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Volume: 121 No.29, January 3, 2024

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VICTIM GUNNED DOWN AT HOME PM says we need to do more to cut the number of killings

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net DEBORAH Lockhart said when she last saw her nephew, the country’s latest murder victim, he was heading to church on New Year’s Eve. Less than 48 hours later, he was chased inside his home on South Beach on

PINDER: US MISLEADING ON FTX CHIEF TRIAL DELAY

Datura Avenue off Oxford Drive and fatally shot multiple times.

The murder, the second for the year, continued the trend of bloodshed that increased during the holiday season.

Ms Lockhart said Garrard Coakley, 31, was a “fun-loving” construction

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Attorney General yesterday branded the US explanation for not proceeding with Sam Bankman-Fried’s second trial as “rather misleading” since prosecutors knew the FTX chief’s Bahamas action is still live.

Ryan Pinder KC said The Bahamas cannot give permission to bring extra charges against the crypto exchange’s founder until the outcome of his Judicial Review challenge is determined by this nation’s legal system.

SEE PAGE THREE

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ‘not top priority of govt’

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said implementing the Freedom of Information Act is not one of his top priorities, though he is committed to fulfilling the long-promised pledge to fully enact the system this term.

He said providing relief to struggling Bahamians is a more pressing issue.

His comment came after Information Commissioner Keith Thompson told The Nassau Guardian that the prime minister and attorney general’s offices are responsible for getting the technology his department SEE PAGE THREE

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

POLICE officers console family members at the scene on Datura Ave where a man died after being shot multiple times at his home on January 2, 2024.

Photo: Dante Carrer

PLATINUM KNIGHTS WIN GB JUNKANOO PARADE

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net PLATINUM Knights unofficially won the 2024 New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade in Grand Bahama, beating rival Superstar Rockers by more than 300 points.

With an overall score of 3,024, the Division A group captured its sixth straight win, winning the best group costume, best performance,

PLATINUM KNIGHTS best execution of theme, and best music categories.

Superstar Rockers took second with a score of 2,686; the Swingers came a close third with 2,652 points, and the Classic Dancers were fourth with 2,459.

Platinum Knights leader Thomas Curry, with wife Leah by his side, said the win is historic because no other junkanoo group on the island had ever won six back-to-back parades.

“I am passionate about

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE TWO

TRIBUNAL: IT WAS FAIR TO FIRE MAN AFTER FIGHT AT WORK

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Industrial Tribunal dismissed the claims of a man who said Aquapure wrongfully and unfairly dismissed him after he fought someone on the company’s Bernard Road property in 2022.

Earl Henry Lockhart claimed he was wrongfully and unfairly dismissed, his contract was breached, and he didn’t receive SEE PAGE FOUR

PAGE 2, Wednesday, January 3, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Platinum Knights win sixth consecutive GB New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade from page one

junkanoo and we have been in the shack since February, keeping people off the street and busy,” he said. “Many people on the parade route asked to join the group, but we had to turn away 50 to 60 in December because the resources were not there.

My goal is to put 2,000 on the road someday.

“But hats off to these groups, and I told the guys that this one is for Huck.

Even though he was the leader of the Swingers, he was like my father.”

Anthony “Huck” Williams, the founder and leader of the Swingers Junkanoo Group, died on December 24 after a long battle with cancer.

Platinum Knights’ theme, “Animation and Cartoon Favourites”, took fans down memory lane with costumes depicting popular cartoon

characters from the past.

Pioneer’s Way came alive to the sounds of goatskinned drums and horns.

Nine groups competed and displayed creative, colourful costume pieces and choreographed dances as thousands watched.

Showtime, the first group on the parade route, had a theme of “Golden Jubilee, it’s a celebration”. The choreographed dancers were dressed in native straw cloth adorned with yellow and gold, and off-the-shoulder dancers represented each island of The Bahamas and their Coat of Arms.

The Superstar Rockers mesmerised fans with its lead costume, “The Beauty of Nature”, which also served as its theme.

Animals from air, land, and sea were depicted, including tropical birds, jungle animals, and blue marlins.

The choreographed dancers

were dressed as purple and green butterflies, symbolic of pollination.

The group is always a strong contender and finished second to Platinum Knights last year.

There were two fun groups. The Bushwhackers were dressed in their usual green thatch palms and native plants, highlighting conservation with its theme, “Keeping the Forest Green and Pristine”.

Da Woman Dem, an allwomen group that debuted in 2023, participated under the theme “Bahamian Music nor Nuttin”.

The Classic Dancers was the fourth group out of the blocks with “Africa” as its theme. The group took fans on a safari journey with lions, tigers, and cheetahs in the African wilderness. The group’s dancers depicted animals like giraffes, wildebeests, rhinoceros, and other

PLATINUM Knights Junkanoo win their sixth consecutive New Year’s Junkanoo Parade on New Years in Grand Bahama. Their costumes depicted classic cartoons.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

animals on a great migration.

The group’s lead costume depicted the royal coronation of the African king and his queen of the Republic of Ghana.

Next up was Sting with its theme, “Celebrating 50 Years of Junkanoo”, which highlighted junkanoo instruments –– drums, cowbells, and whistles.

The Platinum Knights, the largest group in the parade, took up all of Pioneer’s Way. The fans left the bleachers and lined the main route to watch the group’s performance, which showcased popular cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Tom and Jerry. Some costumes depicted cartoon classics such as Pinocchio, Alvin and Chipmunks, Minni Mouse, the Flintstones, Cruella de Vil, and the 101 Dalmatians.

The dancers, dressed in aqua

costumes depicting Princess Jasmine, purple and gold like Pocahontas, took the show with their synchronized dance routine and chants.

The music section was dressed in pink, imitating the Pink Panther. Its final costume depicted the Smurf Village.

The theme for the Swingers Junkanoo Group was “Let’s Get to Work”. The group showcased various professions, including doctors, teachers, boat captains, fishermen, and even ZNS’s news team.

The group’s lead banner invited fans to “sign up at the job fair.” The off-theshoulder dancers showcased various law enforcement agencies: the Royal Bahamas Police Force, defence force, customs and immigration organisations. The group also featured farmers and Bahamian conch

vendors.

The final group of the evening was the New Generation Cultural Performance Arts Organization, a new exhibition group. “All the Flowers” was its theme.

Among the spectators enjoying the parade was Marie McKenzie, vice president of Global Ports & Carib Government Relations. Carnival was a major sponsor of the 2024 parade.

Ms McKenzie said it was important to celebrate the new year on Grand Bahama.

“We know what Junkanoo means to Bahamians.

We are definitely part of the Grand Bahama community and wanted to show up strong this year in support of Junkanoo. It was well organised and I am loving the costumes. Everything is beautiful,” she said.

UÊ ÀÊ ÀiÊ À> `Ê Bahama Junkanoo Parade Photos SEE PAGE SEVEN.

VICTIM GUNNED DOWN AT HOME

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 3, 2024, PAGE 3

from page one

worker and a “family person” who was engaged to be married.

His fiancée was inconsolable at the crime scene yesterday, wailing on the ground.

Ms Lockhart said she messaged her nephew and his brother every day to check on them. They both responded to her texts yesterday morning before one was killed.

“I was just sitting right down to work when my nephew, his uncle call me and say somebody call him and say they shoot up the house, but he really don’t know what happened because he wasn’t home,” she said. “And then it’s about not even ten minutes later the next uncle called me and he said he was outside. I say what happened?

He said aunty, Garrad get shoot. So I said okay. So he hesitate, then he said, ‘dead’.”

