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VOLUME:118 No.26, DECEMBER 30, 2020

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Butler: They’ll do anything to damage me Sky Bahamas chief denies allegations from airline financier

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SKY BAHAMAS’ former principal says efforts by the airline’s main financier to discredit him by instigating police probes in The Bahamas and US “shows the lengths they will go to damage my name”.

Captain Randy Butler told Tribune Business that Fred Kaiser needed to “come head on with the facts” in court after it emerged the businessman has sought police investigations in both countries to determine the fate of Sky Bahamas’ planes and aircraft engines said to be worth “millions of dollars”.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

D’AGUILAR: TOURISM NUMBERS SHOW WE’RE A GLIMMER OF OUR FORMER SELF

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar yesterday said he is not happy with the country’s tourism arrival numbers since

SECOND SUSPECTED SUICIDE PROBED

Mr Kaiser, who is alleging that Captain Butler and former deputy prime minister, K Peter Turnquest, “conspired” to defraud him of almost $28m via socalled “sham loans” made to Sky Bahamas and its affiliates, claims he and his companies own the planes and engines which had only been leased to the airline.

Both Mr Turnquest and Mr Butler have vehemently denied the “sham loan” allegations, and the former was neither named as a defendant in that action nor has been linked to the investigation into the planes and engines.

border restrictions were softened, adding the pandemic has made fewer people want to travel.

“Of course I’m not happy with the numbers because they’re not even SEE PAGE FIVE

‘AT LEAST 50’ JOBS TO GO AT OCEAN CLUB

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE hotel union’s president yesterday said “about 50” of his members are likely to be terminated by the Ocean Club as the resort right-sizes ahead of dismal occupancy levels.

Darrin Woods, the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s president, said the Four Seasons-branded Paradise Island resort had informed it just prior to Christmas it was anticipating occupancy levels of just 25 percent “going well into the New Year”.

John Conway, the Ocean Club’s general manager, was unavailable for comment yesterday, but Mr Woods said the number of permanent terminations would be more than 50 as managerial posts were likely to be impacted too.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are investigating a suspected suicide in New Providence just days after a man was discovered hanged from a ceiling in Grand Bahama.

According to police, the New Providence man’s unresponsive body was found in a home on Victoria Avenue on Monday.

“Preliminary reports stated that shortly before 11pm, police received reports of an unresponsive body of a male that was found with a cord around the neck. The officers on their arrival, were directed to a stairwell where they found the body of a male as reported,” police said.

SEE PAGE THREE

WELLS: TOO SOON TO TELL IF WE WERE NAUGHTY OR NICE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells said officials will not know until mid-January if holiday celebrations will lead to an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

“We’ve not seen the

uptick,” he said outside Cabinet. “You would see that in the numbers that have been reported so far. I think our last case, we had eight. We had four in New Providence on Sunday... but over the weekend, we’ve had ten and under so our numbers still look good and the virus has a 14-day incubation period,

so whatever you do, you don’t see it for anywhere to seven to 14 days. So we’d be looking maybe in the second week in January as to how and whether as a people, and I’m just staying in the Christmas season, whether we’ve been naughty or nice.”

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FOUR

FOR 2021, IT’S TIME TO THINK S.M.A.R.T

SEE PAGE EIGHT

PAGE 2, Wednesday, December 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

THE ELNET team delivering dinners on Christmas Day in Grand Bahama.

A dinner to make people’s Christmas Day

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AT a time when many persons on Grand Bahama are struggling, Elnet Maritime Agency delivered a full Christmas dinner to five needy families on Christmas Day. Patrice Rolle, operations manager at Elnet, and her team provided a hot Christmas meal to serve a family of ten – two families in Freeport, and one family in Pinder’s Point, Eight Mile Rock, and West End. The initiative benefitted some 50 persons in total.

Mrs Rolle said Elbert Hepburn, president and CEO of Elnet Maritime, wanted to do something special this Christmas to assist families.

The recipients were the family of Agatha Bethel and the family of Jeffrey Patton, both of Freeport; the third recipient was the family of Jenny Baptiste of Eight Mile Rock; Mercedes Evans, of Bootle Bay, West End; and Anishka Lightbourne, of Pinder’s Point.

Ms Rolle said the families were surprised and very happy. “We really wanted to show love on Christmas Day to five families. It came at a really good time during this pandemic and during really hard times for a lot of families,” she said.

“They were very surprised, and they expected maybe one or two plates, but we provided them with a full meal for ten persons per family.”

Mrs Rolle said that Mr Hepburn was raised

by a single mother and understands the struggles experienced by many families in Grand Bahama.

“He believes in giving back to the community, and for me it is such a great feeling to give back on Christmas Day,” she said.

One recipient said that she was very appreciative to Elnet Maritime for providing Christmas dinner, which she was able to share with several other persons. “This is a Merry Christmas for me and for them because there are some people who actually need food on Christmas Day,” she said.

Elnet Maritime Agency is a full shipping agency that provides services such as charters agency, lightering, off port limits. The company also acts as a protective agency, and husbandry agency.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 30, 2020, PAGE 3

Call for stronger penalties after mom beaten to death

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

IN the wake of a single mother reportedly being beaten to death, Women United Northern Bahamas has asked for individuals to petition their politicians and policy makers to demand stiffer penalties and legislation to protect women and girls.

According to police, they were called to a home in Crown Haven, Abaco after 1pm on Saturday, December 26, where they found a woman’s lifeless body. Police said additional inquiries revealed that the woman “had an altercation with a male earlier that day” and was later found lifeless at her home with “injuries to the face”.

A relative identified

the victim as 36-year-old mother of seven, Angeleta Pritchard. She was said to have been killed in front of her young child at her home.

In a statement, WUNB extended heartfelt condolences to the mother’s children and loved ones.

The organisation called the incident a “brutal and inhumane murder” and asked that her name be said so she is never forgotten.

“When we are discussing the rights of women and girls, there is none more basic than the mere right to life,” the group said in a statement. “The right to have an existence free from fear, free from violence, the simple right to exist as a human being.

This right was violently and horrifically taken from Angeleta Pritchard who

was bludgeoned to death, as her child was forced to bear witness to this terror. . .

“We will not refer to her as ‘victim’ or other neutralising terms that strips her of her humanity. We will acknowledge her by her name, Angeleta Pritchard, because she deserves in death that which she was devastatingly denied in life, respect. We cannot continue to normalise the gender-based violence in our society by the use of desensitising vernacular and gentile descriptions.

We cannot be polite when we continue to lose our women and girls to aggressors who objectify them and society who has failed to protect them.”

The group said losing women and girls to gender-based violence creates “a tear in the fabric of our

society and erodes the foundation of our community”.

Thus WUNB argued “we cannot afford to continue to categorise these attacks as private matters because this is a systemic problem that affects us all.”

The statement added: “We are asking you to say her name, Angeleta Pritchard, so she is never forgotten and the work that must take place, to right these tragic wrongs, is never forgotten. As long as women and girls anywhere are not safe, then women and girls everywhere are not safe. We challenge you to stand with us.

“We implore you to take your social media, your schools and churches, your organisations and places of business, and let out a public outcry that will shatter the status quo and

force the change that we need. Petition your politicians and policy makers and demand stiffer penalties and legislation that will become a deterrent and will protect our women and girls.

“But we cannot stop there, legislative change is not enough. We need a safe haven for our women and girls, where they can be free to enjoy the basic right to life that so many take for granted. We need shelters to be developed in Abaco and Grand Bahama, furnished with counselling and life support services to these women and girls to have a chance. We are calling for sensitivity and diversity training for the police force so officers are properly equipped to detect and handle cases of genderbased abuse.”

Earlier this week, police said a man is in custody assisting with the investigation. A relative told The Tribune she suspects Ms Pritchard was attacked by a spurned partner who could not handle rejection.

Earlier this month, a grandmother was killed in her home and her daughter was also attacked during a domestic dispute involving a male relative, police said.

And in September, a mother and her eight-yearold daughter were found slain at their Nassau Village home. At the time, police said they suspected the double killing came after a domestic dispute.

If you or someone you know is a victim of genderbased violence, contact the Bahamas Crisis Centre hotline at (242) 328-0922.

DUMP TRUCKS DESTROYED IN BLAZE AT COMPOUND ROYAL Bahamas Police Force Fire Services is investigating a fire that left several privately owned dump trucks destroyed on Monday morning.

RBPF Fire Services director, Superintendent Kenrick Morris confirmed that officers received a call about a fire on the compound of Tycoon Management at Arawak at around 2am.

Supt Morris said he was still awaiting a report from investigators and could not say if the incident was the work of an arsonist.

“The call came in at around 2.28am early Monday and upon arrival they met several vehicles fully engulfed in flames. We are still awaiting the report from investigators,” Supt Morris said.

However, Ed Curling, owner of Tycoon Management, said he believed the fire was intentionally set.

He also sought to make it clear that none of the trucks was owned by his company, but by truckers who operate privately.

