecocks also posted 15 blocks to Maryland’s four. “The moral of the story was rebounding,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said.

Maryland entered ninth in the country in points scored while the Gamecocks are 12th nationally in scoring defence. It was defence front-and-centre early on as both teams struggled to find some offensive rhythm.

The teams were a combined 10-of-34 shooting the first 10 minutes. The Terrapins packed the middle to limit Boston’s movement near the basket, while South Carolina’s height advantage had it blocking seven shots in the opening period.

South Carolina took its first lead on LeLe Grissett’s bucket. After Katie Benzan’s 3-pointer put Maryland back in front, Cooke hit a long-range basket to start a 10-2 run.

Cooke added a pair of foul shots and a jumper in the final minute as South Carolina led 34-30 at the half.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 14, 2021, PAGE 13

Prince Strachan gets his first official NCAA Division I offer WIDE RECEIVER HAS OFFICIAL VISIT WITH MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE POWERHOUSE BOISE STATE BRONCOS

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net PRINCE Strachan received his first official NCAA Division I offers of his recruitment process and his first from a Group of Five programme.

Strachan had an official visit with the Boise State Broncos last weekend and was offered by the Mountain West Conference powerhouse.

The Broncos are 7-5 this season and are headed for a December 31 matchup with Central Michigan in the

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl.

The programme is 12–7 in bowl games since 1999, including a 3–0 record in the Fiesta Bowl and has a winning percentage of .732 all time in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football.

Strachan also received an offer earlier in the week from NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision programme the Statson Hatters.

The Hatters, who compete in the Pioneer League, are 4-7 on the season and will lose 15 seniors in the graduating class.

The recent offers added to the several offers the 6’4” wide receiver got prior to his senior season from Charleston, Lenoir Rhyne, St Thomas, Notre Dame College and has also drawn interest from the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

Strachan recently concluded his high school football career with a play that garnered national recognition by the worldwide leader in sports. His 52-yard touchdown reception against Champagnat Catholic in the Florida High School Athletic Association playoff game was featured

on the “You Got Mossed” segment on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” on November 27.

The Rams finished their season 7-3 and played in a regional final for the second consecutive season in the Florida High School Athletic Association Region 4-2A title game.

On the season, Strachan finished with 33 receptions for 773 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, all team leads.

He also averaged 21.8 yards per catch and 80.1 receiving yards per game in nine contests.

WIDE receiver Prince Strachan.

His varsity high school career concluded with 70 receptions for over 1,400 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Last season he finished with a team-leading 33 receptions for 633 yards and eight touchdowns last year.

His yardage and touchdown totals were second on the team.

He also averaged 18.6 yards per catch and 57.5 receiving yards per game in 11 contests.

Prior to the season, Strachan was named to the ESPN West Palm Top 63 List for the class of 2021 which traditionally highlights the top players in the West Palm Beach and Treasure Coast area in Florida.

Prince is the younger brother of Indianapolis Colts receiver, Mike Strachan, who was selected in the seventh round of April’s NFL Draft.

Baylor becomes fourth No. 1 in last 4 weeks in AP Top 25

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer BAYLOR won the national championship last season without ever reaching No. 1 in the AP Top 25.

The Bears are there now.

Baylor took advantage of Purdue’s last-second loss to Rutgers last week to become the fourth different team at No. 1 in the past four weeks. The Bears earned every vote from a 61-member national media panel yesterday to reach the top spot in the poll for the first time since a four-week run ended on February 17, 2020. “Every coach tells you that the goal is at the end of the year to be No. 1,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said, “but I will tell you that it always means something. It means something to your fans. It means something to your coaches, your players and everybody. It’s a great sign of respect for other people that have come before you, the work they put in.”

The Bears (9-0) were followed by former No. 1s Duke and Purdue along with UCLA and Gonzaga, which began the season atop the poll and spent the first two weeks there before losses to the Blue Devils and Alabama in a span of three games.

Baylor has won a nationleading 15 consecutive games, none by fewer than eight points, including its memorable 86-70 win over Gonzaga in April for the national title. The Bears also had wins over Stanford, Arizona State and Michigan State to start this season before suffocating then-No. 6 Villanova in a 57-36 victory on Sunday.

“That team was great last year,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “I think this team is really good and could be as good.”