Assistant Superintendent of Police Makelle Pinder said the deceased was known to police but was not being electrically monitored.

“What we can tell you is the deceased, while standing at the back of his residence, was approached by an unknown male armed with a firearm,” she said.

“As a result, the deceased was chased on the inside of his home where he was shot multiple times by the assailant.”

Police recovered a firearm and ammunition from the scene.

In the year’s first murder, a man allegedly stabbed his father during an argument at their family home in western New Providence.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday that his administration is doing everything the police have to do to reduce crime.

“We are all distressed by the level of violence in the society, and, yes, it’s trending downward, but it’s not going down fast enough for us, and we continue to put out resources that are necessary to tackle that issue,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, during an interview on Eyewitness News’ “Beyond the Headlines“ last night, said he is concerned about the increase in stabbing incidents.

“The most troubling trend in the murders isn’t really gun-related,” he said. “The most troubling trend in terms of reports that I’ve seen over the last year, upticking, the use of knives.”

“Why that is so troubling is because you can have a fella who goes out to hunt down his opponent and that’s very deliberate. In a lot of the reports of knife incidents, stabbings, and there are a lot of stabbings that don’t terminate fatally, is persons just cannot manage conflicts so you and I get in a row and instead of just having our row and being done with it, someone produces a knife and there’s a stabbing.”

A FAMILY member overcome with grief sits against a wall on Daturah Ave after Gerrard Coackley (inset) was shot and killed inside his home in the South Beach area yesterday.

Photos: Dante Carrer

Freedom of information ‘not top priority of govt’

PRIME MINISTER PHILIP ‘BRAVE’ DAVIS from page one needs to move forward with a pilot programme and facilitate information requests.

Mr Davis spoke to reporters after the swearing-in ceremonies for South Andros MP Leon Lundy and West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Kinglsey Smith.

Asked if his administration is still committed to implementing the FOIA, he said: “Within my term of office, yes, but again, priorities require resources, and if I have a choice of putting and getting all those things in place as against doing things to alleviate the strain on my Bahamian people, the strain on my Bahamian people –– relief will come first. That is not off our drawing board. Right now, we just have too many challenges amongst our disadvantaged Bahamians that need to pay priority to. That’s my priority right now.”

Successive administrations have promised to implement an information request system but failed to do so.

Commissioner Thompson told reporters last May he anticipated facilitating information requests by late last year –– a pledge that never materialised.

Mr Davis said he would get an update from his technical team on

acquiring the technology to implement FOIA. However, FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands said yesterday Bahamians should not expect the administration to ever implement the FOIA. “Their willingness to adhere to the requirements of anything to do with procurement, fiscal responsibility, to say how the Bahamian people’s tax dollars are being spent, they are not interested,” he said. “They’ve been giving out no-bid contracts to the tune of millions of dollars left, right, and centre, and so Freedom of Information is an impediment to their way of doing business.”

“So tell the Bahamian people don’t hold your breath because it ain’t gon’ happen, not under this administration.”

The last Ingraham administration passed a FOIA shortly before the 2012 general election but gave no date for enactment.

The Christie administration overhauled that legislation but never implemented its provisions.

In May 2021, the Minnis administration made Mr Thompson the first Freedom of Information commissioner. Shane Miller, a retired assistant director of legal affairs (ADLA), was appointed deputy.

Last May, the Davis administration began training government workers as information managers.

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PAGE 4, Wednesday, January 3, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Police say Jamaican woman’s Tribunal: It was assault at detention centre fair to fire man claim still under investigation after fight at work from page one

BY LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net CHIEF Superintendent Michael Johnson said police are still investigating a Jamaican woman’s claim that she was sexually assaulted and abused at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre in November and may need to speak to people outside the country before completing their probe.

A 40-year-old Jamaican woman and her 11-year-old son were released from custody in late December after The Tribune contacted immigration officials, and people from the Jamaican Consulate in The Bahamas got involved to ask about her condition.

The woman said she was sexually assaulted in immigration custody and continually abused after complaining about an officer’s actions.

Yesterday, the woman said an officer visited her last week with photos of potential suspects.

She said her alleged assailant was not among those shown.

The pregnant woman said she still suffers back and foot pain from the alleged beatings.

“Sometimes, I can’t eat just imagining what I go through,” she said, adding that her son is afraid to leave the house, fearing a potential encounter with immigration officers.

“I tell him to go the Carnival. He say ‘no’ and I tell him that he have to try go outside and enjoy the world but he don’t want to go outside,” she said. “He said he don’t wanna go back cuz he scared. He don’t know if they going to come back for him or what’s going to happen.”

The woman said she wants police to speed up their investigation, adding: “I don’t think they are doing enough. This is like two months now and the person is still at work doing their thing.

They still doing everything.”

A JAMAICAN woman said she was sexually assaulted in immigration custody and continually abused after complaining about an officer’s actions.

termination pay, vacation pay, and other benefits owed him.

During cross-examination, Mr Lockhart said he was hit in his head with a Guinness bottle during the fight on March 12, 2022, causing blood to drain down his face.

He said the fight began when he tried to take back a food item from his colleague, who made a particular remark to him.

Kelcy Lundy, the production manager, testified that he did not witness the fight, but when he arrived, the two involved in the altercation accused the other of starting the fight.

“I informed them of the policy that every one of us is aware of –– that if you fight on the job you will be terminated.”

He said the policy is not written but is well known in the company.

Mr Lockhart argued that it couldn’t be enforced if the policy was not written.

He said the company should have taken a written statement from each employee to determine who started the fight.

Ultimately, Industrial Tribunal Vice President Rionda Godet found that

Aquapure’s submissions “more accurately reflect the evidence presented” given that Mr Lockhart admitted during cross-examination that he knew the company’s no tolerance for fighting policy.

However, she acknowledged that in disciplinary proceedings, people expect to have the chance to discuss why they are being terminated.

“Certainly, in matters of disciplinary proceedings, one would expect that there would have been an opportunity for at least a discussion where a person effecting the termination would have advanced the respondent’s position and why, and offered an opportunity for the applicant to say why he should not have been terminated,” she wrote.

“This did not take place –– however –– given the company’s stated policy and the information known at hand, it was reasonable to believe that the fact of termination was a foregone conclusion to all and, in all the premises of the circumstances arising, there was little the applicant could have said to have reversed this, in light of the information advanced to Mr Lundy.”

US EmbaSSy’S JUSRoad242 initiativE took thEm to abaco, GRand bahama and LonG iSLand US EMBASSY Nassau’s “JusRoad242” tour recently stopped in Grand Bahama, Abaco, and Long Island. Seeking to extend its reach far beyond New Providence, the Embassy cultivated women entrepreneurs in Grand Bahama, invested $427,000 to preserve the historic Elbow Reef Lighthouse in Abaco, donated $50,000 to combat gender-based violence (GBV) in Abaco, and forged commercial links with US companies in Long Island.

The US Embassy embarked on the JusRoad242 tour last year to deepen US-Bahamas relations with the Family Islands. During each visit, Embassy officials engaged with policymakers, business owners, security officials, journalists, and community leaders to provide Family Island residents access to resources and opportunities. Everyone can follow the Embassy’s JusRoad242 journey on our social media platforms.

Following the October launch of this year’s Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, the US Embassy returned to Grand Bahama in December to spread holiday cheer and discuss economic development.

Chargé d’Affairs Usha

Pitts spoke with Minister of Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey and Grand Bahama Port Authority officials about the island’s future, while the Embassy’s economic team explored commercial opportunities with local business leaders. During one encounter, Chargé Pitts introduced orphaned children to a quintessential American sport, Ultimate Frisbee.

