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VOLUME:115 No.68, FEBRUARY 28TH, 2018

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

CULTURE CLASH: FACE UP TO THE REALITY OF MENTAL HEALTH

‘It’s time to stop school beatings’

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

WEST Grand Bahama and Bimini public educators are moving to eliminate corporal punishment within schools, a move The Tribune was told is part of a wider effort to stamp out the practice nationally.

Ministry of Education District Superintendent Ivan Butler confirmed to The Tribune the practice may be fully discontinued within his district before the end of the current school year.

“Our present minister is totally against corporal punishment,” Mr Butler said.

“We have been weaning and I can speak specifically for the West Grand Bahama district, we are eliminating.

We have made a conscious decision to take corporal

punishment out of the school. Very few students are being administered corporal punishment, and we feel even as early as Easter we will remove it.

“For now most of the principals are aware corporal punishment is not the best method. As for my district, we are eliminating.”

Mr Butler spoke to The Tribune as part of its investigation into a viral video circulated on social media on Sunday, which purported to document a young child screaming in agony from complications stemming from an alleged beating by a school administrator.

The decision to remove the practice of corporal punishment from public schools was not said to be connected to that matter, or the subsequent allegations.

SEE PAGE FIVE

A SUPREME Court judge has ordered the unconditional release of five persons and two minors from the Carmichael Road Detention Centre after ruling they were all “unlawfully detained” by immigration officials between November and December of last year.

Justice Gregory Hilton, in four separate rulings, ruled that Kediesha BentJohn, Gerna Ginord, Verante Mocombe – and

their respective children – as well as Ancelet Curry, were all detained contrary to the provisions of the law and that their continued detention would be “unlawful”.

Justice Hilton said the Department of Immigration did not appear to have utilised the procedures specified in the Immigration Act for reasons “best known to themselves” when dealing with these individuals, and that there is “no other basis” upon which they could be held and detained.

SEE PAGE TWO

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A SUPREME Court judge has ordered the government to pay over $60,000 to a civil servant after finding that two police officers were wrong for breaking into his Yellow Elder Gardens home in 2015, putting a shotgun to his forehead and subsequently arresting him in their search for someone who did not live there.

Justice Indra Charles ruled that Gilford Lloyd, a senior fisheries enforcement officer at the Department of Marine Resources, is to receive $60,987.90 in damages for the “humiliation” he experienced as a result of the “undignified” way he was treated by two armed officers on January 9, 2015, at his home.

SEE PAGE THREE

$200 MILLION PLP CONTRACTS ESCAPED ANY TENDERING

It’s ok for t go her - she’s ir shor t ha

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION DETENTIONS AGAIN RULED UNLAWFUL

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

WRONGFUL ARREST VICTIM WINS $60K

WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister said yesterday the former administration issued $200m worth of contracts without going through bidding, as he announced that there will be changes to the tender and bidding processes at the Ministry of Works.

Mr Bannister said the key changes, once implemented, would mandate that all contracts being financed by the government go to a tender process.

SEE PAGE SIX

PASSENGER NUMBERS UP EIGHT PERCENT NATIONAL SOCCER PLAYER BANNED FOUR YEARS YEAR ON YEAR A DOG owner at BAARK’s Strut Your Mutt event at Goodman’s Bay Beach at the weekend. See page 12 for more pictures from the event.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Football Association has banned Jared Higgs for four years and sanctioned Ehren Hanna, Torin Ferguson, Lamar Cancino and Christopher Davis following anti-doping testing last year prior to the CONCACAF Qualifiers and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. According to the BFA’s website, the BFA Appeals

JARED HIGGS Committee agreed to ban Higgs for four years in accordance with anti-doping regulations.

When contacted, BFA’s secretary general Fred Lunn said it’s unfortunate that the incidents took place, but the information on their website speaks for itself.

He said: “If people fall short of that, we as an association, are obligated to follow the appropriate protocol and that is to report the information. That is all it is. We will stand behind the committee. It is what it is.”

SEE SPORTS SECTION

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FOREIGN departures from Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) increased by eight percent year-over-year for January 2018, indicating an upswing in tourism activity.

The Central Bank said that data showed that was up from a marginal 0.1 percent increase the previous year.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

PAGE 2, Wednesday, February 28, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

IMMIGRATION DETENTIONS AGAIN RULED UNLAWFUL from page one

Justice Hilton also awarded costs to those individuals to be taxed if not agreed.

He also ruled that another applicant, Michelot Merilien, who was detained by immigration officials on December 7 and released

days later on the 13th when a writ of habeas corpus was served on the officer in charge of the detention centre, would not be entitled to costs as the proceedings should have been brought to an end after it was indicated to the attorneys for the applicant that the applicant had been released when a writ was

about to be served.

Attorney Fred Smith, QC, representing all of the above individuals, said after the hearing today that Justice Hilton’s ruling represents “another great day for the rule of law in The Bahamas.”

“It is an affirmation that the rule of law exists in The Bahamas, and that people

have rights,” he said.

Earlier this month, Justice Hilton, in three separate judgments, ruled that Emmanuel Simeon, Mirlene Corvil and Fanel Gassant were all detained by immigration officials “contrary to the provisions of the law” between October 2017 and January of this year.

Regarding another detainee, Ricardo Johnson, who has a spousal permit, Justice Hilton ruled that his arrest and detention from November 2017 to December 8, 2017, was unlawful, however, he dismissed Mr Johnson’s writ of habeas corpus application as he was released from custody prior to the issuance of the

STUDETNS hard at work, above and below right, in the second annual essay writing competition, taking place at Anatol Rodgers High School.

STUDENTS TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE IN ESSAY COMPETITION THE second annual essay writing competition, organised by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in collaboration with The Nassau Institute and sponsored by the Templeton Religion Trust, took place at the Anatol Rodgers High School in New Providence. Some 70 students from a dozen different schools participated.

The contest was open to pupils in both private and public high schools who were enrolled in business studies programmes. They were required to write an essay in their own words under examination conditions on a subject based on the book “Economics in One Lesson” by renowned American economist Henry Hazlitt. This book was circulated in advance to the schools concerned

for the students to read as preparation.

The competition was overseen for a second year by former British High Commissioner Peter Young in his capacity as a director of The Nassau Institute which originally put forward the idea in 2016 and has contributed to the funding of the project.

Speaking to The Tribune, Mr Young expressed gratitude on behalf of the institute to the Templeton Religion Trust for its support again this year and to the Ministry of Education for its efficient organisation of the event.

He praised, in particular, the work of Gwendolyn Johnson, the officer responsible for business studies at the ministry, together with the contributions of two former teachers at

the Anatol Rodgers High School, Lakell Johnson and Samantha Keziah Knowles, who are now, respectively, at CR Walker Senior High School and Central Eleuthera High School in Palmetto Point.

Cash prizes and trophies will be awarded for the three best essays overall and the winner will also attend a three-day high school seminar on economics in the USA under the auspices of the Foundation for Economic Education in Atlanta, Georgia, with all expenses paid. There will be trophies for the students who produced the best essays in each school and each participant in the competition will receive an individual certificate of attendance. A prize giving ceremony will be arranged early next month.

writ on December 8.

Regarding William Oneil, who was born in The Bahamas, Justice Hilton ruled that while his original arrest by immigration officials on January 8, 2018 was lawful, he could not have been detained for any more than 48 hours, thus making his continued detention up to January 23, 2018, unlawful.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 28, 2018, PAGE 3

Wrongful arrest victim wins $60k from page one And that amount, Justice Charles said, was not reflective of the $20,000 in costs she awarded to his attorneys Christina Galanos and B’Jorn Ferguson.

Last year, Justice Charles ruled that Mr Lloyd was wrongfully assaulted, unlawfully arrested and falsely imprisoned by two members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) under the supervision of Police Chief Superintendent Theophilus Cunningham.

Legal action was launched against Chief Supt Cunningham, the commissioner of police, and the attorney general, alleging that Mr Lloyd suffered severe shock and mental anguish.

According to court documents, Mr Lloyd testified that on the night of January 9, 2015, he was home alone and went to bed early. The television was on, but otherwise his house was in complete darkness.

However, at around 10pm he heard a banging on what sounded like his front door.

He did not respond right

away as he was startled, and thought the banging was coming from his neighbour’s house as he was not expecting anyone.

After having lowered the volume on the television, Mr Lloyd got up to go to his front door. As he was approaching his bedroom door, someone placed a shotgun to his forehead and instructed him to get down.

He said the person identified himself as a police officer but it was dark.