Never mind the fact that Baylor lost their standout backcourt of Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler and MaCio Teague along with do-everything forward Mark Vital.

Arizona transfer James Akinjo and freshman guard Kendall Brown have picked up some of the scoring, and returning forwards Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Flo Thamba have dominated inside.

“When you lose dudes like that, people think you’re going to go into a rebuilding phase,” Akinjo said. “But our coaches did a great job of putting this team together, not just with the talent but in ways that we would mesh.”

The Crimson Tide led the second five in the AP poll yesterday, climbing three spots after beating then-No. 14 Houston on Saturday.

They were followed by Kansas, unbeaten Arizona, Villanova and undefeated Southern California.

“I can’t be too upset if we haven’t lost, but there’s always things to clean up and get better at,” Trojans coach Andy Enfield said. “Our goal is to be an elite defensive team, but we’re not there yet. I’m

BAYLOR guard James Akinjo high fives fans following an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova on Sunday in Waco, Texas.

(AP Photo/Ray Carlin) happy with the team. We’re Spartans climbing seven NCAA Tournament and excited to be 10-0.” spots to No. 12 after wins contending in the SEC. We Iowa State, another of over Minnesota and Penn have those kinds of visions, the seven remaining Divi- State and Seton Hall jump- too,” Colorado State coach sion I unbeatens, climbed ing to No. 16 after beating Nico Medved said after a six spots to No. 11 after Texas on Thursday night. win over the Bulldogs. We the Cyclones romped past The Longhorns dropped scheduled these games and Iowa and avoided a let- 10 spots to No. 17. Ken- knew we had to win some down against Jacksonville tucky fell 11 to No. 21 after of them. So far, guys have State. They were followed the Wildcats lost to Notre been able to step up to the

by Michigan State, Auburn, Dame on Saturday. challenge.”

Houston and Ohio State HELLO AND Wisconsin was No. 22 with Seton Hall, Texas, TenGOODBYE last week but lost to Ohio nessee, LSU and UConn in Xavier entered the poll at State and was first outside the top 20.

No. 22 with Colorado State the Top 25 receiving votes Kentucky, Xavier, Colo- right behind after the Rams this week. Also dropping rado State, Arkansas and ran their record to 10-0 out were BYU, which lost Texas Tech rounded out the for the second time in pro- to Creighton on Saturday, poll. gramme history. The Red and Florida, which was RISING AND Raiders moved into the poll 20th before bookending FALLING at No. 25 after their over- a win over North Florida Michigan State and time win over Tennessee. with losses to Maryland Seton Hall made the big“(Mississippi State) has and then-winless Texas gest moves this week, the visions of going to the Southern.

Jaquez scores 24 in UCLA’s 67-56 win over Marquette

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — No. 4 UCLA’s biggest scare of the weekend came the night before its actual game against Marquette, when its private chartered flight to Milwaukee was diverted to Denver due to a cracked windshield.

“We had to land as fast as possible,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “We were able to do that. We’re all fortunate. We all know how fortunate we are.”

The Bruins flew out of Denver early Saturday morning and landed in Milwaukee at about 10 am, feeling grateful.

“We didn’t realise the severity until after,” Jaime Jaquez Jr said. “We didn’t know how bad it really was. Thankfully by the grace of God, we all got (in) safe.”

Originally scheduled at 1:30pm Saturday, the game was pushed back by seven hours.

UCLA showed up, especially Jaquez, who had 24 points and 11 rebounds, in a 67-56 win over Marquette.

Johnny Juzang and Tyger Campbell had 12 points each for UCLA, and Campbell also had eight assists and five rebounds.

UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr reacts after making a three-point basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Marquette on Saturday in Milwaukee.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash) “It says a lot about their guys and their character level, to come in and play with the type of energy and fight that they had under less than ideal circumstances,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said.

BIG PICTURE UCLA: The Bruins were in control throughout, outrebounding Marquette 48-37 and having a 19-7 edge in second-chance points.

Marquette: The Golden Eagles have faced four Top 25 teams this season, losing three of them. The lone win was a one-point victory over then-No. 10 Illinois on Nov. 15. ... Elliott shot 6 of 9 from 3-point range, but his teammates were a combined 2 of 24. Elliott scored 14 points in a span of five minutes midway through the game. Before Saturday, Elliott had scored 23 points all season.