Abaco was next on the US Embassy’s journey. From December 5-7, Chargé Pitts heard about the triumphs and challenges Abaco residents face during meetings with Member of Parliament John Pinder, the Chamber of Commerce, Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWiL), and the PanAmerican Development Foundation (PADF). To support the international “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,” the Embassy granted $50,000 to Abaco organisations to combat domestic violence and hosted a roundtable where Abaco community leaders shared ideas to prevent and protect victims.

On December 7, the Embassy celebrated the restoration of the Elbow Reef Lighthouse along with Government officials, British

High Commissioner Tom Hartley, Chinese Ambassador Dai Qingli, local residents, and the media.

A $472,000 grant from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) enabled the restoration project.

In both Grand Bahama and Abaco, Chargé Pitts presented talented young artists with a $200 gift card for their winning submissions to the Embassy’s 2024 “Our Shared Story” calendar competition.

Each student’s artwork beautifully illustrated the 50 years of partnership between the United States and The Bahamas and was featured in the US Embassy’s 2024 calendar. You can check all the winning artworks on US Embassy Nassau’s social media.

Meanwhile, the Embassy’s economic officer visited Long Island from December 4-6 to better understand the island’s economy. He met with government officials and key business owners to establish ties and learn about challenges and development opportunities.

The US Embassy will continue its tour throughout the Islands of The Bahamas. Follow #JusRoad242 on Embassy social media pages. The next stop is Bimini.

BRITISH High Commissioner Tom Harley, Chinese Ambassador Dai Qingli, Chargé Pitts and the Member of Parliament for Central and South Abaco, John Pinder share a moment while in Abaco on December 7, for the reopening of the Elbow Reef Lighthouse.

Photos: U S Embassy

ECONOMIC and Commercial Counselor Ricky Wesch visited Long Island December 4 - 6, to better understand the island’s economy. He is pictured here with representatives of Constantakis Sea Enterprises. Part of the business exports sponge as shown in the background.

CHARGÉ d’Affairs Usha Pitts shares holiday cheer with local Grand Bahama children.

IN her first official visit to Grand Bahama, U.S. Embassy Nassau’s Political and Economic Chief, Erika Lewis accompanied by Commercial Specialist Bianca Bethel Sawyer engaged with local government and business leaders. They are pictured here with the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.

‘Rexy’ Rolle takes the helm of Western Air as new CEO THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 3, 2024, PAGE 5

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net SHERREXIA “Rexy” Rolle is succeeding her father as the new CEO and president of Western Air, the family-owned airline.

The 35-year-old is the daughter of Captain Rex Rolle, the chairman of the airline’s board who has served as president and CEO since the launch of the airline in 2000. Her mother is the vice president and chief operational officer of the company.

Ms Rolle said she is grateful to build on the work her parents started from the ground up.

Western Air is reportedly the largest privately owned airline in The Bahamas.

“We are a small family from Andros,” she told The Tribune yesterday. “My parents did not come from much, and they really dreamed a relatively small dream. They just thought they would just have one aircraft and fly from Andros to Nassau. And God had it that they really were able to prove themselves and provide consistent service that people started to trust.”

Ms Rolle has 15 years of airline experience.

She served as vice president of operations and general counsel for nine years and is a corporate attorney.

However, she is not a traditional CEO –– she also has a music career.

“I have always been very expressive in the way I dress, exploring music, dance and all of that is a part of my personality,” she said. “And the same way how I love that there are multiple team members of Western Air that have other talents and things that they do, I certainly don’t plan on tuning down who I am.”

“I’m very committed to what it is we do. But I’m certainly not a typical attorney or typical president or CEO. We’re going to get what we need to do done, but we’re going to be ourselves as we do that.”

As the first woman CEO of Western Air, Ms Rolle encouraged people not to dream small.

“One thing I will say is that never believe that anything is too big for you,” she said. “No matter how grand it is, you are capable, and God has already given you everything you need to start working towards your dream. And secondly, you can’t get away without doing hard work and having consistency with that work.”

In a statement, Captain Rolle said he has confidence in his daughter.

SHERREXIA “REXY” ROLLE

Bahamian music artist Canaan For Yah signs a deal with Epidemic Records

CANANN CUNNINGHAM

CANAAN For Yah singing a record deal with Ramont Green - Royalty & Respect CEO, Santi Olaguibel - Royalty Respect Co Founder , David Mullins - Royalty & Respect A&R, Rodney Kohn - Royalty & Respect Cofounder, Jovah Kanye - Rich Lyfe Music CEO & Capitol Records A&R, and Cool’ Antonio Valenzano - 3x Grammy Award Winning Producer & CEO of Epidemic Records.

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net CANAAN Cunningham worked multiple jobs to make ends meet when he moved to Miami, doing sound engineering for artists, songwriting, and part-time work at TJ Maxx.

Now, the 22-year-old is celebrating his first music record deal with a

label owned by Grammy award-nominated producers who helped produce Beyonce and Jay Z’s 2018 joint album, “Everything is Love.”

Mr Cunningham, whose stage name is Cannan For Yah, told The Tribune he moved to Miami in 2022 to further his music career.

Born in the United States to Bahamians, he spent most of his life here.

He signed a record deal

with Epidemic Records last month. The label’s owners, Cool and Dre, have worked with Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Rick Ross, Queen Latifah, and others.

“It would be times that I would be discouraged just because of trying to get a stronger support system from home,” he said yesterday, adding that Bahamians accept foreigners more than locals. “But it was never a day that I

lost faith that this would happen. I always was 100 per cent confident and had faith in God that this day would come. It would get discouraging at times, but I never thought to say quit music.”

“A majority, like the whole Bahamas, it’s a lot of people who would see the good work you are doing but wouldn’t support it right away until they see someone else supporting it

or see at a certain level.”

He has been managed

by Miami-based Royalty and Respect Management since 2021. He said his management team helped him encounter the music industry elites and display his talents, helping him get a record deal.

“My goal is also to build up a record label once I have a certain leverage and have a whole section where it’s just Bahamian artists,”

he said. “It’s a lot of other Bahamian artists who have the same talent as me or who are just as talented.”

He said he’s working on releasing new music this year and will be doing music videos and shows.

He described his music as melodic, a fusion of R&B, island and oldschool sounds. Michael Jackson, Drake, and Chris Brown are some of his inspirations.

PAGE 6, Wednesday, January 3, 2024

The Tribune Limited

THE TRIBUNE

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Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

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RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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No priority for Freedom of Information SO it turns out that Freedom of Information is not one of Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ top priorities.

Forgive us if we are not shocked.

Progress on the matter has gone so slowly that even snails are shocked by the lack of speed.

It is now more than ten years since the Ingraham administration passed a Freedom of Information Act in 2012 and we still do not have the tools to demand of our government proper answers on matters.

That 2012 act had no date for enactment, then the Christie administration tinkered with the legislation but never implemented it. Then came the Minnis administration, who in 2021 made Keith Thompson the first Information Commissioner. In May, he will have been in the post two years – will he have overseen the release of a single piece of information by that anniversary? It seems unlikely to hear Mr Davis say it.

Mr Thompson has said that the Prime Minister’s office and the Attorney General’s office are now responsible for getting the technology his department needs for a pilot programme.

Back in May last year, his first anniversary in the role, he said he anticipated information requests being handled by the end of 2023. That never happened. By that stage in May, the technology needed should have been well in progress, if an end of year deadline was going to be met, we would have thought.