Mr Lloyd said he complied with the demand and rested on his stomach. At this point, he realised there were two men in the house, which he could tell from their voices.

While he was on the ground, one of the men asked him his name and date of birth which he gave.

Then one of them told him to get up. Mr Lloyd got up but was so scared he wet himself. When he asked permission to go to the bathroom, the two officers laughed at him, however he was allowed to do so.

After he was finished using the restroom, one of the officers said “wash your hands”, which he did. Then one of the men said, “cuff him”. Mr Lloyd said he

placed his hands behind his back and they cuffed him.

However, he said he began to wonder what the police wanted from or of him since he was almost 60 years old at the time and had never committed an offence in his entire life.

The two officers then took him outside, where he saw about seven to eight police cars and police officers blocking the road. Mr Lloyd said the officers took him to Chief Supt Cunningham who instructed him to stand at the side of one of the police cars. Chief Supt Cunningham was standing about eight to ten feet away from him.

Mr Lloyd said while he was standing at the side of the police vehicle, he saw an officer escorting his neighbour Nelson Sweeting in his direction in handcuffs. After placing Mr Sweeting next to Mr Lloyd, Chief Supt Cunningham asked the former for “Dominic”, and Mr Sweeting replied by saying that Dominic lived through the next corner and that the officers had come through the wrong corner.

Mr Lloyd said at this point Chief Supt Cunningham looked annoyed. A

few seconds later, the chief superintendent instructed an officer to remove Mr Sweeting’s handcuffs and about 30 minutes later, he instructed that his handcuffs also be removed.

Nonetheless, Mr Lloyd said he felt “quite humiliated, embarrassed and ridiculed” as a few spectators saw him in handcuffs.

And upon returning to his residence, he realised that his brand new front door had been damaged.

Mr Lloyd testified that before the incident, he did not know the chief superintendent but had heard officers referring to him as Chief Supt Cunningham. About a week later, he googled the name “Chief Supt Cunningham” to see if any images came up on the person he was looking for, and immediately one did.

According to the ruling, Mr Sweeting, who was housed at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, gave evidence that supported Mr Lloyd’s claims.

However, Chief Supt Cunningham, the only witness to testify for the Crown, said he was not present at Mr Lloyd’s

residence and he thus could not and did not authorise any police officers to arrest, assault, imprison or damage his property. Chief Supt Cunningham also testified that from October 2014 to March 31, 2015, he was one of the officers in charge of uniform operations responsible for the eastern area of New Providence, that is, every area east of East Street, which did not include the area of Mr Lloyd’s residence.

Chief Supt Cunningham further asserted there was no information or reports to indicate any uniform operations had been conducted in the Yellow Elder Gardens area on the night in question and that no police officers were at Mr Lloyd’s property that night or at all.

The senior officer further maintained he does not know Mr Lloyd and contended Mr Lloyd was mistaken that he was present on the night in question. He also testified he has never conducted uniform operations in his khaki uniform nor would he wear a bulletproof vest as he always wore his camouflage overalls.

Despite what she said

was a “difficult task” to “determine who is telling the truth when the evidence is so divergent”, and despite a “few discrepancies” in the evidence of both Mr Lloyd and Mr Sweeting, Justice Charles said in her 2017 ruling that she accepted their evidence as they “corroborated in large measure”.

She further found Mr Lloyd to be a “sincere, calm, composed” man who was “unwavering in his evidence”.

She ultimately said she was satisfied that Mr Lloyd was wrongfully assaulted, wrongfully arrested and falsely imprisoned by Chief Supt Cunningham.

During brief proceedings yesterday, Justice Charles awarded Mr Lloyd special damages in the amount of $987.90. She also awarded him $10,000 for unlawful entry, $30,000 for false imprisonment and $20,000 in exemplary damages.

She also said Ms Galanos’ claim for $20,000 in costs was a reasonable figure, and thus awarded her that amount.

Kenrah Newry represented the Crown in the matter.

‘MISS FLORIDA’ MUST WAIT AS TRIAL ADJOURNED

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

HANDEREA Alexious Rolle at a previous court appearance.

YOUR

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

HANDEREA “Miss Florida” Rolle’s trial over alleged drug possession with intent to supply was adjourned by over a month after the court was informed that her co-accused was not brought down from the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services to attend the proceedings.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain adjourned the matter to April 18 after hearing that 41-year-old Kenneth Moncur of Smith’s Lane was not present in court for the commencement of the trial concerning the seizure of $1,700 worth of drugs from a house earlier this month.

Rolle, who is currently on bail, is expected to return to court on that date.

On February 14, Rolle, Moncur, and Ilano Noel of Market Street were all arraigned before the deputy chief magistrate on a single count of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply. It is alleged that on the day in question, the three were found in possession of 13 ounces of marijuana with an estimated street value of $1,700.

According to police reports, shortly after 11am

on the day in question, officers from the Flying Squad, acting on information, conducted a search of a home on Smith’s Lane off Andros Avenue and recovered a large quantity of marijuana.

Three men and a woman, who were in the house, were taken into custody.

Noel pleaded guilt to the charge and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, while Rolle and Moncur pleaded not guilty.

PAGE 4, Wednesday, February 28, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

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Remembering Sir Durward, a national hero THE Bahamas lost a great citizen on Saturday when Sir Durward Knowles passed away at age 100. So much has been written about the man known affectionately as “Sea Wolf” in the days since and in the year of celebrations leading up to his 100th birthday that you might think it would be hard to add anything more. Yet such was the mark of the man that the more you know, the more there is to know; the deeper you dig, the greater his spirit shines; the more records you realize he holds, the better you understand that Sir Durward was far more than a sports hero. He was a national icon, the father figure for a nation eager to find a symbol of all that is good.

For the record, Sir Durward was the oldest Olympian alive after the death last year of Hungarian Sandor Tarics, at the age of 102. His death came as the 2018 Winter Olympics was drawing to a close, 62 years after he competed for the first time, in 1956 winning bronze in Star class sailing in Melbourne, Australia, with Sloane Farrington as crew. But to most Bahamians, it was the 1964 Olympics that mattered – the first Gold medal The Bahamas ever won, and it was won

by Sir Durward and crew Cecil Cooke who grew up in local waters and made history in Tokyo, half a world away.

Durward became a phenomenon in the world of sailing where the Star is among the most demanding of all single design high performance boats requiring strength, instantaneous reflex action, fierce competitiveness and strategy to deal with wind, tides, currents and competitors on the course.

So respected was he that a major tabloid interviewed him for a story on his tips for staying young and healthy as he headed to the 1972 Olympics at age 70. Even then he showed the humour that endeared him to all of us his entire life. His guidelines, he said, are easy, “I’ve never been to a gym in my life.

You won’t catch me running and you’ll never see me pass up a piece of cake for dessert.”

Sir Durward did not need a gym. The work he did every day was more than most do in a year, climbing from tug to cruise ship high above, often as waves were crashing, knocking the pilot boat into the ship, Durward hanging on for dear life, boarding and steering vessels into the harbour in every kind of weather.

The ships had to dock and it was the Sea Wolf, Nassau’s number one harbour pilot, who knew how to handle them. He began piloting along with his dad as a teen straight out of school and he kept doing it, climbing those rungs and jumping aboard well into his 80s. He earned good money and put it to good use.

Sir Durward’s generosity touched nearly every facet of Bahamian life. His commitment to his alma mater Queen’s College is unrivalled, his support of the physically disabled unmatched. He even supported bins and the creation of Junior Pride clubs in schools as part of the Bahamas Beautiful Challenge. He served on the board of Safe Bahamas and his dedication to Rotary and the Rotary Club of East Nassau was legendary. Upon his death, Sir Durward was

also the second oldest active Rotarian of 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide.

But he did not just give money. He gave of himself. When cerebral palsy victim and self-taught author Michael Wells received his first wheelchair, Sir Durward was there to help assemble it and take Michael for his first ride. It was Sir Durward and the late Robert ‘Bobby’ Symonette who founded BASRA and the board seats Sir Durward held would fill a classroom. Everyone wanted him to be a part of whatever they felt was important because they knew the value of his honesty, integrity, compassion and forthrightness.

There was so much about this man who always told you what was on his mind but never spent words bragging about himself. His humour and his humility, his quick grasp of seeing what needed to be done and doing it earned him as much respect as the medals and trophies that lined the counters in the plain office he occupied for decades above a fuel station on East Bay Street.