RARE TRIP Saturday marked the first time UCLA has faced Marquette in Milwaukee since Dec. 18, 1964, during Al McGuire’s debut season as Marquette’s coach.

UCLA leads the all-time series 4-0.

UP NEXT UCLA: Hosts Alabama State on Wednesday.

Marquette: At Xavier on Saturday in its Big East opener.

NO. 17 IOWA ST STAYS UNBEATEN, HOLDS OFF JACKSON ST 47-37

By ANDREW LOGUE Associated Press AMES, Iowa (AP) — T.J. Otzelberger became the first Iowa State coach to win his first 10 games with the team, guiding the 17th-ranked Cyclones past Jackson State 47-37 on Sunday.

The Cyclones improved 10-0 after ending last season with 18 straight losses. Iowa State beat Jackson State last December 20, then didn’t win again in finishing 2-22.

Aljaz Kunc led Iowa State with 12 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 11.

Otzelberger saw a difference in the Cyclones coming off their emotional 73-53 win over Iowa on Thursday. “That certainly wasn’t the game offensively we hoped it would be.

We’re not going to apologize or worry about the things we didn’t do offensively,” he said. “I didn’t think we had the same hop in our step that we normally do.”

Jonas James scored 11 points for Jackson State (2-7). = “We knew they were going to come out aggressive on defense. I think we did a pretty good job getting the ball into the paint. We just have to execute better from there,” Kunc said.

The Cyclones went more than seven minutes without scoring in the second half

and held a shaky 44-37 lead with 2 1/2 minutes left.

But Iowa State didn’t let the Tigers score again, holding them to 40 percent shooting overall and forcing 22 turnovers.

Jackson State made two early baskets, then the Cyclones scored 19 unanswered points.

Kunc highlighted the run with a four-point play, hitting his free throw after swishing a 3 from the right wing.

Coach Wayne Brent’s team also committed six turnovers. Jackson State gradually pulled within 28-22 early in the second half, but Iowa State responded with a 9-0 run to push the margin to 37-22.

BIG PICTURE Iowa State has gone from an NCAA Tournament long shot to potentially a top 15 team in the rankings.

The Cyclones began this weekend as one of six teams nationally to have multiple wins over ranked opponents, having beaten then-No. 25 Xavier and No. 9 Memphis.

UP NEXT Jackson State: The Tigers stay in the state to play at Northern Iowa on Tuesday and at Drake on Thursday.

Iowa State: This game was the first of what should be three consecutive tuneups for the Cyclones, with Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 19) and Chicago State (Dec. 21) upcoming.

PAGE 14, Tuesday, December 14, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

THE TOLEDO ROCKETS, who finished the season with a 7-5 win-loss record, arrived in town yesterday for the Bahamas Bowl, scheduled for noon on Friday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

It will be carried live on ESPN and is free to the Bahamian public.

Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff

Candle, Rockets ‘looking forward to a great week here at Atlantis’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net WITH 13 seniors returning from their team that participated in their previous trip here in 2018, head coach Jason Candle said he hopes that his Toledo Rockets can leave the Bahamas this time around with the Bahamas Bowl trophy on their plane.

The Rockets, with a plane full of more than 200 players, coaches, administrators and fans, arrived in town yesterday for their match-up on Friday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, who got here a little earlier.

Toledo, representing the Mid American Conference, will take a 7-5 win-loss record into the game at 12 noon live on ESPN against Middle Tennessee, representatives of Conference

USA with a 6-6 record.

Having lost to the Florida International University Panthers 35-31 in their initial outing here in 2018, Candle said he’s looking forward to a little better results this time round.

“We’re looking forward to a great week here at Atlantis. The hospitality as always is first class, the greeting was first class and so we’re looking forward to a great week,” he said.

“The bowl game for us is a reward for a great season.

We had a good season. This is a good time for us to come down and finish off the season the right way.

“We have 13 seniors here who we want to hand off the right way with a victory.

If you can have that experience and a little bit of fun doing it, that’s obviously the main goal and to do hit here is first class.”

And because he didn’t get to do it the last time he

was here, Candle said he’s definitely hoping to at least put his toes into the beautiful waters surrounding CANDLE Atlantis.

If he does, maybe they will come out with a victory.

“After the last 18 months what everybody in the world has been through, we don’t take this lightly,” said Candle about COVID-19, which changed the landscape of sports, forcing the organisers to call off last year’s Bahamas Bowl as well.