“Yesterday morning around 2 o’clock I received

a call from my superintendent of the yard to say that the police called him to say that the yard was on fire,” Mr Curling told The Tribune. “The yard is on Arawak (Cay) next to the Betty K on the north side.

Upon arriving out here the fire engine and firemen were in the yard putting the fire out.

“It was all the trucks, but I want it to be noted that Tycoon Management is not in the trucking business. However, some of the truckers who truck products out of Tycoon’s yard store their trucks at Tycoon Management, but I want to make it plain and clear that Tycoon Management does not own any dump trucks.

“I also want to make it explicitly clear that Tycoon Management cannot think of any suspect because it does not owe anybody and it has not fired anybody recently. So I really can’t say who would have come in the yard and do such a thing.

“Six privately owned trucks were destroyed and the police are actively investigating the matter.”

ONE of the burned out trucks in the Tycoon Management compound.

SECOND SUSPECTED SUICIDE PROBED from page one

“Emergency medical services were summoned, following their examination, they pronounced the body lifeless. Police are awaiting the identification of a next of kin and an autopsy report to determine the exact cause of death.”

The matter is being investigated as a suspected suicide in the interim.

This incident comes after another man allegedly committed suicide in Grand Bahama on Christmas Day. Police said shortly after 1pm on Friday, December 25, officers were called to a residence on Raleigh Drive where the body of a 43-year-old man was found hanging from the ceiling.

He was last seen on Thursday, December 24, shortly after 5am. Foul play was not suspected at that time.

There also appears to be an increase in suicides this year, with several fatal incidents and attempted suicides reported in 2020.

When asked if suicide or suicidal thoughts were more prone to happen during the holidays, one local counsellor said the festive period is not the only time people are motivated to self-harm.

“Maybe now COVID has changed things where the loneliness or not being maybe able to see the loved ones, but I certainly believe due to research that if persons wanted to do it they could do it at any time of the day,” clinical mental health counselor and coordinator and assistant secretary of the Bahamas Psychological Association K Saunders said.

“So it’s not particularly this holiday season, but if they have that notion that they want to do it

— they can do it or they will do it.

“For instance, if somebody wants to commit suicide without seeking help, that can occur. So if perhaps they didn’t reach out in time or maybe they’re not around persons or loved ones who notice the sign. So it’s a number of reasons why persons commit suicide, but for us at the Bahamas Psychological Association, we do provide that help. We advertise the line.”

Ms Saunders said at this time the calls to the association’s hotline have been fluctuating, averaging maybe 50 to 75 this month.

The hotline received more than 100 calls last month. The Adult Support Line can be reached at 816-3799 or 815-5850 while the Child, Adolescent and Parent Support Line can be reached at 819-7652.

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PAGE 4, Wednesday, December 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Wells: too soon to tell if we were naughty or nice from page one This comes as the country continues to record new infections in single digit numbers, with just four additional cases reported on Monday and eight on Sunday. COVID-19 cases in the country tallied 7,846 up to press time, with 1,444 of those still active.

Despite the low figures, Mr Wells also urged people to not let their guard down this festive period to help the country avoid experiencing a third COVID-19 wave.

“I know it’s the festive season, we know it’s the holiday season, we know you want to connect with family, but let’s do so in a way that’s safe so that at the end of the day all of us could continue to move through this period having the kind of festivities that we would need to and want to have and not have the blowback from not having done what we needed to as a people,” he told reporters outside of Cabinet.

Asked if the public can expect to see more restrictions being implemented if cases increase considerably after the holidays, the minister replied that drastic measures will only be taken if community spread is too high.

He said: “The reality is this, you would remember during the second wave that we did not shut the country down immediately. We seek to, through the healthcare apparatus to be able to deal with any potential surge initially.

HEALTH Minister Renward Wells.

“We have our contact do all of the healthcare tracing team in place, the training protocols that are surveillance team that are necessary without having able to identify the virus to shut the country down. with persons who pre- We only go to lockdowns sent and who are sick and when the spread, the posithen we immediately jump tivity rate is so large. It’s into action, contact trac- astronomical that we need ing all of the individuals to in actual fact shut the that they would’ve come nation down in order to into contact with seek- get our hands around the ing to have those persons virus.”

Yesterday, Mr Wells quarantined.

“So, we’re seeking to also spoke about the new

COVID-19 strain that was first detected in the UK but has now spread to countries such as Germany, Canada, the United States and Japan.

Several countries have already placed border restrictions on the UK since the new strain was reported.

However, Mr Wells said The Bahamas does not plan to follow suit at this current time.

“We’re not seeking to close our borders again as a country,” he said. “The prime minister has spoken that we’re in a phase where we’re seeking to keep the economy open and keep the Bahamian people working and doing what we need to as a Ministry of Health, as a government, as a competent authority, to be able to ensure that all of the issues and

the protocols we have in place continue to address the issue of health for the Bahamian people in a way that allows us the freedoms that we currently have.”

Regarding the COVID19 vaccine, Mr Wells said negotiations with several vaccine distributors are still ongoing, adding that the government is hoping to have one in the country soon.

‘EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE’ SAYS DAMES

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames wants more ex-offenders to apply to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee to get their criminal records expunged, saying “everyone deserves a second chance.”

His comments come after the Prerogative of Mercy Committee last week approved 147 requests for clemency and one for record expungement.

Yesterday Mr Dames highlighted the move as a part of the government’s efforts of improving

the rehabilitative justice system.

“This has been something that our government had promised since coming into office that we’re going to take a very, very aggressive approach towards rehabilitation,” he told reporters ahead of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.

“We need to move this in a new direction and we’ve been doing just that. I think it was Thursday past, there were 140 plus persons (approved for clemency) and we hope to move into the new year as we work towards doing a much better job in that regard in terms of rehabilitation.”

In a statement released by the Ministry of National Security last Wednesday, the committee revealed it had reviewed 205 requests for clemency and two for record expungement.

“As a result, 147 were approved for clemency, six pending additional reports, one record expunged and 59 deferred to the next meeting in January 2021,” the press release said, adding the group was the largest ever considered by the Prerogative of Mercy Committee.

Giving more details into the approval process for clemency, Mr Dames told reporters that the committee reviews each request

DEATH NOTICE CHARLES MARTIN LASHLEY

of Carriacou, Skyline Heights, and formerly of St. George’s, Grenada, died at his home on Thursday, December 24, 2020 at the age of 68.

He was predeceased by his darling daughter, Lia and his parents, Samuel and Adeline Lashley.

He is survived by Caryl (Toni) Lashley, his loving wife of 38 years and his children, Brett, Jody and Ryan Lashley; Siblings: James and Marise, Ramon and Debra, Deanna and Jacqueline Lashley, Edward and Michele Fields, and Tommy and Shawn Turnquest; Father-inlaw: Sir Orville Turnquest; aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends, including generations of the Saint Augustine’s College and University of The Bahamas families.

Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.

“on a case-by-case basis,” adding there is no case that is not considered.

He said: “So, the way it works is we get reports from (the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services) the police, Social Services and we also ask for psychiatric reports where it is warranted and if a person can convince the committee that they are indeed ready for reintegration, the committee in all likelihood will consider it strongly.

“We consider everything.

I know that there are a few manslaughter cases that would’ve been considered. Break-ins, fraud, across the board but you would’ve had to serve for some time and demonstrated that you’re ready to be re-integrated back (into society). As I said before, our committee is a very experienced committee and they take nothing for granted.”

He also said that as of last Thursday, the committee reviewed some 200 applications for clemency.

He said: “We would’ve, I think on Thursday, would’ve looked in excess of 200 applicants. We still have a lot more applicants to review. We have deferred some of the matters. The committee had requested additional information in respect to that, additional reports as well and so the goal is we believe in a second chance and giving people a second chance.”

Yesterday, the minister

also spoke about the work of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Committee, saying officials continue to see increased requests for record expungement.

However, he also said officials want more exconvicts to apply through the committee as everyone deserves a second chance.

“We continue to appeal to persons out there with criminal records who can prove that they have reintegrated into society and they’re worthy to have their records expunged,” Mr Dames said.

“We’re seeing an uptick in requests for expungements and that’s a good thing and…I know the stigma placed on individuals who even for minor offences have them on their police records and the minute they go and apply for a job and someone sees it, it just eliminates them right away and some of these persons are very good and decent persons who would’ve made a mistake in life, but we all do from time to time and they deserve a second chance.

“And again, we continue to appeal and we’re going to move into the new year with a very aggressive strategy, a public relations strategy in getting the information out there to all of the communities throughout this country so people know I have an opportunity to get my record expunged and I am indeed one of those

persons who are ready.”

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Amendment) 2015, people who have committed murder, manslaughter, treason, armed robbery, rape or possessed dangerous drugs with the intent to supply cannot have their records expunged.

But after five years most others are eligible if they are first-time offenders or were younger than 21 at the time of their first conviction.

Yesterday, the minister assured that the committee will do its due diligence to ensure that those who apply to have their records expunged deserve the approval.