It was there that he endorsed the concept of the Lucayan Sea, discussing it with Commander Tellis Bethel of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force who, like Sir Durward, knew these waters intimately and believed they deserved an identity. Sir Durward wholeheartedly endorsed the idea and it was one of two pieces of unfinished business left to us to achieve.

The other is One Bahamas, first proposed in 1992 by Algernon Allen. That idea appealed to Sir Durward, a man who never saw colour. To him, race was what you did on the water, not what you considered when choosing friends. One of his closest was Sir Orville Turnquest, two men who grew up under the British flag and transitioned easily when The Bahamas gained independence in 1973, believing that if there was just One Bahamas, the country could succeed at anything. Together, they worked annually for events that would bring everyone together and Sir Durward was still supporting the concept as he neared 100 when the last One Bahamas walk was held in November. The wind was blowing, it was chilly and damp but at 6am Sir Durward held court in a golf cart provided for him and the one woman he loved all his life, Hollie, his next door neighbour as a young man, the woman who he would remain married to for 70 years, and the mother of his three children, Jill, Charlotte and Randy.

Tributes to Sir Durward will continue to pour in. We chose this simple one from fellow sailor and record holder, three-time world champion in the Sunfish-class Donnie Martinborough, who always considered the Sea Wolf his hero.

He wrote this to Sir Durward on his 100th birthday:

A man who always knows the right course to steer A winner on the water, and in the hearts of Bahamians Congratulations on rounding the 100year mark & being an invaluable, immeasurable part of Bahamian history The true meaning of championship.

Progress along the waterfront EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT seems the leadership of Ed Fields something might now happen along the Nassau Harbour waterfront.

Ever since Perry Christie generated the seemingly requirement of a boardwalk from Rawson Square to the PI Bridge I have been constantly challenged to accept the reasoning why a Broad walk?

Do you really think tourists and alike are going to

walk from Rawson Square to PI Bridge?

Building bulkheads is expensive so lets get it right.

I see it is essential to take this opportunity to encroach on the harbour – do a lot of reclamation (fill in and build) so as to widen the potential development property – I would go at least 60 feet.

A Broad walk will never be a catalyst to development someone has sold you a lemon.

On the Tropical site

there needs to be a cruise ship dock…you need to deepen the harbour to the furthest eastern end of the last deepening of the harbour add a cruise ship at the Tropical/Bethel Estates property bingo you will have success. 4,000-passengers + 2,600 crew pouring two-four times a week onto that area commerce will be ignited.

W THOMPSON Nassau, February 20, 2018.

Honouring Billy Graham EDITOR, The Tribune.

ON Monday, February 19, The Nassau Guardian published a quote by renowned American evangelist Billy Graham.

Interestingly, a few other Graham quotes appeared in that publication during the previous week.

On Wednesday, February 21, William Franklin Graham stepped into eternity to meet his Maker at the ripe age of 99 -- a mere eight months before what would have been his centennial on November 7. He passionately proclaimed the gospel in countless nations around the globe.

It has often been pointed out by observers that the most influential preacher in US history had preached to more people than anyone else had in church history.

He conducted over 400 crusades in 185 countries.

Graham preached to an estimated 1 million people in a crusade in Yoida Plaza in Seoul, South Korea in 1973. His 16 week crusade at the historic Madison Square Garden arena, New York City during the summer of 1957 attracted two million people, and remains one of the greatest religious revivals in US history. He was one of the pioneers in mass media evangelism.

Graham was a co-founder of Decision and Christianity Today magazines, two popular evangelical publications. His “Hour of Decision” radio programme was a trendsetter in evangelicalism and mass media. Now that he is in heaven, Graham will be reunited with his beloved Ruth, to whom he had been married for more than 60 years. He will also be reunited with his long time Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) colleagues T W and Grady Wilson, Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea.

Prominent preachers of the bygone years, such as Mordecai Ham, Donald G Barnhouse, W R Newell,

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net E R Neighbour, Theodore Elsner, AC Gaeberlein, Oswald J Smith, E J Pace, Homer Rodeheaver, Gipsy Smith, Dr Bob Jones, Dr TW Watson and Harry Himmer, all played a role in influencing the young Graham during his formative years at Bob Jones College and Florida Bible Institute.

Undoubtedly, these evangelical giants will be ecstatic to greet the tall skinny preacher from North Carolina in heaven.

Graham’s international outreach and fame opened doors for him to meet political luminaries and iconic figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, Indira Ghandi, Golda Meir, Boris Yeltsin, Pope John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher, C S Lewis, Karl Barth, Mikhail Gorbachev, Kim II Sung, Haile Selassie I, Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King, Jr. The former Youth for Christ evangelist and president of Northwestern Schools in Minneapolis also rubbed shoulders with former US Presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. Graham’s illustrious life spanned many historic milestones of the 20th century, including the Great Depression, World War II, the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Korean War, the assassinations of John F and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X; the 1973 Oil Crisis, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, the collapse of communist Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall; the First and Second Gulf Wars and 9/11.

To the aforementioned US commanders-in-chief, Graham represented a steady and calm presence

whom they reposed their confidence in. In fact, Graham devoted nine chapters in his autobiography “Just As I Am” chronicling his relationship with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Sr and Clinton. The title of his autobiography was adapted from Charlotte Elliot’s famous hymn, and was routinely sang at the conclusion of Graham’s crusade sermons.

As a loyal friend of Martin Luther King, Jr, Graham helped to champion the cause of the Civil Rights Movement when it was very unpopular for white people to do so.

To demonstrate his commitment to ending racial segregation, Graham and his BGEA hired ethnic minorities. Ralph Bell, an African American evangelist, travelled extensively with Graham throughout the 1960s as an associate, much to the annoyance of white BGEA associates who were closet racists.

But Graham was a man of deep convictions, who believed wholeheartedly that the Bible was God’s infallible Word to man.

This was an issue he wrestled with after former associate Charles Templeton pleaded with him to embrace the liberal view on the Bible.

I believe that The Nassau Guardian’s decision to post several of Graham’s quotes a mere few days before his passing was nothing more than God’s providential hand in using that esteemed publication to honour His loyal and faithful servant -- whom He knew was about to step into eternity.

I would like to thank the editors of the Guardian for allowing themselves to be used by God. Graham will be greatly missed. My condolences to the Graham family and BGEA staff and associates.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, GB February 21, 2018.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 28, 2018, PAGE 5

Teachers hold sit-out to oust principal

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net TEACHERS of Stephen Dillet Primary School are trying to oust their principal, with Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson threatening industrial action if their demands are not met.

Eighteen teachers participated in a “sit out” outside the school’s gates yesterday after lunch after the principal, Phyllis Johnson, allegedly prevented them from holding a lunchtime union meeting inside the school, they said.

Ms Johnson did not return The Tribune’s calls seeking comment yesterday.

The teachers claimed the principal has been disrespectful to them and refuses to address their concerns.

They said they have circulated a petition listing their concerns about her. Thirty of the school’s 40 teachers are said to have signed the petition although The Tribune could not obtain the document

before press time yesterday.

Ms Wilson said: “I am annoyed at the manner in which these matters are being dealt with from September to present.

Numerous complaints and/ or grievances have come into us just from a small handful of schools. The principal is being ill-advised and ought to meet with the union. When teachers try to meet with union or shop steward at lunch time, they are being denied.

“Today Stephen Dillet’s shop steward requested a meeting but the principal denied them that right and told them if they want a meeting, they must go outside and not have it during lunchtime,” she claimed.

“That is a breach of the agreement and a breach of union rights. We’ve been through this mess before where a judge gave an order for the then director to write a circular informing schools that a union leader has a right to have lunchtime meetings with teachers. I am calling on the minister, calling on his

permanent secretary and those at the ministry to speak to their principals to let them know of their obligations.”

She added: “Morale at the school is low. A major concern is that children were given exams in Christmas on topics that were not taught by teachers. It was pushed and approved by the district superintendent although teachers explained the content would disadvantage the students. As a result, the grades of the students were poor and that reflected on the children’s final exam at the end of the term. They think the principal . . . does not give them a fair opportunity to meet with her to discuss day-today affairs at the school.”

Yesterday, Acting Permanent Secretary Reginald Saunders said: “The Ministry of Education is aware of the situation. There is an ongoing investigation of the union’s claims and a statement will be forthcoming.”

Nonetheless, Ms Wilson called on the principal to understand her role.

TEACHERS at Stephen Dillet Primary School are pictured outside of the school’s gate during their protest.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff “...It always has to be her way; she will realise you cannot lead a school by yourself. Teachers are a very valuable part of a school and the principal needs training, needs to mature, needs to know what her role is as a principal. We will not stand down on this matter until it is resolved.”