“This is a first-class experience and so it’s good for us to be away and right before the holidays to get a little break. We’re not tourists.

We’re football players. We

want to win the game, but I think we can do both, have a fun week and then go with the game on Friday.”

For Nate Bauer, a 5-foot, 11-inch, 185-pound safety returning from the previous Toledo team, the memory of the loss still lingers in their minds.

But they want to leave here as champions and not the runners-up again.

“The last team we had was real talented, but this one is talented too,” Bauer stated.

“I’d say this group is a little more together, so we should have a better chance (of winning).”

Reminding all of the fond memories he had the last trip, Bauer said he’s been able to inform the younger guys of some of the places to go and eat and so they should have a good time.

While he said he did quite a lot of things on the last trip, Bauer said he would

definitely like to “get on some jet skis” this time and go back on the water slides and enjoy the experience with the sharks on the water rides.

— A few things to ponder when you look at Toledo: • The Rockets will be playing in their 19th bowl game in programme history, and they own a record of 11-7 in bowl games.

• Toledo has now been bowl eligible for 11 straight seasons – every year since 2010, excluding 2020 in which bowl eligibility requirements were waived due to COVID (Toledo was 4-2 in 2020).

• 11 players earned AllMAC honours this season, the most for a UT team since 2016 (12).

• Toledo has scored 182 points in its last four games, an average of 45.5 per contest.

• No team in the country takes care of the ball as well

CURRY FROM PAGE 16 final 3 got the Warriors within 100-98 and he tied the score when he drove for a layup with 48.5 seconds left. Kevin Looney’s putback with 13.8 seconds left broke the tie and Indiana then turned it over.

Clearly, Curry and his teammates were pressing for the record — and the Pacers defence wanted to run the Warriors off the 3-point line every chance it could.

The result: Golden State missed its first seven shots from beyond the arc before Curry finally ended the streak early in a 12-0 run that gave the Warriors a 39-36 lead midway through the second quarter.

It didn’t last long in this back-andforth game in which Indiana led most of the way.

But Curry started heating up in the third quarter with his fourth 3 of the night to give Golden State a 79-78 lead.

Indiana answered by closing the quarter on a 7-2 run and taking an 84-80 lead.

The Pacers led the entire fourth — until Curry’s flurry followed by Looney’s decisive basket.

TIP-INS Warriors: The Warriors still have not lost back-to-back games this season. ... Curry also had six rebounds and six assists, while Draymond Green had 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists. ... Andrew Wiggins scored 15 points, and Looney had 14 points and eight rebounds. ... Golden State was 8 of 30 on 3s and had 17 turnovers. ... The Warriors have held 29 straight opponents to less than 50% shooting from the field..

Pacers: Brogdon had six rebounds. ...

Caris LeVert finished with 19 points and Myles Turner had six points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. ... The Pacers were 7 of 30 on 3s. ... They led 98-83 with less than three minutes to go.

COVID-19 UPDATE Coach Rick Carlisle wasn’t the only Indiana Pacer missing on the bench.

Guard Justin Holiday missed another game as he continues to work his way into shape.

Assistant coach Lloyd Pierce said he spoke with Carlisle, saying he continues to feel better, but Holiday has not yet returned to action after being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols on November 30.

“Justin called me and said I’m not playing tonight, he said he needed more time and we respect that,” Pierce said.

The Warriors also are concerned about what’s happening around the country and around the league as they spend this week on the road. “We’ll address the team about that and make sure everybody is doing their best to stay safe,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.

UP NEXT Warriors: Makes its third stop on a five-game trip tonight at New York.

Pacers: In Milwaukee on Thursday for their first road game in December.

as the Rockets - they lead the country in fewest turnovers (six in 12 games) and fewest interceptions thrown (two in 12 games).

• Bryant Koback rushed for 135 yards against Akron, his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game.

He now has 1,274 yards for the season, the second time he has rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season (1187 yards in 2019).

• Koback now has 3,900 career rushing yards, good for fourth in Toledo history.

The all-time leader is Kareem Hunt (2013-16) with 4,945 yards.

• Senior cornerback Samuel Womack has 15 pass breakups, third in the country.

He has 40 PBUs for his career, the most in Toledo history.

• Toledo ranks first in the MAC in both scoring offence (34.2) and scoring defence (21.0).