Also back in May last year, training was supposed to begin for information managers, which begs a question – between Mr Thompson’s salary, the cost of offices, the training, the staff, and so on, how much have we spent already? We would make it a freedom of information request, but …

That is not even taking into account the cost of whatever technology has been requested.

Mr Davis said yesterday that he planned for the implementation “within my term of office” – which is a long way from the deadlines that have flown by

previously.

He blamed resources, saying: “Priorities require resources, and if I have a choice of putting and getting all those things in place as against doing things to alleviate the strain on my Bahamian people, the strain on my Bahamian people – relief will come first. That is not off our drawing board. Right now, we just have too many challenges amongst our disadvantaged Bahamians that need to pay priority to. That’s my priority right now.”

It is curious, considering how much boasting the government has done about the economy of late, and the soaring tourism figures – but when it comes to freedom of information, we need to think about the strain on the Bahamian people first. Does that apply to the government’s bill for travels around the world too? Are we shelving projects such as a new Parliament to focus on the strain on the Bahamian people?

A government should be able to do more than one thing at a time – there ought to be the capacity to deal with a long-planned freedom of information implementation and address the needs of the less fortunate in our country.

Rather, it looks as if the government is simply not interested in transparency.

Put the yet-again-delayed freedom of information implementation next to the concerns over whether the Fiscal Responsibility Council is functioning. Take a look at the lack of progress afforded the Public Accounts Committee. See how we still do not know which lawmakers obeyed the law in making public disclosures on time last year.

Time and time again, the tools used to hold our government to account are neglected. Are we supposed to believe that is coincidence?

At least we know where Mr Davis stands. His position is that this is not a priority. No answers for you. Maybe he will get it up and running on his way out of the door. Or maybe not.

Freedom of information is hidden under a cloak of secrecy.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it EDITOR, The Tribune.

NOT even 24 hours into 2024 and all hope to improve the ease of doing business in the country has been shot.

The Department of Inland Revenue ends 2023 announcing system upgrades, but on the first day of business this year, thousands were blocked from accessing their account and applying to renew their licences online.

What happened to “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it?”

Surely keeping what you have is better than blowing everything. Grandma may have kept her money under

the mattress but at least she could always access it.

As thousands of businesses are left wondering when the email will come, the department issues the update that “a definite time cannot be given at this time”.

Where has the ease of doing business gone? Did someone buy it a firstclass one-way ticket out of The Bahamas? Last year, new business licence applications could take up to nine months (especially in Eleuthera), some executive tier immigration work permit applications were not even approved due to a backlog of 2022

applications the Immigration Department was still processing, and this year top gross revenue companies must submit to an in-depth government audit or face massive fines. It is pure madness. To say the present state of doing business here was laughable, would be a compliment.

Businesses must now be wondering if they can survive this latest blow.

It’s not the economic feet of others that are hindering our progress, it’s our decision-makers who are fumbling and failing to act.

ADRIAN WHITE, MP January 2, 2024

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A MEMBER of the Shell Saxon Superstarz - Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Junaknoo Parade winners, marches on Bay Street on New Year’s day.

Photo: Dante Carrer

2024 is the year of anticipation EDITOR, The Tribune.

THOSE of us who are reading this submission are blessed and highly favoured. We made it into a brand New Year. Had it not been for The Lord, many of us would not be here right now. Many of our fellow Bahamians have; by natural death; debilitating illness; suicide or a violent demise gone across the Jordan.

Those of us who yet remain, have much to be thankful for and I daresay that we have great anticipations.

As I have submitted before, 2023 was a year of resurrection. 2024 will be the year of anticipation.

Over the course of the last two years, Philip “Brave” Davis, KC, MP and his parliamentary team were placed in the unenviable position where the devastated economy and bare national treasury had to be rationalised; stabilised and reengineered. These were not easily achieved.

No, the PM and the PLP do not walk on water and, unlike Joshua of old, they are incapable of ordering the Sun to stand still in Gideon. What they have done, however, is to ‘right’ many of the absolutely ‘bad’ decisions and policy positions of the now defunct and badly fractured FNM and then Prime Minister, the Most Competent Hubert A Minnis (FNMKillarney).

The latter, unfortunately, was struck with body blows, economically and politically, just after coming in to high office.

The nation went through a living nightmare and was literally seeing and hearing things for almost the entire shortened term in office of the Minnis’ interregnum. It took assorted Acts of God (the dissipation of the worst of the effects of COVID-19) and lifting of the mandatory restrictions and curtailment of movement imposed by Minnis and Company, along with the timely election of the Davis administration for us to start to catch ourselves again.

What will 2024 unfold and what will be revealed to the New Day administration? Do we collectively have a bucket list for this year or will we make hard choices and continue on with the job of

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net reconstruction?

Bahamians by and large have huge anticipations, as we should going forward. The PM and his team should know and understand precisely what has to be done or corrected.

In my last editorial submission for 2023 I plainly laid out what I think that are most pressing at this critical junction.

Business as usual has to change if the justified and expected anticipations of the masses are to be realised. Crime remains much too high and senseless killings and the infliction of serious bodily harm continues to be vexing. As long as our final court of Appeal is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, I daresay that there will not be another state sanctioned execution for the crime of murder. So what do we do in these debilitating situations?

As a disbarred lawyer who once commanded 90% of the then homicide cases, I am more than aware that the construction of more courts and even a bigger jail will not, of themselves, ‘solve’ crime and the fear of crime. The Church and the traditional family structure have fallen, generally, by the wayside and the system, especially with the younger generations, has become one of ‘every man for himself and God for us all’.

Those two aforementioned units have been replaced by the state itself and Bahamians expect the government to step in and do their jobs.

We have become too callous and slack in many cases so long as events do not cross our doors. I have been advocating for decades the absolute necessity of a form of National Youth Service.

Over the past few years I have advised the now PM to do just that posthaste. It is to be noted that the Hon Wayne Munroe (PLP-Free Town) our erstwhile Minister of National Security recently publicly declared that this was a priority of the Davis administration.

I fully agree with him, but differ, economically and fundamentally of the

proposed construction of a 50-odd million dollars new jail.

Bahamians here in New Providence need affordable housing desperately and like from yesterday.

We have become a people who are assigned to be chronic renters or ‘slackers’ on relatives. Any progressive government should prioritise affordable housing here in New Providence and liberalise the genuine grant of Crown Land to qualified individuals in the Family Islands. In fact, I suggest that many Bahamians who are currently living in New Providence would have little problems financing and constructing a modest residence on selected Family Islands and commuting back and forth as necessary.

Our trade and vocational institutions must be expanded and modernised as rapidly as possible. Everyone cannot be a rocket scientist, but many of them do have inclinations and are semi-skilled in assorted trades and vocations. Let us maximise this and create self employed entrepreneurs or highly in demand trained employees. This is a win/win situation and one which will cut back on crime and wayward useless societal behaviour.

It is also anticipated that Members of Parliament will become more receptive to those same constituents who propelled them into power. Too many of our home grown politicians, once elected and elevated become almost like a Dr Jekel and Mr Hyde (or is it hide?). The average Bahamian is right to expect and anticipate accountable and reasonable accountability.

If the Davis administration were to adhere to just a few of the above anticipations and expectations, I prophecy that it would be in power for at least the remainder of this term and another term, the Lord willing. Oh, by the way, hook up with a Bible based sanctuary (Like Life Changers Ministries International/ Bishop Valentine Williams) in 2024.