Ms Wilson said her union has already written the Ministry of Education about its concerns, adding: “They’ve had more than enough time

to respond to the concerns of the teachers; we will take industrial action or take our matter to the Department of Labour or if not that, then the Supreme Court.”

One teacher during the “sit out” yesterday said she has been at the school for 24 years and has never had such a problem with an administrator.

The principal, they said, took over in September.

This is her first post serving as principal, although

she has been a vice principal before, The Tribune was told.

Stephen Dillet is no stranger to demonstration over work-related issues.

The school was previously in the news for its myriad of physical challenges that prompted protests from teachers.

Teachers yesterday said the school’s air-conditioner still does not work properly and renovations haven’t been completed.

‘IT’S TIME TO STOP SCHOOL BEATINGS’ from page one

The Tribune spoke with the child’s mother, 29-yearold Erinique Walkin, who said her son, Gregory Haley, was beaten on his back by a West Grand Bahama school administrator nearly two years ago when he was six years old.

The viral video, however, does not depict her son immediately after the incident but purports to show the severity of chronic pain episodes Gregory began to experience in later months.

The incident took place on May 9, 2016, according to a document signed by Superintendent Wendall Deveaux, officer-in-charge of the Eight Mile Rock police station.

Since then Ms Walkin said her son experiences chronic pain episodes that no longer afflict his back where he was allegedly hit three times by the school administrator, but all over his body.

“He has pain everywhere,” Ms Walkin said when contacted by The Tribune after a video of Gregory screaming in a bathtub as his father attempts to soothe him, was posted on a Facebook page and received more than 100 shares and comments on Sunday.

“It’s not just his back anymore, sometimes it’s his neck, his arms, his feet, his penis, his butt, anywhere.

The slightest touch could set him off.”

Ms Walkin said pain medications have been ineffective, and she has to use guided meditation to help her child take his focus off the discomfort.

In a more recent video sent to The Tribune, Gregory could be seen laying on the floor groaning, and apparently grinding his teeth, with tears streaming down the side of his face.

“Yesterday he couldn’t hear for a whole hour,” Ms Walkin said, “he kept telling me ‘mommy I can’t hear, I can’t hear.’ Everyday it’s something different, I’m so stressed out, I been to the clinic so much times.

How can I be comfortable when people tell me nothing wrong and my child in pain?”

Among Facebook comments on Sunday was Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd, who appealed for the parents of the child in the video to immediately contact the Ministry of Education. He said that he would be investigating the matter “right away”.

However, The Tribune

has confirmed the ministry is fully aware of the matter, and paid for Gregory’s MRI scan in November last year.

Ms Walkin claims she spoke with Mr Lloyd over the phone, but never met with him face-to-face.

She said she began posting videos of Gregory in a bid to get the government’s attention, noting the viral surge came after she reached out to an American-based Facebook page.

“One day he came from school complaining of back pain,” Ms Walkin said, “he kept saying his back hurting, I ignore it couple times after he keep saying it I say let me ask him what’s going on. He told me his teacher beat him on his back and I started to ask him what he did but then I catch myself like never mind what you do nobody supposed to be beating you on your back.

He said she put him across her lap and beat him on his back with a ruler. I took him to the clinic immediately. The doctor said it was child abuse, she was supposed to call social services, she never did.

“I went the following morning to the police station and I told them what went down, they try to talk me out of pressing charges against her. At the time I’m trying to be a Christian so I say let me hear her out. His back was tender and swollen, me and my mom were escorted to school with two officers.”

Ms Walkin alleged she spoke with the teacher, who admitted to beating Gregory because he was misbehaving and that she did not intend to do it so severely.

“My son stopped her and he said ‘no, I wasn’t misbehaving you told us to lay down on the desk and I raise up my head and tell you I wanted to use the bathroom, and you take me to your office, put me across your lap and beat me.’”

Ms Walkin admitted she told the police she would not press charges against the teacher because she accepted her apology as sincere, and was also not aware of the full extent of the damage allegedly inflicted on her son.

It would not be until months later when roughhousing with his older sister that Gregory would experience a debilitating pain that would require paramedics to transport him to hospital.

“They kept saying they don’t see nothing wrong.

They asked me about my daughter asking is she a big child, how could she have hurt him like this? They

thought I was lying, they felt like I abused him. He made about 10 to 11 trips to emergency room over and over in the space of five months. They kept doing X-ray after X-ray.”

Ms Walkin moved to Crooked Island in February last year, and relocated her children in August. She said Gregory was pain free for a few weeks during the summer, but the chronic episodes resumed. At a clinic in Crooked Island, medical staff suggested obtaining an MRI scan; however, Ms Walkin said she could not afford it.

She expressed gratitude to Mr Butler, who authorised payment for the scan, stating the district superintendent was the only official who responded to her cries.

However, the government only paid for the costs of the scan, not a specialist to analyse the results, Ms Walkin said.

She told The Tribune she still doesn’t have a formal medical report, just the advice of a doctor who read the report at the urging of her relative who worked in his office.

Yesterday, Mr Butler confirmed the ministry paid for Gregory’s MRI scan, but noted it would not be rendering further assistance due to its findings, which he did not disclose.

“From the result of the MRI we feel it isn’t the result of a spanking he may have gotten,” Mr Butler said.

“We feel the mother is in need of assistance, we are not convinced its (Ministry of) Education. We think maybe Social Services may be the best person to assist her with that.”

Mr Butler noted the severity of backlash on social media towards public educators was “disturbing”.

“It’s giving our hardworking teachers and committed dedicated teachers a bad rap. Our focus as teachers, we are committed to giving best we have to offer. It’s a bit disturbing,” he said.

“We would recommend her to Social Services. We do sympathise, and we now know thanks to the same school, we know exactly what is wrong with her son now. Had it not been for that school the boy may have still been experiencing challenges. The school cannot assist any further with that.”

On Monday, Ms Walkin told The Tribune she had been contacted by a senior government official as a result of the viral video,

who assured her that some assistance would be rendered.

In response to Facebook commenters asking whether there was a portal for online donations to Gregory’s medical fund on Sunday, Ms Walkin replied: “No I don’t have a

No. 1

in the UK for Value-added (The Guardian, 2017)

GoFundMe page. Ya need an American or Canadian account to do that. And here in Crooked Island, we only have the post office here, no banks.”

When asked her thoughts on corporal punishment, Ms Walkin said: “Even if they beat I don’t mind,

but beat on the hip, I used to get beat on calf, or my hands, you don’t put children across your lap and hit them on his back.

“I went through all the procedures, I went to Social Services, I been trying to do the right thing,” she told The Tribune.

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PAGE 6, Wednesday, February 28, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

$200 million PLP contracts escaped any tendering from page one The comments came in an interview with reporters before yesterday morning’s Cabinet meeting.

The Carmichael MP said the move would ensure transparency and value for the Bahamian people.

“We are working at changing (the process),” he said. “Under the former administration, they had $200m in negotiated contracts that were just negotiated out.”

Mr Bannister added: “There was no process whereby persons could come in and bid on contracts. They were simply negotiated to, I guess, the political supporters….. that’s over $200m.

“We are seeking to change that process so that the process is more transparent and the process endures to the benefit of Bahamians.”

When asked yesterday what guidelines he felt needed to be implemented as a part of the changes, Mr Bannister added: “I think when we change that process, you are going to see lots of things happening.

“So, for example, I was in Eleuthera the other day and we have to spend anywhere from $10m to almost $40m to replace a bridge which is critical for

FORMER first lady of the United States of America Laura W Bush.

MEMBER of Parliament Desmond Bannister.

Photo: Terrel W. Carey/Tribune Staff Eleuthera and which is crit- ‘hey listen, you can have ical for tourism. this contract and you can “When we change the come in and pay us $30m process for negotiating con- and this is your contract.’ tracts, people would have to “The extent to which bid on them; the process.” that was done, where for Mr Bannister continued: example someone could “You are going to see more get a $22m contract by the value for the Bahamian negotiation process. That people because nobody is process is unheard of. going to be able to take Should never happen in the their best buddy and say, Bahamas again,” he said.

FORMER FIRST LADY TO JOIN CELEBRATION OF WOMEN FORMER first lady of the United States of America, Laura W Bush will make an official visit to the nation’s capital during the month of June to participate in Celebrating Women’s International’s Nobel Women’s Luncheon.

On Sunday, June 24, Mrs Bush will offer a keynote address on women’s rights.

This highly anticipated event is projected to attract more than 1,000 women from around globe.