A FAN holds a sign welcoming West Indies and apologising for the death of a Sri Lankan factory manager who was killed earlier this month by a mob in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy, while he with others wait for a security check to enter the National Stadium for first Twenty20 international cricket match between Pakistan and West Indies, in Karachi, Pakistan, yesterday.

(AP Photo/ Fareed Khan)

Pakistan thumps West Indies by 63 runs in the first T20 KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Mohammad Rizwan hit 78 runs and fast bowler Mohammad Wasim took 4-40 as Pakistan thumped a depleted West Indies by 63 runs in the first Twenty20 yesterday.

Rizwan increased his tally this year to 1,201 runs in 27 T20s with another masterful knock that stood out in Pakistan’s imposing 200-6 after being sent in to bat.

Haider Ali opened up in the latter half of the innings with a career-best 68 off 39 balls that featured four sixes and six boundaries.

The West Indies folded for 137 in 19 overs as Wasim bowled impressive yorkers to claim his career-best figures, and Shadab Khan grabbed 3-17.

“Rizwan and Haider Ali played handy knocks and the way (Mohammad) Nawaz finished was outstanding,” Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said.

Babar added that the way the West Indies batsmen struggled against the spin of Shadab and Nawaz was encouragement to pick an extra spinner for the remaining two T20s.

The visitors are touring without several T20 specialists, and suffered a major blow on Saturday when fast bowler Sheldon

PAKISTAN’s Haider Ali plays a shot during the first Twenty20 international cricket match between Pakistan and West Indies at the National Stadium, in Karachi, Pakistan, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Cottrell and allrounders Roston “We gave away 20 runs more Chase and Kyle Mayers were in the field and there were a ruled out of the series after test- few boundaries off the edges, ing positive for the coronavirus too,” stand-in captain Nichoin Karachi. las Pooran said. “I loved the The West Indies gave debuts effort and energy from the to fast bowler Dominic Drakes, guys tonight. We are a young who claimed 1-43, and batsman side, but it all comes down to Shamarh Brooks, who made 5. execution.”

Earlier, Rizwan, who made 78 off 52 balls, and Haider combined in a beefy 105-run, third-wicket stand after the West Indies bowlers did well briefly in the batting powerplay.

Babar was dismissed for his third ever duck when he edged left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein.

But once seeing off Hosein’s overs, Rizwan and Haider scored at will against the fast bowlers with Odean Smith having a forgetful night at the National Stadium with expensive figures of 1-56.

Smith had some consolation when he took two smart catches in the deep to dismiss Rizwan and Haider, but Mohammad Nawaz provided a perfect finish with a blistering knock of an unbeaten 30 off 10 balls.

Wasim uprooted the off stump of Pooran (18) and trapped Devon Thomas (2) thanks to yorkers, and returned to claim two tailenders in his last over.

Opening batsman Shai Hope top-scored with 31 while Smith (24) and Romario Shepherd (21) narrowed the margin of defeat after West Indies slumped to 88-7 in the 14th over.

The second T20 is today followed by the final game on Thursday.

THE TRIBUNE

Tuesday, December 14, 2021, PAGE 15

BOWL

they bring their collegiate careers to a close.

“This is my first time.

FROM PAGE 16 It’s very beautiful here,” Michigan Broncos on said Marcus Greer, Middle their first trip in 2015, said Tennessee’s centre, on his they had to endure an early impression of the Bahamas. and long journey here, “On the flight here seeing but hopefully it will be how clear the water is – it’s very beautiful. All the guys worthwhile.

In his advice to his Blue are excited to check eveRaiders, who are repre- rything out here more, but senting Conference USA, we are really focused on Stockstill said he just wants Friday.”

When asked what to them to “enjoy” their experience here, which he expect from their team on calls a reward, although he the field, six-foot, one-inch, 298-pound Greer insisted that the noted that “we play main focus is to hard each game. “play a game” and Even the ones we to “win.” lost, coach Stock “That’s our always thinks we mindset and are the toughest our focus,” he team at the end of stressed. “We will the day. have plenty time to enjoy Atlan- STOCKSTILL “We are always dedicated during tis, the hotel and the fellowship with team- practice and our minds mates, but it’s also a work are focused on Toledo on Friday.” week.”