Jr

ORTLAND H BODIE, Nassau, January 1, 2024.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 3, 2024, PAGE 7

Images from Grand Bahama’s New Year’s Junkanoo Parade Superstar Rockers Second Place

SUPERSTAR Rockers placed second at the Grand Bahama New Year’s Junkanoo Parade, followed in third place by the Swingers and in fourth were the Classic Dancers.

Photos: Vandyke Hepburn

Swingers Third Place

Classic Dancers Fourth Place

PAGE 8, Wednesday, January 3, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

More civic engagement needed to hold govt accountable in 2024 WE are in a new calendar, and many people and organisations are making plans and promises, seeking transformation by December 31. There will be success to varying degrees.

The Davis administration is more than two years into its five-year term, and its delivery on its own agenda has, thus far, been unsatisfactory. There are easy wins that it has completely failed to position itself to take.

This is a good time for it to take a good look at itself, its failures, and the potential it still has to deliver.

There is a long to-do list for this administration, and our list, as members of civil society, is long too.

Members of Parliament represent us. They are employed by us. We must prompt them to take action.

We must demand that they take action. We must call them to account.

Here are five areas for consistent practice.

1. Speak the truth, and only the truth. We are far too accustomed to lies. Too many of us have come to expect deception from the government. It is no surprise when it says it will do one thing, and then does another. Being lied to should not be seen or treated as normal. It is an affront, and should be treated as such. We need to call the government out for its lies.

Last month, the prime minister said the genderbased violence bill was passed. This is completely untrue. As has been reported multiple times, there was a draft genderbased violence bill, last updated in 2016, that was being updated further in 2022. In the midst of socalled consultation on the bill, the government drafted a completely different bill.

The “Protection Against Violence” bill was drafted, heavily and appropriately critiqued by non-governmental organisations and women’s rights advocates, and passed without proper process. That Act is not the gender-based violence bill, and it is not, in any way, a substitute for the gender-based violence. It is the epitome of a shoddy, rushed, ineffective product.

There is no way that the “Protection Against Violence” Act can be a gender-based violence bill. It does not even have the word “gender” in it.

It has been referred to by members of the current administration as “general” and addressing “general violence” when genderbased violence is, as should be obvious to anyone with or without technical training, a specific type of violence that affects specific

By Alicia Wallace groups of people based on, as the term suggests, gender. A law addressing gender-based violence cannot ignore gender. The drafters cannot pretend that it does not exist. The current administration decided that it did not, in fact, care to address genderbased violence. Instead, it would focus on “general violence” — not the violence that is specifically affecting women and girls whose stories we read in newspapers and hear on the radio, responding with disgust and anger.

Our disgust and anger has not been enough to warrant a response inclusive of prevention programmes, intervention, and survivor-centred justice.

The statistics and the stories were enough for this administration to pretend to do something about the issue, but not enough to follow through. In addition to its decided failure to take the necessary action, it has lied and continues to lie to us. We must not be fooled.

The “Protection Against Violence” Act is not a gender-based violence law.

2. Take responsibility for action and inaction.

This administration, like every one before it, enjoys the blame game. It points fingers at the previous administration, highlighting what it should have done and somehow left undone, and what it did in error or to disastrous consequences.

The Opposition, of course, does the same. It takes the governing party to task, and they go back and forth about who should have done it. “Why didn’t you do it when you were in?”

The government, including the Opposition, needs to take responsibility for itself and what it produces. The bickering does not move us forward. The blame game does not move us forward.

It does not even prove helpful for them when general elections come around again. We all know what happens. We do not vote for, but against. It would be great to have something or someone to vote for, but none of the options even have the integrity to acknowledge their failings and resist the urge to shift the focus to someone or something else.

3. Publicly acknowledge and act on what is known to be true and necessary,

including human rights standards. The government voluntarily participates in multilateral organisations and review processes, affirming its understanding of and commitment to human rights obligations. It has ratified several treaties and signed many declarations and agreements. We often reference the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), ratified in 1993, yet we are far from full compliance.

The Government of The Bahamas produces reports and sends representatives—often more than necessary—to participate in conversations about the progress it has made toward compliance with various conventions, and to receive recommendations. In these reports and its verbal contributions, the government conveys that it is aware of the meaning of the text and what it obligates it to do, and that it is important for it to come into compliance.

This is clear in the way that the government does its best to portray itself in a positive light, highlighting every single miniscule detail that it can find that might come close to suggesting that it is making an effort.

Representatives of the government do not show up to tell these bodies that the government finds the convention unnecessary, or that it does not like the recommendations, or that it has no intention of coming into compliance. They want to make the government look good, and they know that this means at least pretending to care about and be committed to human rights.

In The Bahamas, however, government officials speak as though they have no idea what human rights are or who is entitled to them. They speak as though they are under undue pressure by organizations like the United Nations, and being forced to participate in processes with which they disagree. They do not report to the Bahamian public on what they sign, ratify, and adopt, nor do they report on the actions they seek to undertake and how they are related to those commitments. They certainly do not report on the recommendations given to the government during the periodic reviews. That

‘We must demand better, and not feed into the party-versus-party nonsense that they use to distract and divide.

We need to move the country forward, for the benefit of us all.’

GENDER EQUALITY = HUMAN RIGHTS falls to the media which, of course, is selective in the recommendations that it picks up and reports based on issues of the day and sufficient sensation for sales and clicks.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited The Bahamas in late November 2023. As with all such groups, this visit was welcomed by the government.

Several news stories covered some of the findings that were in the Working Group’s report after visiting detention facilities and meeting with various stakeholders and experts.

Rather than accept that the Working Group carried out its work as expected and produced a report with findings that could have only come from its research on

the ground, the Minister of National Security took a ridiculous approach, criticising the report. He delivered truly unacceptable excuses for human rights violations that only served to demonstrate his and the current administration’s inability to assess existing systems and practices to identify the changes that need to be made.

If the critique is that people are detained for more than five days, “if you are charged on a Friday having been in custody for five days, there is no court to bring you before on a Saturday or a Sunday, and so you will end up being in custody for seven days” is not an argument of any merit. Why is a person held for five days without charges? If that is unavoidable, why is

there no provision in place to deal with the matter on the weekend? What is the government prepared to do to eliminate human rights violations?

In 2024, we need to be spared the lies. We need to be spared the excuses. We need the government to work for us. We need to use our power—the power of the people—to hold government officials accountable.

We must demand better, and not feed into the partyversus-party nonsense that they use to distract and divide. We need to move the country forward, for the benefit of us all.

That requires clear vision, honest communication, civic engagement, decisive action, strong critique, and responsive systems and processes.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 3, 2024, PAGE 9

THE YEAR IN CLEAN ENERGY: WIND, SOLAR AND BATTERIES GROW DESPITE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

By ISABELLA O’MALLEY, JENNIFER McDERMOTT and ALEXA ST. JOHN Associated Press LED by new solar power, the world added renewable energy at breakneck speed in 2023, a trend that if amplified will help Earth turn away from fossil fuels and prevent severe warming and its effects.

Clean energy is often now the least expensive, explaining some of the growth.

Nations also adopted policies that support renewables, some citing energy security concerns, according to the International Energy Agency. These factors countered high interest rates and persistent challenges in getting materials and components in many places.

The IEA projected that more than 440 gigawatts of renewable energy would be added in 2023, more than the entire installed power capacity of Germany and Spain together.

Here’s a look at the year in solar, wind and batteries.

ANOTHER BANNER YEAR FOR SOLAR China, Europe, and the U.S. each set solar installation records for a single year, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

China’s additions dwarfed those of all other countries, at somewhere between 180 and 230 gigawatts, depending on how end-of-the-year projects turn out. Europe added 58 gigawatts.