Mrs Bush will be awarded Celebrating Women International’s Women of Distinction Global Leadership Award for her invaluable contributions and commitment to women’s rights, education and literacy during the event.

After leaving the White House, Mrs Bush and former President George W Bush founded the George W Bush Presidential Centre in Dallas, Texas.

The centre is home to the Bush Presidential Museum and Library and the George W Bush Institute, a public policy centre established to solve today’s most pressing challenges by developing

leaders, advancing policy, and taking action.

As chair of the Bush Institute’s Women’s Initiative, Mrs Bush promotes access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity for women and girls around the world, a press release noted.

Founded in 2013, Celebrating Women International aims to mobilise and inspire women across the globe, to honour, recognise and celebrate the contributions of women.

Since 2014, the organisation has recognised and honoured nearly 500 women inclusive of Bahamians and women from around globe who have been awarded for their stellar achievements in an array of categories, the press release said.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 28, 2018, PAGE 7

Shock at loss of ‘giant of a man’

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net THE sudden death of activist Pierre Parisien on Monday has been described as a “stunning blow” to Bahamian civil society and the Haitian-Bahamian community.

Parisien was president of the Haitian Organisation for the Prevention of HIV/ AIDS & STDs (HOPHAS), a local non-governmental organisation.

According to its mission statement, HOPHAS works to “prevent HIV/AIDs among Haitian migrants and their descendants in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.”

Representatives from a number of local activist groups spoke to The Tribune yesterday on Parisien’s legacy.

Rights Bahamas representative and friend Louby Georges described Parisien as “a translator, human rights activist, radio/talk

show host, (and) Red Cross (volunteer).”

“The last fire in the shantytown in The Mud, Pierre was one of the very first persons down there in Abaco,” Mr Georges said. “(He) stayed in Abaco for well over a week, helping out the people with food, water, clothes, shelter, communications to their families. Pierre was everywhere.”

Esther De Gourvile, country representative for the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), said: “As recently as December 2017 (Parisien was involved) in projects to improve the sanitation of the informal Haitian settlements.

“We collaborated on the clean-up campaign for nine villages just before Christmas. Pierre touched the lives of many people through his selfless dedication.”

Inter-American Development Bank Civil Society Liaison Gevon Moss said:

“In our recent annual meeting we took (Parisien) as a part of the Bahamian delegation down to Bolivia. He connected with civil society leaders from all around the Caribbean and Latin America.

“We shared photos of his work in The Mud recently.

We shared photos about the work he was doing in the Carmichael community.

He had a huge passion for migrant populations that are here, that are unrepresented. He is a real good human being.”

Alexus D’Marco, executive director of the D’marco Organisation, described Parisien’s work as “tremendous”.

She said: “The migrant population won’t come to access healthcare based on fear of the authorities calling immigration... So we partnered with him as far as the Haitian community was concerned, as far as getting them tested, getting them on medication, and keeping them healthy.

THE sudden death of activist Pierre Parisien on Monday has been described as a “stunning blow” to Bahamian civil society and the Haitian-Bahamian community.

“His last words to me not someone you can the opportunity to meet were: ‘D’Marco, I’m going replace, but hopefully we (Parisien), you will know to be president of Haiti in a in civil society can find that he is an incredible few years, and I’m going to ways to push forward individual. make sure that you’re there with all the work he had “And so we’re hoping at my presidency.’” started.” that through the work that Matt Albury of the Society Against Stigmati- we do, we can keep his Organisation for Respon- sation and Hate Director of legacy alive. But The Bahasible Governance said: Operations Travis Fergu- mas and Haiti has lost a “This is a major loss and son said: “If you ever had giant of a man.”

LAWYER QUESTIONS ABSENCE OF DNA EVIDENCE AT MURDER SCENE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

DNA from none of the five co-defendants was found at the murder scene in Deadman’s Reef, the Supreme Court heard on Tuesday as a defence counsel continued his questioning of a lead police investigator in the case.

According to a Police forensic report, police had taken 100 swabbed samples at the residence of Barry and Sheena Johnson following the couple’s murder on September 12, 2015.

Four armed masked men wearing long-sleeved shirts, hats, and pants were seen on surveillance footage at the Johnsons’ residence on the night in question. They were robbed of a set of keys and their GMC truck.

On trial for the murders and armed robbery are Paul Belizaire, Devaughn Hall, and Kevin Dames.

Geoffrey Farquharson, counsel for Paul Belizaire, questioned Det Sgt 772

Lorenzo Johnson about whether the samples taken at the murder scene were compared with DNA samples taken from other possible suspects who were initially questioned in connection with the matter.

“If you fail to send a DNA sample of a suspect for comparison, the samples found at the crime scene would come up as unknown?” asked counsel.

Det Johnson agreed.

“They (persons in police forensic lab) would not be able to match it,” he explained.

“Were you made aware that of all 100 samples taken that Belizaire’s DNA was not found anywhere on the crime scene?” asked Mr Farquharson.

Det Johnson replied that he was not aware of that, and had indicated that today was the first time he had even seen the forensic report in court.

Mr Farquharson then put it to the witness that none of the other defendants’ DNA was found on the scene.

Referring to one of the sampled items – a T-shirt that was found by police and said to have been worn by one of the suspects on the scene – the lawyer said that client’s DNA was also not found on the T-shirt.

Although Det Johnson agreed that police found a T-shirt believed to be worn by one of the suspects at the scene, he said he did not know of any DNA found on the t-shirt. “It did not seem suspicious that a T-shirt that was worn by a suspect at a crime scene and who after trekking through bushes, did not have any of the suspect’s DNA on it?”

The witness said he did not know.

Mr Farquharson asked Det Johnson if he knew that DNA is contained in sweat, and the witness said he had heard that.

“I put it to you by them not giving you the forensic report … you failed to gather important evidence as to who really committed the crime,” Mr Farquharson suggested.

BPL ASKS ARIZONA COMPANY FOR HELP IN ABACO POWER CRISIS

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Power and Light has asked the Arizona-based company that produces the submersible pumps being utilised in its Abaco repairs for help with installation amid that island’s latest power crisis.

Works Minister Desmond Bannister, who announced the move just before he entered yesterday morning’s Cabinet meeting, said the decision had to be made as local officials have been unable to get one of the pumps to work.

Mr Bannister said once that was done, officials would look to determine if several non-submersible pumps being kept on hand in New Providence can be “reconditioned” in a way in which they could be utilised in Abaco.

According to Mr Bannister, these pumps in both incarnations are used in the cooling systems of the generators installed in Abaco.

Last week, BPL reported that there was a total system shutdown on Abaco caused by “a sudden and unexpected fault” occurring with the cooling system at the Wilson City power station.

The island then had to endure a ‘load shedding’ schedule for the next three days, with large sections of Abaco having to go without power for hours at a time.

Mr Bannister said the Minnis administration, shortly after it took office, was told that the pumps needed to be examined and, if necessary, repaired.

Subsequently, Mr Bannister said the decision was

made to install new pumps.

He said: “We ordered replacement pumps, those pumps take anywhere from 10 to 25 weeks to be built then they are shipped to the Bahamas. So, one of them was on its way to the Bahamas when the pumps that were there gave out.

“That is a huge inconvenience that we greatly apologise for. When the pumps came in, they took the old pumps up and put (the new pumps) in.

(But) they experienced a challenge with respect to the power line that came into the pumps that either was cut or had some other problems with it.”

Mr Bannister continued: “What BPL is trying to do now is to, first of all, they are flying in some of the experts from the place in Arizona where the pumps are made because one of the pumps is still not working.”

“So Abaco is still fragile,” he said.

“Secondly, we are looking at some pumps we have in New Providence, which are not submersible pumps, we want to see whether we can take those pumps and get them reconditioned in a way that we can utilise them in Abaco.

“But those are not submersible pumps, they are above ground pumps and these pumps are critical for the cooling system in the generators.”

Mr Bannister insisted that once the repairs are carried out, Abaco’s electricity supply should return to optimum levels.

He said: “One of the things about Abaco is that at its height, Abaco only uses 26 megawatts of power. We have the

ability in Abaco to generate 50 megawatts of power from Wilson City.”

Mr Bannister added: “We have the ability to generate another eight megawatts in Marsh Harbour. So we have the ability to generate twice the power they need, but Abaco has transmission and distribution issues.

“So we are actively looking at those issues to try and solve them for the people in Abaco so that they do not have the problems that they have had in the past.”

Addressing the overall cultural transformation currently ongoing at BPL yesterday, Mr Bannister applauded the efforts of the company and its new board of directors, but admitted that there was still “a long way to go.”