“The committee will do their due diligence that you are a fit and proper person and that you have re-integrated properly,” he stressed.

“And what we are seeing is we’re getting letters of support from pastors, other community members and from employers who are writing on behalf of these individuals and the committee does its due diligence.

That’s what it’s all about.

You have persons who’ve been out there for ten, 20 and 30years and have not gotten themselves in problems since their last offence.”

Asked how long the expungement process takes, Mr Dames said it can take weeks, but noted officials are committed to shortening the process.

OFF TO JAIL THEN BACK TO HAITI

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THREE Haitian men who illegally migrated to the country over a year ago will spend three months in prison before they are deported back to their home country.

John Mac, 44, Daniel Pierre, 44, and Dijimo Gideon, 26, were arrested after they were found in Eleuthera on December 21 having landed in the

country without leave of an immigration officer.

Each of the defendants pleaded guilty to one count of illegal landing during a hearing before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans.

The court was told that a team of police officers attached to Governor’s Harbour turned over the three men to the Department of Immigration on the day in question. When immigration officials conducted inquiries on the men, they discovered that Mac and

Pierre had landed in the country a year ago through New Providence before moving to Eleuthera. They also said that Gideon had landed in the country sometime in 2018.

After listening to the prosecution’s facts, Magistrate Vogt-Evans convicted the accused and sentenced them to three months in prison. She said once their sentences were completed, they would be handed over to the director of immigration for deportation.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 30, 2020, PAGE 5

D’Aguilar: tourism numbers show we’re a glimmer of our former self from page one

close to what they were in 2019. We’re a (glimmer) of our former self.

There are impediments to travel, there is the need to get a PCR test within five days which we extended to seven days over the Christmas, there’s the need to get a visa and pay for a visa,” he said.

“All of these are impediments to travel, but we feel that that’s keeping the level of community spread to an acceptable level and so as we rolled out on the first of November, we’ve kind of maintained a relatively low number of COVID cases and a relatively low number of people in the hospital.

“So as I say as minister of tourism, I want to attract as many people as I want to in the country, but I want to do so safely so I have my foot on the gas and my foot on the brakes, trying to get that right balance to ensure that people come to the country, but do so safely and not infect our people or we infect them so that is the kind of balancing act that we’re trying to do in the Ministry of Tourism.

The numbers of course are (down). . .but I think everyone understands that due to COVID-19, people are just travelling less.”

This comes after several major resorts, including Atlantis and Baha Mar, began phased reopening earlier this month, after a months-long shutdown due to high COVID-19 cases in the country.

Asked how many people have travelled to the country during the past month, Mr D’Aguilar could not say, only telling reporters that officials will be able to compare this year’s travel figures to last year’s by the end of this month.

“All I can tell you is based on what we’ve been processing through the Bahamas health visa and certainly, the teams that process all those visas were working extremely hard

ATLANTIS and other resorts may be open again, with staff back at work - but the numbers of tourists are still low compared to before the pandemic.

Photo: Donovan McIntosh/Tribune Staff throughout the holiday,” he travel on a particular day sector back to life again.” reporters: “The governAsked why the intersaid. was either being approved, Yesterday, Mr D’Aguilar ment felt that it has to do national fares did not “We’ve had thousands of or denied or being pro- also defended the govern- whatever it can to mitigate increase, he replied: “They people applying for arrivals cessed before the date of ment’s decision to increase these substantial loses and are obviously governed and on the 27th and 28th, travel and we’ll see how our Bahamasair’s domestic is looking for every possible by a revenue management but how that compares in numbers settle at the end of travel fares. On Monday, avenue and while it is pain- system and they go up total obviously will be way the month to see how our the minister told Tribune ful and while we obviously and down depending on down from 2019, but we numbers compare.

Business the Minnis admin- don’t want to do it, these demand and supply. The were encouraged first of “We won’t be happy, istration had no choice but losses are just so substantial Family Island rates are all that we had a system but we’ll be happy that a to increase Bahamasair’s that they require an inter- fixed irrespective of data in place that was correctly number of persons came fares in a bid to contain vention and they require travel, irrespective of holivetting people that we had and Bahamians have gone “skyrocketing” losses that charging for the first bag day and irrespective of time the ability to process the back to work in the hotel could hit $60m for the air- and slight increases in of year and so there was a surge and demand and then sector and we’re slowly, line’s current financial year. domestic fares which have slight adjustment in those everybody who wanted to judicially bringing the Yesterday, he told not budged in eight years.” prices.”

OIL COURT HEARING ADJOURNED UNTIL TODAY

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A SUPREME Court hearing on an application for judicial review of Bahamas Petroleum Company’s exploratory oil drilling was adjourned yesterday after lawyer Fred Smith highlighted the lingering effects he experiences following a paragliding accident in Italy last year.

Justice Petra HannaWeekes will today hear arguments on whether to implement a stay of drilling, whether to permit applicants to amend their application for leave to initiate judicial review proceedings and, potentially, the substantive application for leave.

“I have suffered some severe injuries in my accident last year and when I

don’t get sleep and a lot of stress I am in a lot of distracting pain, so I’m suggesting your honour that in the interest of having a smooth hearing and with all of my colleagues having an opportunity to consider all of the papers and me being in a better position, your honour, to represent my clients so that all of those applications can be heard (today) or Thursday,” Mr Smith, QC, said.

Lead counsel for the respondents, Aiden Casey, QC, did not object to Mr Smith’s request.

However, BPC’s lawyer, Clare Montgomery, QC, expressed concern that the adjournment would be used so applicants could file more papers. She requested that Justice Weekes “draw a line” and prevent Mr Smith from filling further documents.

PAIR ACCUSED OF STEALING MAKE-UP AND JEWELLERY

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

TWO women, accused of stealing an assortment of luxury accessories and make-up from another woman’s home, were yesterday granted bail before their trial.

Arieann Adderley, 24, and Kenya Smith, 24, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes after they were accused of conspiring to steal from a home on December 16.

It is alleged that the women also stole a $7,995 bracelet, a $3,495 ring, and a $4,000 14-karat gold bangle, in addition to

make-up, weave and an assortment of designer bags and fragrances from the home that day.

The prosecution said Adderley also dishonestly received a $129 pink bag sometime between December 16 and 25.

Smith was accused of dishonestly receiving $920 worth of make-up, a pack of virgin hair extensions, perfumes and two designer bags within that same timeframe.

Yesterday, Adderley and Smith denied all of the charges and the case was adjourned to June 1 next year for trial.

Both accused were granted $5,000 bail until that time.

“This isn’t a trick that I am intending to pull off so that I can have more time to file the documents,” Mr Smith said. “I have spent a considerable amount of time over the weekend and I have been providing all of my colleagues and the court with everything that I have been intending on relying on thus far. I am not trying to take advantage of this and I would object to Ms Montgomery’s attempt to draw a line.”

Mr Smith said lawyers are capable of filing documents and that the adjournment should be allowed without conditions.

“I do not intend to be imprisoned as suggested by

Ms Montgomery,” he said.

BPC is not a party to the application.

In amending the application for leave, the applicants want to add the Town Planning Authority as a respondent to the application.

Mr Smith is acting on behalf of Our Islands, Our Future group and Waterkeeper Bahamas.

Environmental activists want to quash Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira’s decision granting environmental approvals to BPC in February. BPC began drilling its exploratory oil on December 20.

Simon Potter, BPC CEO, said in a press release:

“We are very pleased to announce that the drilling of the exploratory well, Perseverance #1 has commenced – the well has been spud.

This is a momentous milestone for both BPC and the Bahamas and represents the culmination of more than ten years work by a team who have remained steadfast in their belief in this project throughout – that it is finally taking place is a testament to the application, skill and professionalism

of many people over those years.

“The well will be drilled to the highest environmental and safety standards over the next 45 - 60 days.

Our shareholders have been extremely patient, but we are now within a couple of months of understanding the scale of potential resource uplift that might be accessed within the licences: a potential uplift that is the traditional domain of the ‘oil majors’.”

PAGE 6, Wednesday, December 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

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The best way out is through AS we near the end of a dreadful year, we hope that 2021 will bring better things.

But we should be clear, things aren’t getting better in a hurry – and stories in today’s Tribune show just that.

There’s Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar, for example, admitting he’s not happy with the tourism numbers and coming to grips with the fact that “everyone understands that due to COVID-19, people are just travelling less”.

Then there’s the news of at least 50 job cuts at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island – which has reopened but is not seeing as strong a demand for the first quarter next year as it might have hoped for.

Farther afield, we can look to the US where the much-vaunted “Operation Warp Speed” for delivering vaccinations has been questioned as to whether it’s working fast enough to build up herd immunity in the population there by June next year.

Worse news still is that the COVID-19 variant causing difficulties in the UK – because it appears to spread more easily – has hopped the Atlantic and has now been found in Colorado too.

All this against a backdrop of Health Minister Renward Wells talking in positive terms about us not having seen an uptick of cases here over the holidays – but that it will take time for any cases spread during Christmas parties to become clear.