Solar is now the cheapest form of electricity in a majority of countries. Solar panel prices fell a whopping 40% to 53% in Europe between December 2022 and November 2023 and are now at record lows.

“Particularly in Europe, it’s been really at breakneck speed of scaling up the deployment,” said Michael Taylor, senior analyst at IRENA. When the final numbers for 2023 are in, solar energy is expected to surpass hydropower in total capacity globally, but for actual electricity produced, hydropower will still make more clean power for some time because it can produce around the clock.

In the United States, California continues to have the most solar energy, followed by Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona.

Both state and federal incentives had a large influence on U.S. solar growth, said Daniel Bresette, president of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a non-profit education and policy organisation.

Despite solar’s success in 2023, there are hurdles.

There has been a shortage of transformers, Bresette said, while interest rates have risen.

In the U.S., solar manufacturing grew as well. “We have seen the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act

WORKERS install solar panels at the under-construction Adani Green Energy Limited’s Renewable Energy Park in the salt desert of Karim Shahi village, near Khavda, Bhuj district near the India-Pakistan border in the western state of Gujarat, India. Led by new solar power, the world added renewable energy at breakneck speed in 2023, in an effort to turn away from fossil fuels to stave off severe Earth warming and its effects. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) in terms of fueling investments ... more than 60 solar manufacturing facilities were announced over the past year,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

CHALLENGES FOR WIND ENERGY By the end of 2023, the world will have added enough wind energy to power nearly 80 million homes, making it a record year.

As with solar, most of the growth, or more than 58 gigawatts, was added in China, according to research from Wood Mackenzie. China is on track to surpass its ambitious 2030 target of 1,200 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and wind power capacity five years ahead of schedule if planned projects are all built, the Global Energy Monitor said.

China was one of the few growing markets this year for wind, the Global Wind Energy Council said.

Faster permitting and other improvements in key markets such as Germany and India also helped add more wind energy. But installations were down in Europe by 6% year-over-year, Wood Mackenzie said.

Short-term challenges such as high inflation, rising interest rates and increased costs of building materials forced some ocean wind developers to renegotiate or even cancel project contracts, and some land-based wind developers to delay projects to 2024 or 2025.

The economic headwinds came at a difficult time for the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry as it tries to launch the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farms. Construction began on two this year.

Both aim to open early in 2024 and one of the sites is already sending electricity to the U.S. grid. Large offshore wind farms have been making electricity for three decades in Europe, and more recently in Asia.

After years of record

growth, the industry group American Clean Power expects less land-based wind to be added in the United States by year’s end, about enough to power 2.7 million to 3 million homes.

The group says developers are taking advantage of new tax credits passed last year in the Inflation Reduction Act, but it takes years to bring the projects online.

There has been $383 billion in announced clean energy investments since passage of the IRA, it said.

“We’re talking about 2023 essentially as a lower performance year, but in the grand scheme of things, 8 to 9 gigawatts is

make nearly 12% more wind energy available worldwide.

In June, the industry celebrated passing 1 terawatt of installed wind energy worldwide. It took more than 40 years to reach that milestone, but it could take less than seven years for the second terawatt, at the pace the industry is on now.

MASSIVE YEAR FOR BATTERIES Amid an ongoing push to make transportation less damaging to the climate, the electric vehicle trend accelerated globally in 2023, with one in five cars sold this year expected

China. As for large battery factories, called gigafactories, the U.S. and Europe each had 38 in the works by late November, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

But China had 295 in the works.

The industry continued to explore different ways of making batteries without depending so much on harmful materials, as well as ways of making components more sustainable, and the battery recycling industry made headway, experts said.

The cost of key battery raw materials, including lithium, also dropped significantly, Benchmark senior analyst Evan Hartley said.

“The battery cost is now on that trajectory that most Americans will be able to afford an EV,” said Paul Braun, a University of Illinois professor of materials science and engineering.

2023 wasn’t an easy journey. The U.S. industry, in particular navigated several headwinds. A massive Panasonic battery facility in Kansas had energy challenges. Toyota needs to shore up a talent pool for its site in North Carolina.

Health and safety violations were found at a joint venture plant between General Motors Co. and LG Energy Solution in Ohio. The list goes on.

Regardless of the region, roadblocks remain in minerals, responsible supply chains, and the buildout of charging infrastructure.

“That’s going to be the next

TECHTALK US MILITARY SPACE PLANE BLASTS OFF ON ANOTHER SECRETIVE MISSION EXPECTED TO LAST YEARS

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer THE U.S. military’s X-37B space plane blasted off last Thursday on another secretive mission that’s expected to last at least a couple of years.

Like previous missions, the reusable plane resembling a mini space shuttle carried classified experiments. There’s no one on board.

The space plane took off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at night, more than two weeks late because of technical issues.

It marked the seventh flight of an X-37B, which has logged more than 10 years in orbit since its debut in 2010.

The last flight, the longest one yet, lasted 2 1/2 years before ending on a runway at Kennedy a year ago.

Space Force officials would not say how long this orbital test vehicle would remain aloft or what’s on board other than a NASA experiment to gauge the effects of radiation on materials.

Built by Boeing, the X-37B resembles NASA’s retired space shuttles. But they’re just one-fourth the size at 29 feet (9 metres) long. No astronauts are needed; the X-37B has an autonomous landing system.

They take off vertically like rockets but land horizontally like planes, and are designed to orbit between 150 miles and 500 miles (240 kilometres and 800 kilometres) high.

There are two X-37Bs based in a former shuttle hangar at Kennedy.

TWO MODELS OF APPLE WATCH CAN GO ON SALE AGAIN, FOR NOW, AFTER COURT LIFTS HALT OVER A PATENT DISPUTE

A GENERATOR and its blades are prepared to head to the ocean for the South Fork Wind farm from State Pier in New London, Connecticut. By the end of 2023, the world will have added enough wind energy to power nearly 80 million homes, making it a record year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

still a number to get excited about. It’s a lot of new clean energy that’s being added to the grid,” said John Hensley, ACP’s vice president for research and analytics.

Globally the wind buildout was slower this year as well. The top three markets this year are still China, the United States and Germany for wind energy produced on land, and China, the United Kingdom and Germany for offshore.

The analysts are predicting that the global industry will rebound next year and

to be electric, according to the International Energy Agency.

That meant it also turned out to be another banner year for batteries.

More than $43.4 billion has been spent on battery manufacturing and battery recycling just in the U.S. this year, thanks largely to the Inflation Reduction Act, according to Atlas Public Policy.

This puts the U.S. on a more level playing field with Europe, but still behind battery powerhouse

agenda item,” John Eichberger, executive director of the Transportation Energy Institute.

But experts are optimistic that battery growth across the globe will continue.

“The story of batteries in the U.S. in small is the story of batteries globally in 2023 at large,” said Daan Walter, principal in the strategy team at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a sustainability research group, “and how momentous this shift in 2023 has been.”

TWO higher-end models of the Apple Watch can go on sale again after a federal court temporarily lifted a sales halt ordered by the International Trade Commission over a patent dispute.

The ITC, a federal agency, ordered the halt in October to block Apple from using specific technologies underpinning a blood-oxygen measurement system in its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches. Apple has been embroiled in an intellectual property dispute with the medical technology company Masimo over those technologies.

Apple cut off online sales of the watches in the U.S. just days from the Christmas holiday to comply with the ITC ruling. The court’s action will allow sales of the two Apple Watch models pending its decision on whether to also permit sales as it weighs Apple’s appeal.