Mr Bannister said there were still critical issues at Clifton Pier in New Providence that needed to be addressed; in addition to the corporation’s legacy issues “with our procurement processes”.

He said the corporation was also still working through several critical issues on par with the crisis in Abaco.

Additionally, Mr Bannister said BPL was considering solar power and solar generation in these areas.

Of these issues, he said: “But these are not overnight fixes, these are problems that have been there for decades and they are problems that we are not going to fix overnight, but we are determined that we are going to get the best of it and that we are going to provide reliable power throughout the country.”

Det Johnson explained that DNA results go directly to the Office of the Attorney General. “I am seeing this report about the DNA for the first time,” he said.

Mr Farquharson then accused the detective of jumping to conclusions on or about September 15, 2015, about who committed murders. “You knew who the perpetrators are, and you allowed the informants, snitches, and rats to ‘swing you,’ “ suggested counsel.

The detective told the court that nobody was able to ‘swing him.’ He said that his client, Paul Belizaire, had told him he and others were at the murder scene and what part each had played on the night in question.

“He (Belizaire) admitted what he and others did,” said the witness, who indicated that he charged the defendant in addition to other information and evidence he had gathered in the case.

When Mr Farquharson insisted that his client did not shoot or rob anyone, Det Johnson replied that

Belizaire was in the victim’s truck.

The lawyer then questioned the witness about two other suspects - Dian Dean and Samiko Rigby - who were also initially questioned on the matter, but not charged.

“They said they did not do it and you believed them because you did not charge them?” Mr Farquharson asked.

After making checks, Det Johnson said he did not charge them.

He told the court that he charged Allan Alcime and Virgil Hall, two of the co-defendants.

Mr Farquharson asked the detective if during his investigation whether Alcime and Virgil Hall had admitted to committing the murders and armed robbery.

Det Johnson said that the pair had pleaded guilty to the armed robbery and are serving time. Mr Farquharson quickly interjected, noting that the two men had pleaded not guilty to

the offences in the Magistrate’s Court, and had only entered a guilty plea to the armed robbery a year later when they were offered a plea deal.

Mr Farquharson, who referred to the two men as “rats,” suggested that both Alcime and Virgil Hall are lairs. Det Johnson said both co-defendants had admitted to him what they did on the night in question.

Mr Farquharson accused Det Johnson of beating his client and Devaughn Hall to obtain a police statement from them.

The witness denied that the two defendants were beaten. He said that at no time did the men complain of being beaten to any of the other officers they would have come in contact with while they were in custody.

“They had the opportunity to say something happened to them and they did not say anything was wrong,” said Det Johnson.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, February 28, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

Time to face up to the reality of mental health

L

AST weekend, I spent several hours at a book club meeting.

We chose Kei Miller’s The Last Warner Woman as our February read, and it gave us more to think and talk about than we expected. Half of us did not even expect to like the book, but quickly realised it was a reflection of some of our own experiences, far-fetched as it seemed at first glance. Mental health was a dominant theme and it was easy to talk, at length, about the stigmatisation of mental health issues and the urgent need to address the inadequacies of health services, family support and

often debilitating stigma.

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH? Mental health is the level of emotional, psychological and social well-being and our ability to manage stress. Like physical health, it can change over time, and conditions can be transient or chronic. They are sometimes biological, but

can also be triggered by life experiences or trauma.

Two conditions resulting from life experience or trauma are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and postpartum depression. Many people heavily and personally impacted by recent hurricanes now deal with PTSD, some of them triggered by the sounds of

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rain or wind. Experiences of postpartum depression are not often shared, but in recent years, celebrities have shared their experiences to help women going through it and to sensitise family members and community members to the experiences of new mothers who must also contend with a condition they cannot control on their own.

vocabulary. It was not easy, but it was important to me, especially as a human rights supporter, a family member and friend of people with mental health challenges and a person who is not vaccinated against mental health challenges.

SUPPORT LOVED ONES

Videos have been circulating of a man named Jeremy. Members of his CRAZY TALK We are quick to call family have said his life changed as a result of a people “crazy,” and make laced joint. He walks the assumptions about their streets and, every now and lives, particularly when then, they their mental are able to health condi- ‘There is little get him to tions do not support available return home, allow them to but never for fully function, for people facing a long time. or they are mental health He has tried homeless or challenges, to get profesunder-housed. sional help, especially if they Maybe worse, but like many some of us use do not have the patients, he neuroatypimoney to pay for does not like cal people the way the care. Imagine as a source medication of enter- having a health makes him tainment, challenge, saving feel. recording Medication videos of enough money to for mental them and see a doctor, then health consharing them saving enough ditions alter on social the chemistry money to purchase media. of the brain. medication only People’s It can someeveryday lives to find that it times cause become a people to is not the right joke, and we feel numb, or ignore their one for you.’ like they are humanity. We losing parts forget they are people with of themselves. It is rare for histories, families and daily a person to be prescribed challenges to overcome. To the best possible medicaus, they are just “crazy” and tion the first time around. It we assume their situations can take a few tries to find are their own fault. the medication that helps a In our careless com- person to function without mentary and self-serving making them feel less than entertainment, we can human, or even making unknowingly alienate and their condition worse. offend people who may There is little support be high-functioning while available for people facing dealing with mental health mental health challenges, challenges. Even worse, especially if they do not when made aware of the have the money to pay offensive nature of our for care. Imagine having language — and interpreta- a health challenge, saving tion of what have become enough money to see a common words and phrases doctor, then saving enough — our reaction, far too money to purchase medioften, is to become defen- cation only to find that it is sive, or reject the idea that not the right one for you. we could ever unintention- You have to go back to the doctor, pay for the visit and ally harm someone.

It’s difficult to change the purchase another medicaway we speak, but becomes tion. It is already not easy easier when we work on to get well. Think about one thing at a time. With a how much harder is it to few years of practice, I’ve navigate all of this without taken “crazy” out of my support, or while seeing and hearing discriminatory remarks that aren’t even meant to hurt you, but they do anyway.

We all know people with mental health challenges.

We may not know it, or know exactly what those challenges are, but they exist. The stigma around mental illness is more than inconvenient or sad. It can keep us from seeking the help we know and feel we need.

Because it so difficult for people to admit to struggles with mental health, seeking professional help and asking for support from family members and friends, it is important for

us to pay attention to our loved ones. We often notice changes in people or the way they interact with us, but find easy answers to our own questions. “She got problems,” or “He got a bad attitude,” become our diagnoses. “Something wrong with them.” Unfortunately, we don’t see it as a health issue, but assume people have made conscious decisions to behave differently.

SEEING THE SIGNS We need to learn to see the signs of mental health challenges and how to address them. Pay attention to changes in eating and sleeping patterns, energy levels and interest in hobbies. Listen to the ways loved ones describe how they are feeling. If they feel numb, hopeless, helpless, like nothing matters, or think about harming themselves or others, do not ignore or conclude that they are being dramatic. It’s time to listen. It’s time to find the necessary resources to help your loved one to get well.

Seeing a general practitioner is a good start as they are able to make referrals and, if you have a relationship with your GP, they may have a better idea of your personality and which psychologists and psychiatrists would be able to work best with you.

MENTAL HYGIENE Mental health, like physical health, is not static. It does not stay the same over the course of your life. Just as important as recognising and addressing mental health challenges is practicing good mental hygiene.

Take time to take care of yourself. Conduct regular mental scans. How are you feeling? Are you tired?

Unmotivated? Wanting to be alone more than usual?

Diving into work to avoid thinking or feeling? Pay attention to your coping mechanisms.

A lot of us find ways to take care of our mental health, whether through unscheduled days off, exercise, or regular practices like yoga or meditation.

Some of us, however, need help with maintaining our mental health - and it does not mean we are “crazy.”

It means we are self-aware and willing to commit to improving our lives.

Whether weekly therapy sessions or medication, there are options available to us, but mostly to those who can afford it. If you’re interested in group therapy, reach out to The Family - People Helping People which offers free sessions in communities all over New Providence. While we work to combat the stigma around mental health challenges, we also need to raise our voices to ensure it is included in national health initiatives. The mind is no less important than the body, and it needs care too.

THE TRIBUNE

PLANT-BASED BURGER HITS MENUS NATIONWIDE

PHOTO: Business Wire EL SEGUNDO, Calif.