The problem is still with us. The problem is not going away any time soon.

And tourism isn’t rebounding in a hurry.

So we carry the same old problems with us as we go into a new year. One thing we do have is hope. More vaccines are being cleared for use seemingly every week now, and we are still on target to start to receive vaccinations in the spring.

We wish the news was better. We wish the prospects of a recovery could be

sooner. But the reality is we must keep on going. As the poet Robert Frost said, the best way out is always through.

We shall get through this, and we shall know to value our normal world all the more once we have.

Action on domestic violence It is sad to note that another reported case of domestic violence has turned fatal.

Angeleta Pritchard was 36 years old and a mother of seven. She was said to have been killed in front of her young child at home.

This is not the first such case this year, but one of the concerns raised early in the cycle of lockdowns was how there might be a rise in domestic abuse.

Earlier this month, a grandmother was killed in her home and her daughter also attacked in another reported incident.

In September, another case saw eightyear-old Ednique Walker murdered alongside her mother, Alicia Sawyer.

There was talk of action in the wake of that killing. Police Commissioner Paul Rolle promised a “media blitz” on the issue of domestic violence that never came.

And now we have another reported case that has turned deadly.

Women United Northern Bahamas speak out today on the issue, and rightly so. They call for stiffer penalties and legislation that will become a deterrent and will protect our women and girls”.

They also call for shelters in Abaco and Grand Bahama, counselling and support services. They call for the police to receive training to appropriately deal with such cases.

To those in government, to those who head the police, we would say the call has been made – many times now. The question is, what will you do?

Bahamian wives made their bed EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE discriminatory element within the Free National Movement (FNM) government’s Fisheries Bill, 2020 has caused somewhat of a brouhaha within its ranks, with East Grand Bahama MP Peter Turnquest and former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham both expressing opposition to it.

On the other end of the spectrum, I would imagine that the group, The Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA), which lobbied the former Progressive Liberal Party administration under Mr. Perry Christie to repeal the policy of granting permits to alleged Dominican fishermen married to Bahamian women in 2012, is ecstatic.

For years, Bahamian fishermen have complained about the practice of what seemed like marriages of convenience, in which Dominican men engaged in the fishing sector are marrying Bahamian women.

In many instances, these Dominicans can hardly count from one to ten in

English, yet are able to say “I do” in perfect English before a Bahamian justice of the peace.

With the Dominican Republic boasting some of the most beautiful women in the Caribbean and indeed the world, why are so many Dominican men anxious to tie the knot with Bahamian women?

The BCFA believes that these marital arrangements were designed to get the Dominicans into The Bahamas legitimately.

They would then collaborate with their counterparts back home in the Dominican Republic, who would then engage in widespread poaching in the southern regions of The Bahamas.

Not being Bahamians, these men obviously have no sentimental attachments to this jurisdiction.

Dominican fishermen have just about depleted their fish stocks due to decades of unsustainable practices.

That’s why they have set their sights on the waters of The Bahamas. Our waters are teeming with marine resources. Left unchecked they would have depleted our fish stocks in

the southern Bahamas in a matter of decades.

The Fisheries Bill, 2020 is one effective way of pulling the rug from under this apparent scam. Now, Dominican fishermen no longer have an incentive to marry Bahamian women.

I agree with Ingraham and Turnquest that this legislation is discriminatory. But not all forms of discrimination is immoral.

For instance, no sane Bahamian parent would entrust their underaged children in the care of known paedophiles. That, my friend, is discrimination.

In any case, the Bahamian spouses of Dominican fishermen have made their bed, now they should lie in it. Years of abusing the process by treating our Bahamian birthright with contempt has finally caught up with them.

May I suggest to the naysayers of this Bill to direct their attacks at these misguided Bahamians, not the FNM. This is about putting Bahamians first.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama, December 21, 2020.

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

Lloyd: Our students are desperate EDITOR, The Tribune.

I BEGIN by quoting Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize winning Black journalist and Princeton University professor: “Our country is like a really old house. I love old houses. I’ve always lived in old houses. But old houses need a lot of work.

And the work is never done. And just when you think you’ve finished one renovation, it’s time to do something else. Something else has gone wrong.”

And that’s what our country is like. And you may not want to go into that basement, but if you really don’t go into that basement, it’s at your own peril. And I think that whatever you are ignoring is not going to go away.

Whatever you’re ignoring is only going to get worse.

Whatever you’re ignoring will be there to be reckoned with until you reckon with it. And I think that that’s what we’re called upon to do where we are right now.

While Wilkerson is speaking of the United States, her observation applies to The Bahamas: to how the majority of Bahamians feel about our country and, for this piece, to the state of our educational system.

Nothing I am about to say is new, surprising, or revolutionary and, though I’m not privy to conversations that may be happening among educators both in and outside the Ministry of Education and the University of The Bahamas, a constructive dialogue has to be occurring about the abysmal state of education in The Bahamas. The current system is a failure. The only reason some modicum of success occurs (read Bs and As in essential subjects such as English, Science, and Math) is that disciplined students and teachers can game the system and succeed, not because of it, but despite it.

Failure leaves two options: Disaster or opportunity.

Our system of institutions is inherited, and nowhere is this more obvious than the antiquated and ineffective exam-based education system. For the vast majority of Bahamian students, school is not about learning. It is drudgery. It is oppressive.

It is about seeing relatively few of one’s peers put on a pedestal and celebrated and being made to feel and, in some unfortunate cases, told that they are “dumb.”

It is about constantly asking why? why? why? Why do I have to suffer through this?

Day after day, month after month, year after year. How can any reasonable person not expect this in a system where some syllabi read, “This Bahamas General Certificate of Education is an examination being developed in consultation with the Cambridge University Local Examinations Syndicate.” Note the language: “being developed.” What has evolved since the early 1970s. The world, certainly.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net The Bahamas’ system of education?

So, yes, as Mr Lloyd noted when speaking of BJC and BGCSE exam results, “It’s been a challenging and difficult year (because of the pandemic, Dorian, etc).”

Nevertheless, as a whole, exam results are not significantly different than in past years. Lloyd also noted that students are “desperate.” While he refers to their returning to school, they are desperate for an educational system that makes their needs and the country’s needs a priority. Briefly, those needs include: 1. Learning how to become functionally literate in the three Rs. Here, ALL students must be equipped to, say, read the equivalent of a well-crafted newspaper article and, if they so choose, write a letter to the editor or an opinion piece. They must be able to understand and complete a job application — or an application to an institution of higher learning. They must understand basic financial statements, especially loan and credit card documents that could cripple them with debt. A household budget?

The power of compound interest?

2.

Graduating from high school with skills that allow constructive options: further education or the skilled job market or both.

3. Learning how to think.

To understand the importance of why, how, and so what and not simply who, what, when and where.

4. Above all, hope.

Ideally, our citizens — even the non-scientific ones — must be equipped to make observations, ask questions and identify problems, conduct research, come up with a preliminary explanation (hypothesize), experiment, test hypothesis, draw conclusions, share results. For example: A. Observation: The educational system is failing the vast majority of Bahamian students and this is bad for them individually and for society as a whole.

B. Ask questions and identify problems: Big picture question: Why is this happening?

C. Conduct research: Interview students, parents, educators, business people, the community at large and examine data. Examine successful educational systems (eg, Finland).

D. Hypothesize: Perhaps we could improve student learning by…

E. Experiment and test the hypothesis: Fund a pilot school (or two or three), a group of interested, dedicated educators, a broad cross-section of students, parents, and community members and help students become learners and thinkers while providing them with enough content to

allow them to succeed at the BJC and BGCSE — and, better yet, the internationally recognised IGCSE. F. At the same time, help them learn life skills, from basic finance, to computer programing and robotics, to carpentry, to hospitality, and so on. Traditional academics for part of the day; “votech” for part of the day. The goal: Students equipped for both higher education and the job market. Provide them with genuine life choices.

G. Draw conclusions. Look at the evidence. Is what was done in the pilot school(s) better than what exists? In what ways? How could it be made even better? How can the country ensure that education is iterative instead of static and equipped to meaningfully meet society’s evolving needs?

H. Share evidence and move forward, always keeping in mind the need to maintain what is good and be open to innovation.

The most significant barrier to any reform is that those currently holding the power to change see no need for reform. Despite the odds and despite the system, they have succeeded economically, socially and, like Mr Lloyd, politically.

Their children will, too. This is a lesson learned from the pioneers of change in The Bahamas (Pindling et al generation). Nevertheless, while Bahamians benefited from the so-called “Quiet Revolution” (Doris Johnson) of the 1960s and early 1970s, many are increasingly being left behind, largely because, while the faces of the people in charge have changed, the system that elevated them and that maintains their privilege remains much the same as during colonial times.

As elsewhere, COVID19 (and, for The Bahamas, Dorian) exposed a number of Bahamian society’s festering structural weaknesses.

Barring future catastrophes such as back-to-back highintensity hurricanes, The Bahamas will recover. However, it would be a mistake to think that going back to “normal” will sustain the country into the future, and Bahamians must recognise that “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” (Audre Lorde).