The two watch models were available at Apple’s online store by noon Pacific Time last Thursday, according to the company. They will return to some Apple stores today, with wider availability expected by Saturday.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, January 3, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

MAN ACCUSED OF STABBING 50 YEAR-OLD MAN IN THE HEAD REMANDED UNTIL TRIAL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was remanded to prison yesterday after he allegedly fatally stabbed a 50-yearold man in the head on Finlayson Street last week.

Acting Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley charged Don Wallace, 36,

with murder.

Wallace reportedly got into an argument with Gerry Fenelice on Finlayson Street. He is accused of stabbing Fenelice in the head on December 28.

Although Wallace fled the scene, he reportedly turned himself into the police later the same day.

The victim died in

hospital of his injuries.

The accused was told that his case would be moved to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Wallace will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until the higher court decides on bail.

Wallace’s VBI is set for service on April 18.

MAN CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER AFTER ACCIDENT LEADS TO MAN DROWNING

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was remanded after he is alleged to have caused the death of a man in Abaco who drowned in a car accident on Christmas day.

Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux charged Dalande Austral, 47, with vehicular manslaughter by reckless driving and vehicular manslaughter by driving without third-party risk insurance coverage.

Alex Dorsett

represented the accused, who was arraigned with the assistance of a Creole translator.

Austral allegedly drove a brown coloured 2011 Nissan Bluebird recklessly on Shell Road in Murphy Town, Abaco, around 11pm on December 25, causing Wodney Alexandry Beauchard to crash his silver coloured Nissan Cube into the water, where he drowned after being trapped in his vehicle.

The victim’s cousin escaped the car and

cried for police to rescue Beachard in a video circulated on social media.

The defendant allegedly fled the scene of the accident.

The accused was informed that his case would proceed to the Supreme Court by way of a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). Austral was told he would be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until the higher court grants him bail.

His VBI is due for service on March 25.

MAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO STABBING ANOTHER MAN ON SHIRLEY STREET, GRANTED $5,000 BAIL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN rushing in costume on Bay Street during the New Year’s Day Junkanoo Parade.

Photo: Moise Amisial

A 26-YEAR-OLD man was granted $5,000 bail yesterday after he was accused of stabbing a man multiple times last week on Shirley Street.

Magistrate Shaka Serville charged Edwin

McCartney with grievous harm.

Gregory Hilton represented the accused.

McCartney is accused of stabbing 21-year-old Anthony Bethel multiple times about the body near the junction of East and Shirley Streets around 4.30am on December 27.

The victim is said to have

known his assailant and was last listed in hospital in stable condition.

After pleading not guilty to the offence, McCartney was told he must sign in at the Elizabeth Estates Police Station twice a month. He must also be fitted with a monitoring device. His trial is scheduled for March 21.

EX-PAT COUPLE CHARGED FOR BEING FOUND WITH A LOADED GUN AT AN AIRPORT IN ABACO

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A COUPLE was granted bail after they were allegedly found with a loaded gun in their luggage at the airport in Abaco last month.

Magistrate Shaka Serville charged American expat John Gordon, 62, and Tulia Gallo, 55, with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Bjorn Ferguson

represented the accused.

The pair were arrested at the Leonard Thompson Airport after a brown handle .357 Taurus revolver was allegedly found in their luggage on December 27.

The weapon was found with 21 rounds of .38mm ammunition.

After his clients pleaded not guilty to the charges, Mr Ferguson said they were fit for bail because they own property in Leisure Lee. He also noted that the defendants would need occasional medical attention abroad.

The couple’s cash bail was set at $7,000 each on condition they are fitted with a monitoring device and surrender their passports.

The pair must sign in at the Marsh Harbour Police Station on the 14th and 28th of the month.

Following their arraignment, Ms Gallo told the magistrate, with the assistance of a Spanish translator, that they faced an injustice and were innocent of the crime.

The trial in this matter begins on May 20.

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THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 3, 2024, PAGE 11

Planes collide and catch fire at Japan’s Haneda airport, killing 5 - hundreds evacuated safely TOKYO Associated Press A LARGE passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft collided on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing five people aboard the coast guard plane, officials said.

All 379 people on Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 got out safely before the Airbus A350 was fully engulfed in flames, Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed.

The pilot of the coast guard’s Bombardier Dash-8 plane escaped but the five crew members died, Saito said. The aircraft was preparing to take off to deliver aid to an area affected by a major earthquake on Monday, officials said.

Television footage showed an orange fireball erupting from the Japan Airlines plane as it collided while landing, and the airliner then spewed smoke from its side as it continued down the runway. Within 20 minutes, all passengers and crew members slid down emergency chutes to get away.

As firefighters tried to put out the blaze with streams of water, the area around the passenger plane’s wing caught fire.

The flames spread throughout the plane, which eventually collapsed. The fire was extinguished after about six hours.

Tuesday’s accident was the first severe damage to an Airbus A350, among the industry’s newest large passenger planes. It entered commercial service in 2015. Airbus said in a statement it was sending specialists to help Japanese and French officials investigating the accident, and that the plane was

A JAPAN Airlines plane is on fire on the runway of Haneda airport on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan. delivered to Japan Airlines in late 2021.

The A350 had flown from Shin Chitose airport near the city of Sapporo, the transport minister said.

The fire is likely to be seen as a key test case for airplane fuselages made from carbon-composite fibres, such as the A350 and the Boeing 787, instead of conventional aluminum skins.

“We don’t know that much about how composites burn,” said safety consultant John Cox. “This is the most catastrophic composite-airplane fire that I can think of. On the other hand, that fuselage protected (passengers) from a really horrific fire -it did not burn through for some period of time and let everybody get out.”

JAL Managing Executive Officer Tadayuki Tsutsumi told a news conference late Tuesday that the A350 was making a

“normal entry and landing” on the runway, without specifying how it collided with the coast guard plane. Noriyuki Aoki, also a managing executive officer at JAL, said the airline maintains that the flight had received permission to land from aviation officials.

Police are expected to investigate the accident on suspicion of professional negligence, NHK television reported.

Coast guard spokesperson Yoshinori Yanagishima said its Bombardier Dash-8 plane, which is based at Haneda, had been due to head to Niigata to deliver relief goods to residents affected by a deadly earthquake in the region on Monday. The turboprop Dash-8 is widely used on short-haul and commuter flights.

The coast guard pilot reported to his base that his aircraft exploded

after colliding with the commercial plane, Vice Commander Yoshio Seguchi told reporters.

Shigenori Hiraoka, head of the Transport Ministry Civil Aviation Bureau, said the collision occurred when the JAL plane landed on one of Haneda’s four runways where the coast guard aircraft was preparing to take off.

Transport safety officials were analysing communication between aviation control officials and the two aircraft and planned to interview JAL officials to determine what led to the collision.

Hiraoka praised JAL for “taking appropriate procedures” to safely evacuate all passengers and crew members.

Swede Anton Deibe, 17, a passenger on the Japan Airlines plane, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that “the entire cabin was filled with smoke within

Photo: Kyodo News/AP

a few minutes. We threw ourselves down on the floor. Then the emergency doors were opened and we threw ourselves at them.

“The smoke in the cabin stung like hell. It was a hell. We have no idea where we are going so we just run out into the field. It was chaos,” Deibe added.

Another passenger told NHK television that cabin attendants were calm and told everyone to leave their baggage behind, then all lights went off and the temperature inside the cabin started rising. The passenger said she was afraid she might not get off the plane alive.

All passengers and crew members slid down the escape chutes and survived. Some passengers told media interviews that they felt relieved only after reaching a grassy area beyond the tarmac.