As for what he’s looking Although they had to forward to while staying at juggle their time with their recruiting process and play- the Atlantis, Greer said it’s ers having to sit their final definitely getting a little exams, Stockstill said they tan. “I’m a little pale right had to schedule their prac- now. It’s been a little cold tice sessions around all of in Murfreesboro,” Greer said. “I’m looking forward the off-field activities.

But his only concern to putting my feet in the right now is for his Blue sand and hanging out with Raiders to play well and the guys. It’s my last week have a good week at Atlan- of football so I want to go out with a bang and spend tis in the Bahamas.

“When it is work time, as much time as I can with it is work. When it is play my brothers.”

And Reed Blankenship, time, they can play,” he stated. “This is not a vaca- a 6-1, 204-pound safety, tion. We hope that we can also in his final year, said play our best game. We are the weather here is ideal for some football. here to play a game.”

“It was 29 degrees when Stockstill said although they are two touchdown we left Tennessee pretty underdogs against Toledo, early this morning. But it’s he’s confident that his worth it to be here so I’m Middle Tennessee squad excited,” said Blankenship, will give a good account of one of the team’s captains. themselves. “We have a big “We know we have work to challenge ahead of us,” he put in and a job to do.”

Blankenship, however, pointed out. “Hopefully we will be ready to play. I love is not taking anything for the people here. I love the granted against Toledo.

“They are a great team. hospitality. Everybody in this community just does They would not be down a fantastic job, welcoming here if they were not a us, so everytime I come great team,” he said. “We here, I leave with a bigger are excited to play them. and better impression than It will be a challenge, but every game is a challenge. when I came.”

At least two of the play- Our work ethic has not ers were quite impressed changed. We had a big with what they saw so far win over FAU, and we are and are looking forward going to carry that momento a fantastic week as tum into this game.”

RAMS EARN 30-23 WIN AGAINST CARDINALS

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer

THE Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders were the first team to arrive in the Bahamas yesterday ahead of their matchup with the Toledo Rockets at noon on Friday for the fourth edition of the first collegiate bowl game to be played this year.

Photos: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff As for his mindset on • MT has picked off 16 • Under Rick Stockstill, being here in the Baha- passes this season to rank the Blue Raiders have been mas, Blankenship said it’s 2nd in C-USA and 5th involved in 27 games that just what he expected. “I’m nationally. were decided in the final going to enjoy myself,” he • MT has 17 current minute of regulation or pointed out. “You don’t players on its roster com- overtime. The team is 16-11 get this opportunity (being peting in the bowl game in those games and have in the Bahamas) often. I’m with a degree in hand. won 12 of the last 17. a senior and I’m going to The student-athletes are • Rick Stockstill is third enjoy my last year here. I Amir Rasul, Reed Blank- on the school’s all-time just want to have fun with enship, Jarrin Pierce, Will wins list with 100 victories. it.”

Gilchrist, Alex Usry, Cody • In 198 games under — Here are some inter- Smith, Eric Magwood, Rick Stockstill, the Blue esting points to consider Martell Pettaway, Raheme Raiders are +28 in turnover from Middle Tennessee: Fuller, Ja’Kerrius Wyatt, margin.

• The Blue Raiders have Wayne Parks, Chase Cun• MT has scored 30 or gained 31 turnovers this ningham, CJ Windham, more points 87 times in season and 19 of those Yusuf Ali, Brad Anderson, 198 games under Rick have come at home in five Jordan Ferguson and DQ Stockstill. games.

Thomas.

• Between Rick Stock• The 31 turnovers lead • MT is 42-28 all-time still, Tommy West and the nation. RS Freshman in C-USA play (2018 title Scott Shafer, the MT staff Quincy Riley, who has game not included) and is has a combined 33 years of played in just eight games, averaging 182.3 yards rush- head-coaching experience ranks tied for 2nd nation- ing per game. with all but one year at the ally with five interceptions.

• Consecutive Start FBS level.

• The 5 picks equal the Leaders: Jarrin Pierce (22), • 2021 season is 107th for 10th most in a season at Greg Grate (22), and Reed Blue Raider football and MT. Blankenship (21). the 23rd at the FBS level.

GLENDALE, Arizona (AP) — Matthew Stafford threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr each caught a touchdown pass and the Los Angeles Rams held on for a 30-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals last night.