Meaningful educational reform would be an ideal place to equip citizens with the tools necessary to build a more sustainable, just, equitable society. Among others, Randol Fawkes and Clifford Darling understood the shortcomings and unfairness of the status quo as they audaciously led the fight for social, economic, and political change during the 1950s. Who will succeed them?

CHRIS MINNS Nassau, December 27, 2020.

(Chris Minns has been an educator in The Bahamas and the United States since 1980).

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, December 30, 2020, PAGE 7

‘I sold drugs to support family’

PRINCE Jennings outside court yesterday.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn

MAN ACCUSED OF FALSE ROBBERY COMPLAINT

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A 39-year-old Freeport man was charged with stealing by reason of employment among other charges in connection with a false armed robbery complaint.

Prince Jennings, of Pinehurst Drive, South

Bahamia, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson in Court One, where he was charged with stealing by reason of employment, acquisition of proceeds of criminal conduct, and making a false report.

The accused is alleged to have made a complaint to the Eight Mile Rock Police Station, alleging that he

TWO men were charged with armed robbery in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Police said Bobby Brown, 22, and Katraz Coakley, 21, used a Smith & Wesson gun to rob a man of $700 cash and a $250 Technomarine watch on December 22.

Due to the nature of the charge, the accused were not required to enter a plea and the case was adjourned to February 19, 2021 for service of a voluntary bill of indictment.

Yesterday, Coakley was also charged with possession of an unlicensed

firearm which the prosecution argued he used to endanger the complainant’s life on the day in question.

During the hearing, he was further accused of being found with a quantity of illegal ammunition.

Coakley pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case was also adjourned to February 19 for trial.

In the interim, Brown and Coakley were denied bail and remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

They both have a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

In a separate incident, a man who denied using a 9mm pistol to place two officers in fear for their

lives was granted bail ahead of his trial.

Police arrested Jason Ferguson, 39, after he was accused of being in possession of a .9mm pistol and 44 unfired rounds of .9mm ammunition on December 18.

The prosecution argued the accused also used the weapon to threaten Sergeant 2056 Edmond and Corporal 3883 Greenslade that same day.

During his hearing before Magistrate Forbes, Ferguson denied all of the allegations and his case was adjourned to May 26 next year for trial.

In the meantime, the accused was released on $9,000 bail.

40 HAITIANS DETAINED IN ANDROS MORE than 40 Haitian migrants were detained in Andros on Monday after their vessel ran aground in Mars Bay. According to the Immigration Department the group consists of 44 Haitian men and seven Haitian women who were arrested and detained by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Bahamas Immigration

Department.

Immigration officials have been sent to Andros to investigate and further process the migrants who are presently being held at the Government Complex in The Bluff.

All migrants have received medical attention from local Ministry of Health personnel, and are reported well, the Department of Immigration said.

Robinson’s house with a warrant and informed him that his house would be searched for dangerous drugs and firearms. The prosecution said that during their investigation, officers discovered 31 Ziploc bags filled with suspected marijuana in Robinson’s bedroom. They also said they found vacuum sealed packages filled with more marijuana and five ecstasy pills in a Nike backpack in the accused’s room.

Robinson was subsequently arrested and taken to the Drug Enforcement Unit where he admitted to the offences in an interview with police.

During the hearing,

Robinson told the magistrate that his wife had recently lost her job so he started selling drugs because they fell on “serious hard times”. He also insisted that he chose to sell drugs because he “didn’t want to rob or steal so he chose to do what he knew best”.

In response, Magistrate Forbes told Robinson that there were other avenues he could have taken to provide resources for his family. He also noted that the accused had appeared before him in 2015 for a similar crime and said it appeared that he had not learned his lesson.

As a result, Magistrate Forbes sentenced him to six months behind bars.

had been held up at gunpoint and robbed of cash belonging to a business establishment by unknown males.

Jennings pleaded not guilty to all charges and was granted $700 bail each on counts one and two and was granted $500 bail on count three.

The case was adjourned to February 10, 2021.

TWO CHARGED WITH ARMED RAID

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 37-YEAR-OLD man who claimed he sold drugs to support his family was yesterday sentenced to six months in prison.

Police arrested Thomas Robinson, Jr, after they found several packages of Indian hemp and five ecstasy pills in his home on December 23.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous drug possession with the intent to supply during his hearing before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes.

The court was told that that day, officers went to

This comes after 45 Haitian migrants had been arrested earlier by law enforcement officers in Long Island on Saturday.

The group of 36 Haitian men and nine women were arrested and detained after their vessel came ashore at Clarence Town, Long Island.

They were expected to appear before a judge in Long Island yesterday.

Private Funeral Service for MR. JAMES ALEXANDER SMITH, 72 of #407 Nansen Ave, Freeport, Grand Bahama and formerly of Nassau, New Providence, will be held on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at Restview Memorial Mortuary Chapel, Freeport, Grand Bahama. Officiating will be Minister Ellison Delva.

Precious memories will linger in the hearts of his Wife: Evelyne Smith; Daughter: Shantara Smith; Sisters: Felicia Smith, Dorothy Rolle, Priscilla Jennings, Majorie Ingraham, Verinta Folk; Brothers: Donald Smith, John Smith, Joseph Smith, Edward Smith, Phillip Smith; Nieces: Linda Grant, Natasha Rolle, Kerline Smith, Britney Smith, Margarita Smith, Teren Smith; Nephews: Leonard Smith, William Smith, Tammy Smith, Andrew Smith, Lil’ Christopher Smith, Nathan Dames, Phillip Smith Jr. Leonard Smith, Roberto Carter; Cousins: Walter Swann, Audley Swann, Magaret Bonaby and other relatives and friends.

Private Funeral Service for

Rev. Dr. Genius Wells, J.P., 73 of #8 Bay Cedar Ave, Seabreeze Estates and formerly of Sandy Point, Abaco, will be held on Sunday, January 3rd, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Chapel on the Hill Tonique Williams-Darling Highway.

Officiating will be Rev. Nathan Wells, J.P. (Assistant Pastor Chapel on the Hill), assisted by Bishop Carrington S. Pinder, C.M., CBE, JP General Superintendent (St. John’s Particular Church of Native Baptists), Rev. Dr. Philip Rahming, J.P. (Senior Pastor Rehoboth Ministries) and other ministers of the Chapel on The Hill. Interment will follow in Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road.