BUSINESS WIRE BEYOND Meat, a leader in plant-based protein, announces today that its revolutionary Beyond Burger is now available on-menu at all 38 Bareburger locations nationwide. The launch highlights Beyond Meat’s rapid growth among mainstream restaurants and partners outside of retail, solidifying The Beyond Burger’s prominence as the nation’s go-to plant-based burger.

Adding The Beyond Burger to Bareburger’s menu creates even more delicious protein choices for mindful consumers. Since its launch, Beyond Meat has sold more than 11 million Beyond Burgers.

Wednesday, February 28, 2018, PAGE 9

Stem-cell based treatment for stroke repairs brain tissue A TEAM of researchers at the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center and ArunA Biomedical, a UGA startup company, have developed a new treatment for stroke that reduces brain damage and accelerates the brain’s natural healing tendencies in animal models. They published their findings in the journal Translational Stroke Research.

The research team, led by UGA professor Steven Stice and Nasrul Hoda of Augusta University, created a treatment called AB126 using extracellular vesicles (EV), fluid-filled structures known as exosomes, which are generated from human neural stem cells - and could prove revolutionary for the field.

Fully able to cloak itself within the bloodstream, this type of regenerative EV therapy appears to be the most promising in overcoming the limitations of many cell therapies­— with the ability for exosomes to carry and deliver multiple doses — as well as the ability to store and administer treatment.

Small in size, the tiny tubular shape of an exosome allows EV therapy

to cross barriers that cells Franklin West, associate cannot. professor of animal and “This is truly excit- dairy science, and fellow ing evidence, because RBC members using a porexosomes provide a cine model of stroke — the stealth-like characteristic, only one of its kind in the invisible even to the body’s US. own defenses,” said Stice, Based on these preGeorgia Research Alli- clinical results, ArunA ance Eminent Scholar and Biomedical plans to begin DW Brooks Distinguished human studies in 2019, said Professor in Stice, who is the College of chief sciBased on these also Agricultural entific officer and Envi- pre-clinical of ArunA ronmental results, ArunA Biomedical.

Sciences.

“Until now, “When pack- Biomedical we had very aged with plans to begin little evidence therapeutics, to human studies specific these treatneural exosome ments can in 2019 treatment and actually change the ability to cell progresimprove motor sion and improve functional function,” said Stice. recovery.”

“Just days after stroke, Following the admin- we saw better mobility, istration of AB126, the improved balance and researchers used MRI measurable behavioral scans to measure brain benefits in treated animal atrophy rates in preclini- models.” cal, age-matched stroke Named as part of the models, which showed “stroke belt” region, an approximately 35 per- Georgia continues to cent decrease in the size exceed the national averof injury and 50 percent age in stroke deaths, which reduction in brain tissue is the third leading cause loss — something not of death in the US, with observed acutely in pre- more than 140,000 Amervious studies of exosome icans dying each year, treatment for stroke. according to the Centers Outside of rodents, the for Disease Control and results were replicated by Prevention.

ArunA recently unveiled advances to the company’s proprietary neural cell platform for the production of exosome manufacturing.

Today, ArunA’s manufacturing process positions the company to produce AB126 exosomes at a scale to meet early clinical demand.

The company has plans to expand this initiative beyond stroke for preclinical studies in epilepsy, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries later this year.

Researchers also plan to leverage collaborations with other institutions through the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies, based at the Georgia Institute of Technology and supported by $20m in NSF funding.

Stice, the UGA lead for CMaT, and industry partners like ArunA Biomedical, will develop tools and technologies aiming towards the consistent and low-cost production of high-quality living therapeutic cells that could revolutionise treatment for stroke, cancer, heart disease and other disorders.

MOON’S WATER MAY BE WIDESPREAD

A NEW analysis of data from two lunar missions finds evidence that the Moon’s water is widely distributed across the surface and is not confined to a particular region or type of terrain. The water appears to be present day and night, though it’s not necessarily easily accessible.

The findings could help researchers understand the origin of the Moon’s water and how easy it would be to use as a resource. If the Moon has enough water, and if it’s reasonably convenient to access, future explorers might be able to use it as drinking water or to convert it into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel or oxygen to breathe.

If the Moon has enough water, and if it’s reasonably convenient to access, future explorers might be able to use it as a resource.

Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center “We find that it doesn’t matter what time of day or which latitude we look at, the signal indicating water always seems to be present,” said Joshua Bandfield, a senior research scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and lead author of the new study published in Nature Geoscience. “The presence of water doesn’t

appear to depend on the composition of the surface, and the water sticks around.”

The results contradict some earlier studies, which had suggested that more water was detected at the Moon’s polar latitudes and that the strength of the water signal waxes and wanes according to the lunar day (29.5 Earth days). Taking these together, some researchers proposed that water molecules can “hop” across the lunar surface until they enter cold traps in the dark reaches of craters near the

north and south poles. In planetary science, a cold trap is a region that’s so cold, the water vapor and other volatiles which come into contact with the surface will remain stable for an extended period of time, perhaps up to several billion years.

The debates continue because of the subtleties of how the detection has been achieved so far.

The main evidence has come from remote-sensing instruments that measured the strength of sunlight reflected off the lunar surface. When water is

present, instruments like these pick up a spectral fingerprint at wavelengths near 3 micrometers, which lies beyond visible light and in the realm of infrared radiation.

But the surface of the Moon also can get hot enough to “glow,” or emit its own light, in the infrared region of the spectrum. The challenge is to disentangle this mixture of reflected and emitted light. To tease the two apart, researchers need to have very accurate temperature information.

The new finding of widespread and relatively immobile water suggests that it may be present primarily as OH, a more reactive relative of H2O that is made of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom. OH, also called hydroxyl, doesn’t stay on its own for long, preferring to attack molecules or attach itself chemically to them. Hydroxyl would therefore have to be extracted from minerals in order to be used.

Sorting out what happens on the Moon could also help researchers understand the sources of water and its long-term storage on other rocky bodies throughout the solar system.

The researchers are still discussing what the findings tell them about the source of the Moon’s water. The results point toward OH and/or H2O being created by the solar wind hitting the lunar surface, though the team didn’t rule out that OH and/or H2O could come from the Moon itself, slowly released from deep inside minerals where it has been locked since the Moon was formed.

• POWERFUL flare from star Proxima Centauri detected. Space weather emitted by Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our sun, may make that system rather inhospitable to life after all.

Using data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers discovered that a powerful stellar flare erupted from Proxima Centauri last March. This finding, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, raises questions about the habitability of our solar system’s nearest exoplanetary neighbor, Proxima b, which orbits Proxima Centauri.

At its peak, the newly recognised flare was ten times brighter than our sun’s largest flares, when observed at similar wavelengths. Stellar flares have not been well studied at the millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths detected by ALMA, especially around stars of Proxima Centauri’s type, called M dwarfs, which are the most common in our galaxy.

• COMPANIES explore shopping by voice.

When the world shifted from personal computers to smartphones, websites had to slim down to work on smaller screens and slower wireless connections. A similar shift to voice-centric services is again forcing businesses to rethink how they present information to consumers — and spurring new efforts to help them do so.

The software company Adobe, for instance, announced on Tuesday a new suite of tools that could help airlines, retailers and other companies create simple voice interfaces for travel and shopping.

The technology is still in its infancy, and Adobe doesn’t have any actual corporate partners to showcase yet. But its announcement, made in conjunction with a tech show in Barcelona, Spain, shows that voice assistants are becoming important channels for reaching consumers.

• FOX NEWS wins appeals ruling over media monitoring company. A media monitoring company is cheating Fox News out of revenue by failing to pay for some content it resells, a federal appeals court said Tuesday in a decision closely watched in the news broadcasting industry.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against TVEyes Inc., a Fairfield, Connecticut-based company distributing television clips and snippets of transcripts to its customers.

In a statement, TVEyes said it was disappointed by the ruling and was evaluating it and considering its options.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, February 28, 2018, PAGE 11

Bid to recruit nurses as Bahamians head to US

By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH officials have contracted 100 locally trained nurses to fill positions throughout the public health sector left vacant by American recruitment.

But as the public health system is still grappling with a local nurse shortage, the government will have to hire workers from overseas to fill the gaps.

Health Minister Dr Duane Sands announced the move yesterday after being asked to respond to concerns raised over the critical shortage of registered and clinical nurses by Nursing Director Marcel Johnson in a recent paper addressed to him.

Dr Sands, who spoke to reporters outside of Cabinet, said health officials convened a “high-level” panel to analyse and find the root causes of the situation - namely pay for nurses, benefits and conditions of service.

The Elizabeth MP contended these specific points were high on the list of many of the nurses who have relocated to America in recent years.