The Cardinals (10-3) will have to wait at least one more week before clinching their first playoff spot since 2015. Kyler Murray threw two interceptions that led to Rams touchdowns.

The Rams (9-4), who won their second straight and pulled within one game of the Cardinals in the NFC West, look rejuvenated following a three-game losing streak in November.

Kupp had 13 catches for 123 yards, the eighth 100yard game this season for the NFL’s receiving leader.

The Cardinals had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds after recovering an onside kick.

But a holding call wiped out a long Murray run on the first play of the drive and Arizona couldn’t produce a last-second miracle.

Stafford — who had plenty of protection and time to throw most of the night — hit Van Jefferson on a high-arching pass for a 52-yard touchdown to push the Rams ahead 20-13 early in the third quarter.

The veteran quarterback dissected a Cardinals defense that had been among the best against the pass in the NFL this season.

UP NEXT Rams: Host Seattle on Sunday.

Cardinals: At Detroit on Sunday.

SPORTS PAGE 16

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2021

CURRY FALLS SHORT OF RECORD, BUT LEADS WARRIORS PAST PACERS

JONQUEL Jones in action in the WNBA. (AP)

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Stephen Curry finished one 3-pointer shy of the NBA career record last night, making five 3-pointers and scoring 26 points to help the Golden State Warriors rally late for a 102-100 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Curry is closing in on Ray Allen’s record of 2,973 and is likely to break it tonight on the NBA’s grandest stage — Madison Square Garden.

A near-sellout crowd was less interested in the result of the game than watching history.

The crowd roared each time Curry lined up a 3, gasped when he’d drive to the basket and erupt each time he inched closer to the record. For the final 90 seconds, everyone inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse was on their feet.

Domantas Sabonis led Indiana with 30 points and 11 rebounds and Malcolm Brogdon added 23 points and eight assists, but it wasn’t enough to protect their lead down the stretch.

While Curry finished 5 of 15 from beyond the arc, his

SEE PAGE 14

NFL, PG 15

STOCKSTILL AND BLUE RAIDERS ARRIVE AHEAD OF BAHAMAS BOWL

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Jonquel Jones is the MVP frontrunner in EuroLeague

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

J

onquel Jones’ double double streak recently came to an end but she remains the frontrunner to claim another MVP award this season.

The UMMC Ekaterinburg Foxes centre is atop the standings as FIBA produced the third installment of MVP Ladder of the EuroLeague Women regular season.

Jones is averaging 16.7 points, nine rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks per

game. She currently has the best efficiency rating among all players at 22.5.

Kayla McBride is currently ranked second followed by Kahleah Copper, Jones’ Connecticut Sun teammate Alyssa Thomas and Sandrine Gruda.

Jones scored just five points in 16 minutes of a win over TTT Riga but the Foxes remain undefeated at 8-0. In the previous game, she finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds in a December 1 win over Avenida. She had 17 points and 14 rebounds in

an 84-63 win over MBA Moscow, 17 points and 10 rebounds in an 82-67 win over KSC Szekszard and 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-72 win over USK. Last season, Jones averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in EuroLeague play. She also shot 74 percent from the field and a league-leading 62 percent (8-13) on threepoint field goals.

UMMC is favoured to repeat as EuroLeague champions for the seventh consecutive year, boasts a roster that also includes Brittney Griner (Phoenix

Mercury), Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm), Allie Quigley (Chicago Sky) and Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago Sky). The reigning WNBA MVP continues her momentum on the international level following a dominant performance for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers.

Jones finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds in an 80-64 win over North Macedonia and a career high 44 points and 22 rebounds in her team’s 87-81 win over Belgium.

HAVING left on the losing end in their first trip here in 2015, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders’ head coach Rick Stockstill said he’s looking for a more favourable outcome when they take on the Toledo Rockets in this year’s Bahamas Bowl.

Stockstill and his 6-6 (win-loss) Blue Raiders were the first team to arrive in the Bahamas yesterday ahead of their matchup with the Rockets on Friday for the fourth edition of the first collegiate bowl game to be played this year.

The Rockets, who finished the season with a 7-5 win-loss record, also arrived in town yesterday for their game that is scheduled to be played at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, on Friday, starting at 12 noon. It will be carried live on ESPN and is free to the Bahamian public.

Stockstill, who coached the Blue Raiders during their heart-breaking 45-31 loss to the Western

SEE PAGE 15