Precious memories will forever remain in the hearts of, his Beloved Wife: Edna Mae Wells; Daughters: Caroline (Rev. Cephas) Rolle, Gina McKenzie, Nicola (Stephen) Strachan, Min. Joy (Drexel) Russell; Son: Rev. Nathan (Ramona) Wells; Adopted Daughters: Sharon Martin, Min. Vernessa Rolle; Adopted Son: Cecil (Mae) Hepburn, Jr.; Grandchildren: Shanae, Stephen Jr., Candice & Nicholas Strachan, David, Danielle & Joshua Rolle, Edward Munroe Jr., Zayd McKenzie, Reagan Wells; Sister: Maxine Maycock; Brothers: George & James Wells; Sisters-In-Law: Bernice Wells, Katrina Wells, Mary Stubbs, Vernita Thompson, Naomi Thurston, Elizabeth, Theresa & Shantel Hepburn; BrothersIn-Law: Benjamin, Wellington & Tyrone Hepburn; Nephews: Patrick Maycock Jr., Ricardo, Dr. Raymond C. (Delerice), Kendrick (Kayla), Christopher & Luke Wells, Mark Johnson, O’Neil, Denardo, Calvin, Theo, Ramon & Benjamin Hepburn; Nieces: Beverly, Darlene & Sheena Maycock, Keysha Forbes, Kim Wells, Thelma (Nigel), Brown, Georgette (Jamie) McKenzie, Grace (Joshua) Knowles, Carolee & Faith Wells, Maxine Burrows, Daisy Ann Russell, Dr. Dionne (Philip) Dorsett, Lauren (Christopher) Smith, Petra (Ronald) Jones, Michelle Ramrattan, Marcia Thompson, Linda (Dax) Ramsey, Denise (David) Darville, Lisa Johnson, Stacey Heitleband, Erica Wade, Ruth, Lenny, Olivia, Delareese & Linda Hepburn; Paternal Cousins: Louis Dames, Eunice Greene, Jacklyn Hall, Florence Fornof; Maternal Cousins: Christopher, Charles, & Edna Knowles, Annie Roberts, Iva Davis, Emily Dames, Shirley Newton, Sybilene Davis, Randolph Knowles, Gloria Burrows, Hilda Stuart, Genevie Pinder, Roland, Anthony, Preston, Alonzo, Rennie Knowles, Merlene Swain, Frederica, Janet, Gary, David Knowles, Aaron Jr., Valentine, Brian and Brenda Knowles Estelle Knowles, Arthur Brennen, Benjamin Jr, Elijah, Eleanor, Patsy, Sharon Knowles and the families of Sarah Greene, Martha Knowles, Mary Knowles & Thomas Knowles; Numerous Family & Friends including: but not limited to: The Honourable Members of the House of Assembly, Speaker of the House of Assembly the Honourable Dewitt Halson Moultrie & Family, Senator, the Honourable Carl W. Bethel, Q.C. & Family, Mr. David Forbes & Family, Officers and Members of the Chapel on the Hill, Elder Emeritus Rolyston (Mae) Knowles & Family, Min. Cora Cooper & Family, Pastor Richard Barker & Family, Judith Dawkins & Family, Staff and Students of Hillcrest Academy, Helen Smith & Family, Irvin & Geleta Wilson & Family, Theresa Davis & Family, Sandy Knowles, Jeannie Lotmore, Christopher and Patricia Knowles & Family, Carolyn Wright-Mitchell & Family, Brenda Saunders & Family, Lucille Walker, Pastors & Members of the Christian & Missionary Alliance Churches in The Bahamas: Pastor Kenel Marcellin & Family (Kemp Road C&MA Church), Pastor Aleonce Bazile & Family (United Alliance Church) and Pastor Wilson François & Family (Alliance Church of Union & Deliverance); Members of the Clergy: Rev. Dr. Philip Rahming, J.P., Bishop Carrington (Rev. Sabrina) Pinder, Rev. Napoleon (Clemma) Roberts, Rev. Michael (Rev. Hilda) Symonette, Pastor Jason (Oesha) Roberts, Rev. Erskine (Virginia) Wells, Catechist Benjamin Pinder, Pastors Mario & Erika Moxey & Family (Bahamas Harvest Church), Pastor Yemi Ajimuda-Jackson & Family (The Redeemed Christian Church of God Victory House Bahamas), Canon Basil Tynes & Family, Pastor Walter Hanchell & Family, Pastor Reuben Cooper & Family, Apostle Dr. Cleon (Pastor Cynara) Munroe (Miracle Life Global Outreach Ministries), Rev. Alex Thompson & Family, Bishop Kermit (Adrianne) Saunders (Kingdom Worship Centre, Grand Bahama), Dr. Matthew Bowon & Family, Senior Pastor Alfred Stewart & Family (New Mt. Zion Baptist Church), Pastor Alexis Wallace & Family, Apostles Ed & Lee Watson & Family (Trinity City of Praise), Bishop Ros Davis & Family (Golden Gates Assembly), Dr. Kasermere Brozozog & Family, Evangelist Patricia Hall & Family, Prophetess Kendra Strachan & Family, Ambassador Devon (Yolanda) Rolle (Kingdom Discipleship Center) and The Jewish Christian Network, The Naomi Blatch Preschool Family, Bay Cedar Avenue Neighbours, Erma Williams & Family, Dorothy Johnson & Family, Ms. Isaacs & Family, David Munnings & Family, Betsy Russell & Family, Mr. Garvin Gibson, Family of Cephas Rolle Sr., Lester & Remelda Strachan & Family, Cyril Dean & Family, Patricia Smith & Family, Mary Wells, Eleanor Hepburn, The Wells, Pinder, Darville, Knowles, Dames, Lightbourne & Roberts Families, The entire Sandy Point & Moore’s Island Communities, Dr. Charles Osazuwa & the Staff of Seagrapes Medical Center and a host of other family members and dear friends.Special thanks to the Doctors and Nurses of Doctors Hospital Health System.

“Please accept our apology if any names were inadvertently omitted. May the blessing of the Lord be upon you and your families”.

Viewing will be held at Chapel on the Hill, Tonique Williams-Darling Highway on Wednesday TODAY December 30th, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and again at on Thursday, 31st December 2020 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the “Serenity Suite” at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd., Robinson and Soldier Road.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, December 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

For 2021, think S.M.A.R.T

By Alicia Wallace

WE’RE coming to the end of the confusing period between December 25 and January 1. During this time, a lot of people don’t seem to know what day it is or what is going on. From bed to shower to breakfast to bed to couch to lunch, time moves whether we mark it or not. It feels like the busyness of the year catches up with us during this time and we are forced to feel the listlessness and lack of motivation we have to ignore or push through when there seems to be no good reason to pause. For once, in December, some of us get to just drift.

Some people try to turn this period into one of hyper-awareness and hyperactivity, unable to fathom the idea of taking a break, even during a particularly slow period. They say it’s a great time for all kinds of activities, usually centering the demands of the capitalist system — the source of the compulsion to work, work, work. While, for some, it is a good time to catch up on things or try to get ahead for the new calendar, it is also okay to take a break. We should not have to be productive every single day, and we don’t need to feel guilty for taking time to do things we enjoy or to simply do nothing at all. For many of us, there is no other opportunity to take it easy. There are some, of course, who don’t have the same experience of this period, still showing up for work every day.

It’s important for us to realise that the events of 2020 are not in a box that gets sealed up at midnight on Friday. The challenges of this year will not cease to exist. COVID-19 will still be a part of our reality, affecting every part of our lives. This will not change before vaccines are widely available. As the restrictions imposed under the emergency orders seem to loosen up more and more, it is easy to think the crisis is coming to an end, but things can change quickly.

It is better to be prepared for the ups and downs that may come than to make

plans for a return to a version of the world that no longer exists.

Whether you are leaning in to the unstructured nature of this week or focused on keeping busy and checking items off your to-do list, it’s a good idea to spend some time reflecting on this year in ways that help to make the lessons you’ve learned clear and apply it to the perspective and behaviour you’re developing for 2021.

Perhaps, instead of tasking ourselves with lists of goals that would be difficult to attain, even under “normal” circumstances, we should focus on what would help us to get through 2021, given what we know about the way we handled 2020.

New year’s resolutions often include an item focused on weight loss, fitness, or healthy eating.

By now, most of us know that goals need to be S.M.A.R.T. Rather than a general “lose weight”, it’s important to ensure that goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. It takes time and focus to set these kinds of goals, and it’s even more work and dedication to work toward and achieve them. This year, achievable and realistic feels particularly relative.

Who knows what 2021 is going to be like? Even if you still set goals, you may want to take note of the reasons for those goals. It’s sometimes more important to acknowledge what you are trying to get away from or avoid. Do you need to break a habit or put systems in place to help you to take a particular course of action? Identify the conditions and systems that need to exist in order for you to to modify your behaviour.

There is, for example, a lot of talk about quarantine weight gain. There are many reasons that people gained weight this year, from spending unusual amounts of time inside and restrictions on exercise time to having very few meal options, whether due to availability of food or time to prepare it. There are also the effects of

IT won’t quite be out with the old - with many of the challenges of 2020 lingering on in 2021. mental health challenges, medication, and chronic illness. Instead of focusing on weight loss, it could be useful to think about what you’d like to do differently.

Would meal planning and weekly meal preparation help you prepare balanced meals? Do you need to talk to your doctor about the side effects of prescription medication? Would hanging athletic wear over the bathroom door give you the nudge to get dressed and get 30 minutes of movement in before you start working? Think about what didn’t work this year and what got in the way, then plan for different outcomes.

Shifting the focus from a big high-pressure idea to actionable items that centre how you’re feeling and what is possible for you can reduce stress and allow you to celebrate daily wins.

Did you read fewer books than you wanted to this year? Setting a goal to read 100 books in 2021 may not be the best idea if you got through five this year. Very little of what rocked our worlds in 2020 has changed, so we can assume the circumstances will be similar.

What is in your power to change for 2021? Maybe it’s the year you’ll admit that listening to audiobooks is a perfectly acceptable way

Graveside Funeral Service For MARGARETA ANN HALL, 54 a resident of Kemp Road & formerly of Rock Sound, Eleuthera, will be held at Southern Cemetery, Cowpen & Spikenard Roads, on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.

Officiating will be Pastor Tyrone Sands, assisted by Pastor Tameko Collie.

She is survived by her Mother: Winifred Hall; Children: Deangelo Hall, Savannah Butler and Shanice Butler; Grandchildren: Destiny Niya Hall and Vanreya Heaven Butler; Sisters: Maria Smith, Nadine Rolle, Sheina Thompson and Yolanda Major; Brothers: Cedric Hall and Valentino Hall; Nieces & Nephews: Lakera Turnquest, Ashlyn Adams, Jaydien Demeritte, Rashad Shepherd, Chrislyn Rolle, Sheniqua, Shundea and Prince Thompson, Cedric III, Nathan and Justice Hall, Tyiesha and Takeo Leary, Tashawn Hall, Shamiya and Minaj Hall, Laniya Richards Iantae Adams, Rakai Turnquest, Keyanna Thompson; Aunts: Cynthia Roberts, Betty Lou Knowles, Emerald Rahming, Sheila Gibson, Marienette and Enid Hall, Margaret Symonette, Mary, Adrianne and Alva Culmer; Uncles: Frank, Robert, Charles and Cyril Hall, Samuel Roberts, Willie Knowles, Evan, Gibson, Lenis Rahming, John Sands, Martin, Reno and Douglas Culmer; Estranged Husband: Samuel Butler; Mother-in-Law: Delores Scavella; Special Friends: Patrick Brown, Jason Johnson, Shane Darrel, Suzette Johnson, Stancheh Ferguson, other in-laws, relatives, work associates, and friends.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ARE BEING HANDLED BY DEMERITTE’S FUNERAL HOME, MARKET STREET.

to read books. You can play them while you cook, clean, drive, run, or get ready for bed. When you figure out what kept you from reading, you can start to make changes to address it and increase your opportunities (and use of those opportunities) to read.