Dr Sands said The Bahamas, as a result of infrastructural shortfalls, limited resources, high crime, lifestyle choices and the current shortage of healthcare practitioners, now finds itself in the “perfect storm” of challenges.

When asked to clarify the challenges he was referring to, Dr Sands said: “This is a consequence of the choices that we have made as a country and the impact of crime on the care of people with heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood

pressure and arthritis; you cannot be underestimating.

“When we look at this perfect storm now, and the reason why I keep telling these stories is so that the people understand that collectively we can solve this, but it will take serious decision-making together.

“It is going to mean that Bahamians are going to have to look in the mirror and say, ‘I am going to do some things differently’, because the hospital may not be available for certain services if we can’t solve some of these problems.”

Dr Sands said it was critical for The Bahamas to recognise the issue and find a way to address the brain drain in the health care sector.

“What we need to do is, we need to throw a blow,” he said. “We need to figure out how we can stop the bleeding, recognising that we are never going to be able to compete with North America head to head.”

Last October, Dr Sands foreshadowed the current crisis, suggesting at that time the dozens of nurses the health service was losing per month would over time cripple efforts to deliver quality healthcare.

He told The Tribune at the time the worsening phenomenon left the Bahamas in need for some 400 nurses.

That number has since surge to 668 according to the country’s nursing director - 528 revisited nurses and 140 trained clinical nurses.

Faced with those numbers yesterday, Dr Sands said: “We are looking at ways to modify the experience of nurses who are typically or in the majority female, so that they are more

DR DUANE SANDS, Minister of Health. appreciated so that they are more inclined to remain in service in The Bahamas.”

He added: “But when you see that there is 600 or so vacancies, it speaks to the serious problem to deliver essential services throughout the Bahamas. And while you may be able to replace certain other grades of staff, you cannot provide healthcare without doctors and nurses.”

Dr Sands said The Bahamas had, in the past, benefited from being able

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to offset its loses by sourcing nurses from other Caribbean countries.

However, he said those source countries are now also being targeted by America.

Hoping to underscore the seriousness of the nursing crisis yesterday, Dr Sands said: “The entire Bahamian population needs to recognise that this impacts what happens to your mommy; this impacts what happens to your daddy; this impacts what happens in Governor’s

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff Harbour or Andros.

“Until we can fix this, there is going to be an ongoing challenge with the delivery of healthcare services throughout the country. I think it speaks to the importance of this particular group of professional in the country,” he said.

Dr Sands continued: “If there is a registered nurse who is competent and capable to licence and registered in The Bahamas, we can hire her today. Barring that,

we are going to have to hire from wherever we can find them. Now the typical place that we have been hiring recently was in the Philippines.

“So, if you look at our critical care units, our emergency rooms, surgical wards, etcetera; you see an international group of nurses. We appreciate them, but the truth be told, we would much prefer if we could be self sufficient in at least the group of professionals.”

PAGE 12, Wednesday, February 28, 2018

THE TRIBUNE

BAARK HOSTS STRUT YOUR MUTT

By TANEKA THOMPSON Tribune Staff Reporter newseditor@tribunemedia.net LOCAL animal rescue organisation Baark held its “Strut Your Mutt” dog walk on Sunday, with proceeds going towards the group’s spay and neuter efforts.

The walkathon, which began at Goodman’s Bay in Cable Beach, was approximately 1.2 miles and was fun for both twolegged and four-legged participants.

Baark was formed in 2009 by a small group of animal advocates.

PHOTOS: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

PARENTS SPOOKED BY ABUSE IN YOUTH SPORTS SET MORE LIMITS TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN SEATTLE Associated Press

WITH Olympic prodigies having just dazzled audiences worldwide, parents in the US are reconciling the thrill of the gold with their fears from recent sexual abuse scandals in elite youth sports.

Shannon Stabbert said her six-year-old daughter wants to be a gymnast, but the Seattle mother decided to put her in a martial-arts program instead.

“I have no doubt she will be quite amazing at gymnastics,” Stabbert said.

“I just don’t feel like it’s a mentally, physically, emotionally healthy sport for girls.”

High-profile cases of sexual abuse and other predatory behavior in gymnastics, swimming and other sports have jolted many parents who believe athletics can be an important part of their child’s development. Some now feel compelled to be more cautious in monitoring their child’s contact with coaches and other adults.

Experts say the spotty rules and certifications for coaches and glorification of sports culture can make children who feel pressure to achieve even more vulnerable. No longer a casual pastime, sports teams can leave kids as young as five in the care of undertrained, undersupervised coaches.

Emmett Gill, a professor at the University of Texas and expert on the personal development of studentathletes, said success often means children leave their communities to compete, which can leave them at more risk.

“It’s clear that the coach’s responsibility, and their permanent goal, is to win, and that can sacrifice protecting vulnerable children,” Gill said. “We really have forgotten about that

LARA MAE CHOLLETTE, a coach of youth soccer and basketball, runs a basketball drill with her daughter Linda, 10, as her son Jaylen, 7. Horrific cases and allegations of predatory crimes against youth in gymnastics, swimming and football, among other sports, have jolted many parents who say they believe sports can be an important part of their child’s development. Photo: Elaine Thompson/AP good, old neighborhood team. Now youth sports is a bunch of strangers on teams with the best athletes, with the purpose of winning.”

One national organisation trying to prevent abuse of young athletes is the US Center for SafeSport, a Denver-based nonprofit that formed last year.

It launched following the initial allegations of sexual abuse against Larry Nassar, the disgraced sports doctor for USA Gymnastics who will spend his life in prison for sexually assaulting some of the nation’s top gymnasts under the guise of medical treatment.

The US Olympic Committee developed SafeSport, but it’s now an independent organisation that works with law enforcement to investigate

abuse allegations for the 49 Olympic and Paralympic sports.

In addition to offering an online link for anonymous abuse reports, SafeSport also provides educational and training material for youth leagues nationwide.

The goal is to prevent abuse altogether.

“We have got to get upstream and do more to educate athletes, to educate parents, to educate coaches and to educate sport administrators,” SafeSport CEO Shellie Pfohl said. “I want every parent to know what questions they should be asking when they sign their child up.”

Since its inception, SafeSport has received 470 reports of either emotional or physical abuse, including 165 reports this year and 222 active investigations

overall. In some cases, the organisation didn’t have jurisdiction over a youth league to investigate an allegation.

Youth leagues outside Olympic and Paralympic sports don’t have a national organisation to investigate reports of physical abuse, harassment, hazing and other issues. Many of those leagues have spent years trying to mute overreaching parents through codes of conduct but now have to walk the line between input and child safety.

“There’s a balance between appropriate parental involvement and engagement, meaning are there overzealous parents who may upset the team dynamic or be inappropriate in terms of their treatment of the coach or athletes, and balancing

that with parental due diligence,” Pfohl said. “We want parents to be empowered to not only ask these questions but to hold people accountable.”

Gill, the expert on student-athlete development, urges all sports programs to create safety guidelines that clearly indicate the protocol for adults who suspect abuse. Though teachers and doctors must report it, coaches and volunteers do not.

“If we’re really about youth development and character development, this is going to be in front — and the most important part — of our bylaws,” Gill said.

Even the regulators are not immune. The chief safety officer of USA Swimming, Susan Woessner, announced last week

that she was resigning after revealing she had kissed a coach accused of sexual abuse and later assisted in the governing body’s investigation of him.

Sean Hutchison is under criminal investigation after Olympic swimmer Ariana Kukors said he abused her as a minor. Woessner said she wasn’t in a relationship with Hutchison.

USA Swimming also issued a letter to parents saying it had failed members and its system was “not flawless” and vowing to “ensure that there is never a lapse of a support system again”.

For many parents, they say they will look to set more boundaries and ask more questions.

“Sometimes you kind of wonder: Am I missing something as parent? Am I not looking? Am I not asking the right questions?

Am I trusting too much?” said Lara Mae Chollette, a Seattle mother of three.

Chollette, who works in human resources, said she’s also wondered lately whether parents should stay for lengthy practices.

If someone else is watching her kids, she finds out the ages of the other siblings who may come along. Her husband also has made a rule against taking responsibility for another child for overnight trips.

As a coach herself of youth soccer and basketball, Chollette said she knows the schedules, other parents and how people come and go from the sports facilities, which is helpful.

“It’s truly a commitment for us,” Chollette said of attending every practice, game and trip. “We see it as an educational element for our kids. There are things in sports that a teacher can’t teach. There are things in sports that life can’t teach.”