Instead of getting caught up in the annual rush to make an impressive list of

resolutions for 2021, give yourself the time and space to reflect on 2020. Figure out how to respond to challenges you know, from the experience of 2020, will come up in 2021. If goals work for you, great, but if they’re overwhelming right now, you can focus on the small adjustments you can make to build a better year. That could be a

cleaning schedule, deciding on a walking route, finding a meal prep app, starting therapy, waking up earlier or later, setting boundaries, or asking for support in specific areas. Remember that you’re doing this for you; not for your social media audience. It doesn’t have to be impressive to anyone.

Make sure what you’re doing is beneficial to you.

For your entertainment 1. Soul. What makes you who you are? What is your spark? That is the question this Pixar animated film poses as it follows music teacher and lover of jazz Joe Gardner. Gardner finally gets his big break as a jazz musician, courtesy of a former student, when he finds himself on the way to the “Great Beyond.”

Unwilling to die and miss out on his moment, he does everything he can to get back to his body on earth. When he is assigned a soul to mentor, helping it to find its spark so it can get a body on earth, he learns a bit about life just by having a different perspective. The voice cast includes Jamie Foxx, Phylicia Rashad, Questlove, and Angela Bassett. It’s a great movie to watch with the family and to get you thinking about what your spark might be.

2. Wonder Woman 1984.

I haven’t watched this one yet, and the reviews have been terrible. No one seems to like much about this movie. It seems like a good one to put on while you’re doing something else like cooking or working on a

PIXAR’s Soul is new on Disney+ puzzle. It also seems to be a good choice for people who like watching terrible movies and television shows because they make good fodder for conversation.

3. Jingle Jangle. This musical is a good choice for family viewing. The first half is a bit slow, but the second half makes up for it.

While predictable, it’s a nice break from real life and the usual drama-filled televisions shows and movies.

Jingle Jangle has themes of imagination, determination, integrity, and family.

The cast includes Phylicia Rashad, Forest Whitaker, Madalen Mills, and Keegan-Michael Key. 4. Music. DJ Ampero created a mix for Equality Bahamas’ 16 Days of Activism Against Genderbased Violence campaign, and it’s perfect for relaxing evenings at home. Play it while admiring your tree, making a cup of hot chocolate, or enjoying a few minutes of aromatherapy with your favourite candles or bath salts. Find it at tiny. cc/16daysmix.

THE TRIBUNE

By BARBARA ORTUTAY and MAE ANDERSON AP Technology Writers We streamed, we Zoomed, we ordered groceries and houseplants online, we created virtual villages while navigating laptop shortages to work and learn from home. In many ways, 2020’s pandemic-induced isolation threw our dependence on technology into overdrive, snipping away at our real-life connections while bringing digital relationships to the fore.

But for every life-changing Zoom, there was at least one soon-forgotten Quibi. Here’s a look at the year’s tech winners and losers.

LOSERS • VIRTUAL REALITY As the world adjusted to a new stuck-at-home reality, the pandemic could have been virtual reality’s chance to offer an escape. With the use of special headsets and accouterments like gloves, the technology lets people interact with a 360 degree view of a three-dimensional environment, seemingly a good fit for people stuck indoors.

But people turned to easier-to-use software and games that they already had.

Few rushed to spend hundreds of dollars on a clunky new headset or tried to learn the ropes of virtual reality meeting software.

And no VR games broke into the mainstream.

So virtual reality, on the verge of success for decades, missed its moment, again.

•S OCIAL MEDIA ELECTION LABELS It was the year of labels on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and even TikTok. Ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential vote, the companies promised to clamp down on election misinformation, including baseless charges of fraud and candidates’ premature declarations of victory.

And the most visible part of this was the bevy of labels applied to tweets, posts, photos and videos.

“Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process,” read one typical label applied to a tweet by President Donald Trump.

But many experts said that while the labels made it appear that the companies were taking action, “at the end of the day it proved to be pretty ineffective,” as Jennifer Grygiel a professor at Syracuse University and social media expert, put it.

• QUIBI Less than a year ago, Quibi launched a splashy Super Bowl ad that posed the question “What’s a Quibi?” People may still be scratching their heads.

Quibi, short for “quick bites,” raised $1.75 billion from investors including major Hollywood players Disney, NBCUniversal and Viacom.

But the service struggled to reach viewers, as short videos abound on the internet and the coronavirus pandemic kept many people at home.

It announced it was shutting down in October, just months after its April launch.

Wednesday, December 30, 2020, PAGE 9

TECH WINNERS AND LOSERS OF

2020 • UBER AND LYFT Fresh off of their initial public offerings the year before and still struggling to show they can be profitable, the ride-hailing services were clobbered by the pandemic in 2020, as people stopped taking cars and huddled down at home.

In May, Uber laid off 3,700 people, or about 14% of its workforce. Lyft also announced job cuts.

But there are some signs of hope.

After significantly reducing costs by restructuring in the second quarter, Lyft said last month it expects to have its first profitable quarter at the end of 2021.

And the companies scored a major victory in California, where voters passed Proposition 22, granting them an others an exception to a law that sought to classify their drivers as employees, an expense that analysts thought would have pummeled their business in the nation’s most populous state.

• U.S. TIKTOK BAN While India outlawed the popular video sharing app, in the U.S. TikTok appears close to riding out Donald Trump’s term without the president succeeding in his efforts to ban it.

Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked a potential ban.

It was the latest legal defeat for the administration in its efforts to wrest the

IN JANUARY, Jeffrey Katzenberg poses for a portrait to promote “Quibi” at the Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

(Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)

IN this photo from February, game demonstrator Alex Chang uses a disinfectant wipe to clean a game console at the Nintendo Switch exhibit at the Pax East conference in Boston. Launched in 2017, the Switch became a fast seller. In March 2020, it became hard to find a Switch as people searched for ways to be entertained inside their homes. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) app from its Chinese owners.

In October, another federal judge postponed a shutdown scheduled for November.

Meanwhile, a government deadline for TikTok’s parent, ByteDance to complete a deal that would have Oracle and Walmart invest in TikTok has also passed, with the status of the deal unclear.

While President-elect Joe Biden has said TikTok is a concern, it’s not clear what his administration will carry on the Trump administration’s attempts at a ban.

WINNERS • NINTENDO SWITCH Even in a year heralding splashy new consoles from Xbox and PlayStation, the Nintendo Switch was the console that could.

Launched in 2017, the Switch became a fast seller. That was helped by the launch of the handled Switch Lite in September 2019.

In March, it became hard to find a Switch as people searched for ways to be entertained inside their homes. Boosting its popularity was the release of island-simulation game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” which debuted March 20 and has now sold a cumulative 26 million units globally, according to Nintendo.

According to the NPD Group, during the first 11 months of 2020, Nintendo Switch sold 6.92 million units in the U.S. It has been the best-selling console in units sold for 24 consecutive months, a record.

• ZOOM All video conferencing software from Microsoft Teams to WebEx thrived

during the abrupt shift of tens of millions of people to remote working and schooling during pandemic. But only one became a verb.

Zoom Video Communications was a relatively unheralded company before the pandemic hit, but its ease of use let to wide adoption during the pandemic.

There were some growing pains, including lax security that lead to “Zoom bombing” breaches early on. The company revamped its security and remains one of the popular platforms to host remote meetings and classes.

• RANSOMWARE PURVEYORS The ransomware scourge — in which criminals hold data hostage by scrambling it until victims pay up — reached epic dimensions in 2020, dovetailing terribly with the COVID-19 plague.

In Germany, a patient turned away from the emergency room of a hospital whose IT system was paralysed by an attack died on the way to another hospital.

In the U.S., the number of attacks on healthcare facilities was on track to nearly double from 50 in 2019.

Attacks on state and local governments were up about 50% to more than 150.

Even grammar schools have been hit — shutting down remote learning for students from Baltimore to Las Vegas.

Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft estimates the cost of U.S. ransomware attacks in the U.S. alone this year at more than $9 billion between ransoms paid and downtime/ recovery.

• PC MAKERS After beginning the year grappling with exasperating

delays in their supply chains, the personal computer industry found itself scrambling to keep up with surging demand for machines that became indispensable during a pandemic that kept millions of workers and students at home.

The outbreak initially stymied production because PC makers weren’t able to get the parts they needed from overseas factories that shut down during the early stages of the health crisis.

Those closures contributed to a steep decline in sales during the first three months of the year. But it has been boom times ever since.

The July-September period was particularly robust, with PC shipments in the U.S. surging 11% from the same time in 2019 — the industry’s biggest quarterly sales increase in a decade, according to the research firm Gartner.

• E-COMMERCE The biggest of the bunch, Amazon, is one of the few companies that has thrived during the coronavirus outbreak.

People have turned to it to order groceries, supplies and other items online, helping the company bring in record revenue and profits between April and June.

That came even though it had to spend $4 billion on cleaning supplies and to pay workers overtime and bonuses.

But it’s not just Amazon.

The pandemic is accelerating the move to online shopping, a trend experts expect to say even after vaccines allow the world to resume normal lives.

And thanks in part to shoppers consciously supporting small businesses, Adobe Analytics says online sales at smaller U.S. retailers were up 349% on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

At the more than 1 million businesses that use Shopify to build their websites, sales rose 75% from a year ago to $2.4 billion on Black Friday, according to Shopify.

JURY’S OUT • BIG TECH Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google did well financially, with each company’s stock price and profit up considerably since the start of the year.

They gained users, rolled out new products and features and kept on hiring even as other companies and industries faced significant cuts.

But not all is well in the world of Big Tech. Regulators are breathing down each company’s neck and that’s unlikely to ease up in 2021.

Google faces an antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice.

And Facebook has been hit by one from the Federal Trade Commission along with nearly every U.S. state that seeks to split it off from WhatsApp and Instagram.

More cases could follow.

Congressional investigators spent months digging into the actions of Apple and Amazon in addition to Facebook and Google, and called the CEOs of all four companies to testify. __ AP Technology Writers Frank Bajak and Michael Liedtke contributed to this story.

TECHTALK COLORADO OFFICIALS APPROVE COMPANY’S PLAN FOR ELECTRIC CARS DENVER (AP) — Colorado utility regulators have voted to support Xcel Energy’s plan to invest more in electric-powered transportation. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission’s decision last Wednesday voted to support the company’s proposal to spend $102 million over three years to build charging stations, help convert state-owned vehicles into electric cars and incentivise homeowners to install car-charging equipment.

The three members of the commission were split on Xcel Energy’s plan to offer rebates to residents who buy electric vehicles, the Denver Post reported.

Two committee members eventually voted to allow a $5 million rebate programme for only low-income buyers and for vehicles with suggested prices of $50,000 or less.

“This is the dawn of a new era for clean, efficient transportation in Colorado,” said Travis Madsen, transportation program director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, in an email. “There’s something for everyone to like in this decision.

It will save Coloradans millions of dollars. At the same time, it will help clean up our air, protect our health, reduce climate change and greatly improve energy efficiency.”

The company had submitted its proposal after a 2019 law allowed utilities to invest in programmes that would create more electric vehicles. Gov. Jared Polis’ goal was to have almost 1 million electric vehicles on the state’s roads by 2030.

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PAGE 10, Wednesday, December 30, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

EARTHQUAKE KILLS SEVEN IN CROATIA - WITH MORE MISSING

SOLDIERS inspect the remains of a building damaged in an earthquake, in Petrinja, Croatia, yesterday. A strong earthquake has hit central Croatia and caused major damage and at least one death in a town south-east of the capital.

PETRINJA, Croatia Associated Press A STRONG earthquake in Croatia destroyed buildings and killed at least seven people yesterday, displacing scores of area residents or making them afraid to sleep indoors as emergency teams searched for those still missing by nightfall.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the magnitude

6.3 quake hit 28 miles south-east of Zagreb just before 12.20pm. It caused widespread damage in the hardest-hit town of Petrinja. The same area was struck by a magnitude 5.2 quake on Monday.

Officials said a 12-yearold girl died in Petrinja, a town of some 25,000 people.

Another six people were killed in nearly destroyed villages close to the town, according to HRT state television. At least 26 people

were hospitalised, six with serious injuries, officials said, adding that many more people remained unaccounted for.

In Petrinja, cries could be heard from underneath destroyed houses. One woman was found alive some four hours after the quake. Emergency teams used rescue dogs in the search for survivors, while family members looked on in despair.

“My town has been

completely destroyed.

We have dead children,” Petrinja Mayor Darinko Dumbovic said in a statement broadcast by HRT. “This is like Hiroshima - half of the city no longer exists.”

Firefighters worked to remove the debris from a collapsed building that fell on a car. A man and a small boy eventually were rescued from the vehicle and carried into an ambulance.

The town was left without electricity or running water

as officials scrambled to set up temporary accommodation for all of the displaced residents in need. Residents fearing another earthquake seemed poised to spend the night outside their homes.

Petrinja resident Marica Pavlovic said the quake felt “worse than a war”.

“It was horrible, a shock.

You don’t know what to do, whether to run out or hide somewhere,” she said.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and

other government ministers arrived in Petrinja after the earthquake.

“The biggest part of central Petrinja is in a red zone, which means that most of the buildings are not usable,” Plenkovic said.

He said the army has 500 places ready in barracks to house people, while others will be accommodated in nearby hotels and other places. “No one must stay out in the cold tonight,” the prime minister said.

UK hospitals eye tougher rules to fight COVID variant LONDON Associated Press BRITISH officials are considering tougher coronavirus restrictions as the number of hospitalised COVID-19 patients surpasses the first peak of the outbreak in the spring.

Authorities are blaming a new, more transmissible variant of the virus, first identified in southeast England, for the soaring infection rates. An area home to almost half of the people in England is under tight restrictions on movement and everyday life in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. Nonessential shops are shut along with gyms and swimming pools, indoor socialising is barred and restaurants and pubs can only offer takeout.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to hold a meeting of his COVID19 crisis committee later Tuesday. Health Secretary Matt Hancock is scheduled to update Parliament on Wednesday on whether more areas will be put into Tier 4 — the top level of lockdown measures — and whether the restrictions could be tightened even further.

Hospitals in the worsthit areas of London and southern England are becoming increasingly overstretched, with ambulances unable to unload patients at some hospitals because all beds are full. A growing number of National Health Service staff are off work because they are sick with the virus or self-isolating.

England had 20,426 coronavirus patients in hospitals as of Monday morning — the last day for which figures are available — compared to its previous high of 18,974 on April 12. Britain has recorded more than 71,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths, the second-highest death toll in Europe after Italy.

A further 414 deaths were reported Tuesday, along with a record 53,135 new cases, although that figure may include a backlog from the Christmas holiday period.

Steve Hams, a chief nurse at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in western England, said medical staff were becoming “increasingly exhausted”.

“We felt during April that there would be an end to this. But actually, we’re now seeing a third peak so trying to keep our colleagues and our teams going through this time is just incredibly difficult,” he told the BBC. Dr Sonia Adesara, an emergency-room doctor in London, said “doctors and nurses are having leave cancelled, they’re doing extra shifts, they’re working extra long hours but its an extremely serious situation”.

“The situation is untenable and I think we are very close to becoming overwhelmed,” she said.

Some scientists are urging Johnson’s Conservative government to postpone plans to reopen schools next week after the Christmas break. The government plans to test students regularly for the virus and 1,500 armed forces personnel have been called in to support schools as they organize the testing.

Andrew Hayward, a professor of infectious diseases epidemiology at University College London, said the fast-spreading virus variant meant that for UK schools to reopen, other sectors would have to close.

“We’re going to have to have increased, strict restrictions in other areas of society to pay for that,” he said.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS, said health care workers were back in “the eye of the storm” as they had been in the spring.

AMBULANCES outside the Royal London Hospital, in London, yesterday. England Health Service figures show hospitals now have more Covid-19 patients than during April’s first-wave peak.

Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP Stevens said the coronavirus vaccines provided hope, and estimated that all vulnerable people in Britain could be inoculated against the virus by late spring 2021. So far, more than 600,000 people in the UK have been given a shot of a vaccine developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and German firm BioNTech, out of a population of 67 million.

On Tuesday some of the first people in the UK to be inoculated received their second and final injection.

Margaret Keenan, 91, who on December 8 became the first person in the world to receive a rigorously tested COVID-19 vaccine,

had the follow-up shot at a hospital in the central England city of Coventry.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is given in two doses three weeks apart. Its developers say it conferred 95 percent immunity in clinical trials.

Officials and medics hope UK regulators will soon authorise a second coronavirus vaccine for use in Britain. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is assessing a vaccine made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

Media reports say authorisation for that could come this week and vaccinations with it could begin next week.

NEW STRAIN HAS CROSSED ATLANTIC DENVER Associated Press THE first reported US case of the COVID-19 variant that’s been seen in the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado, Gov Jared Polis announced yesterday.

The variant was found in a man in his 20s who is in isolation southeast of Denver in Elbert County and has no travel history, state health officials said.

Elbert County is a mainly rural area of rolling plains at the far edge

of the Denver metro area that includes a portion of Interstate 70, the state’s main east-west highway.

The Colorado State Laboratory confirmed the virus variant, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was notified.

Scientists in the UK believe the variant is more contagious than previously identified strains. The vaccines being given now are thought to be effective against the variant, Colorado health officials said.