JAL said four passengers

were taken to a medical facility. NHK said 14 other people were injured.

Cox, the safety consultant, said the cabin crew “did a remarkably great job” getting passengers out of the plane.

“It shows good training,”Cox said. “And if you look at the video, people are not trying to get stuff out of the overheads.

They are concentrating on getting out of the airplane.”

The transport minister said officials were doing their utmost to prevent any delays in the delivery of relief goods to earthquake-hit areas. Transport officials said the airport’s three other runways had reopened.

Haneda is the busier of two major airports serving the Japanese capital, with many international and transcontinental flights.

It is particularly favoured by business travellers due to its proximity to central parts of the city.

The twin-engine, twinaisle A350 is used by a number of long-haul international carriers. More than 570 of the aircraft are in operation, according to Airbus.

JAL operates 16 of the A350-900 version aircraft, according to its website. It recently announced details of 13 of the newer A3501000 variant it plans to bring into service, saying it will become “the airline’s new flagship for international service after nearly 20 years.” The first of those planes arrived a few weeks ago, slated for the HanedaNew York JFK route.

The International Air Transport Association trade group said on the X social media platform that its thoughts were with those aboard the two aircraft, saying that “the last two days have been difficult for Japan.”

AFTER SERIES OF EARTHQUAKES, JAPAN LOWERS TSUNAMI WARNINGS TOKYO Associated Press JAPAN dropped its highest-level tsunami alert after issuing one following a series of major earthquakes Monday but told residents of coastal areas not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come.

The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. It was unclear how many people might have been killed or hurt.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported more than a dozen strong quakes in the Japan Sea off the coast of Ishikawa and nearby prefectures starting shortly after 4 pm local time.

At least six homes were damaged by the quakes, with people trapped inside, government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

A fire broke out in Wajima city, Ishikawa Prefecture, and electricity was out for more than 30,000 households, he said.

The meteorological agency initially issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the western coast of Honshu, as well as for the northernmost of the country’s main islands, Hokkaido.

Hayashi stressed that it was critical for people to move away from coastal areas.

“Every minute counts.

Please evacuate to a safe area immediately,” he said.

The warning was downgraded to a regular tsunami several hours later, meaning the sea could still generate waves of up to 3 meters (10 feet). Aftershocks could also slam the same area over the next few days, the agency said.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV initially warned that torrents of water could reach as high as 5 meters (16.5 feet).

A FIREFIGHTER walks through the rubble and wreckage of a burnt-out marketplace following earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan yesterday. A series of powerful earthquakes in western Japan damaged homes, cars and boats, with officials warning people on Tuesday to stay away from their homes in some areas because of a continuing risk of major quakes and tsunamis.

Photo: Kyodo News/AP The network continued to on her back, standing by burst, according to NHK. the huge crowd of people with Japanese officials and air warnings hours later huge cracks that had ripped Some cell phone services in who arrived to stock up on “ready to provide any necas aftershocks rocked the through the pavement. the region weren’t working. bottled water, rice balls and essary assistance for the region.

Some people sustained The Meteorological bread.

Japanese people.”

People returning to get minor injuries when they Agency said in a nationally “We have customers at Japan is an extremely their wallets and other tripped and fell while broadcast news conference three times the level of quake-prone nation, but belongings have been fleeing, or objects fell that more major quakes usual,” he said. a tsunami warning of the known to be swept away off shelves and hit them, could hit the area over the Tsunami warnings were magnitude of Monday’s and drowned even hours according to NHK. next week, especially in the also issued for parts of had not been issued since after the first evacuation Hayashi said no reports next two or three days.

North Korea and Russia. a major quake and tsuwarning. People were evac- of deaths or injuries were More than a dozen strong The Japanese govern- nami caused meltdowns at uated to stadiums, where confirmed from the quakes, quakes had been detected ment has set up a special a nuclear plant in March they will likely have to stay saying the situation was still in the region, with risks of emergency centre to gather 2011. for a few days. unclear. Japan’s military setting off landslides and information on the quakes Government spokesJapanese media footage was taking part in rescue houses collapsing, accord- and tsunami and relay them man Hayashi told reporters showed people running efforts, he said. ing to the agency. speedily to residents to that nuclear plants in the through the streets, and Bullet trains in the area Takashi Wakabayashi, a ensure safety, Prime Min- affected area did not report red smoke spewing from a were halted, although some worker at a convenience ister Fumio Kishida told any irregularities Monday. fire in a residential neigh- parts of the service were store in Ishikawa Prefec- reporters.

Nuclear regulators said bourhood. Photos showed restored by evening. Parts ture, said some items had US President Joe Biden no rises in radiation levels a crowd of people, includ- of a highway were also tumbled from the shelves, said in a statement that his were detected at the moniing a woman with a baby closed, and water pipes had but the biggest problem was administration was in touch toring posts in the region.

PAGE 12, Wednesday, January 3, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

FORMER BASKETBALL PLAYER STEVANDRAE WELLS CERTIFIED INTERNATIONAL REFEREE FROM PAGE 16 she’s extremely grateful for her accomplishment.

“People think that basketball is only a male sport, but there are a lot of females officiating,” Wells said. “I hear so often people say this is a man’s sport or a man’s game, but basketball doesn’t have a face, nor is it based on gender.

“So, I know I’m good at what I do and it doesn’t matter whether or not I’m a male or a female. I will go out there and call the game for what it’s worth. I do demand respect as an official, whether I am a male or a female.”

Wells, 30, formerly played for the CI Gibson Rattlers senior girls’ basketball team and the College of the Bahamas Caribs before they made the switch over to the University of the Bahamas Mingoes. She earned her bachelor’s degree in banking and finance in 2015.

While coming out to watch the Bahamas Government

Departmental Basketball Association games as a staff at Sandilands Rehabilitation Center, serving as an accountant for the past six years, Wells said she was encouraged to officiate the games as it was only geared for men at the time.

She accepted and the rest, as they say, was history.

“I was always a student of the game, but I found out that officiating was a little more technical, so I had to go back into the books and learn about the rules and regulations,” she pointed out. “I continued to study and worked with the officials and I made it a point to get better.”

She currently serves as a member of the New Providence Association of Certified Basketball Officials, headed by Darrell Ranger and includes Wilmore, who provided a lot of assistance, along with Brown and Randy Cunningham, in passing her certification course last year.

“We always help each other along the way and

we always have discussions after the game about what took place during our games,” she said. “We have a pretty good association and everyone treats you like you should be treated, not because I am a female.

“We also have clinics where we try to make sure that all of our referees are on the same page and we know the new changes. So we always have sessions where we go over the rules and regulations and ensure that we perform them to the best of our abilities on and off the court as a referee.”

In critiquing her performance, Wilmore said Wells certainly has surpassed all expectations and the sky is now the limit for her.

“For her experience level and in the number of years that she has been officiating, she has improved significantly,” Wilmore said.

“Obviously, she’s a student of the game, a student of officiating and she takes critiques very well.

“So, I know that she has the potential to not only

be the top referee in the country, not only usurping myself, but to be a top referee in this region and I’m not just talking about being a female, but a top referee period. She has that potential and all of the intangibles that it takes to get there.”

The only thing that she’s lacking, according to Wilmore, is her international exposure and that will come sooner than later.

“She is going to excel very rapidly once she gets that opportunity to be at the world elite level,” he pointed out. “It will take a lot of experience. They need to see how. They have not seen her yet because she hasn’t been assigned to any international competition yet.

“But they will critique her and refine her game.

I have started to help her out privately with some things she didn’t even know existed. You start people at the elementary level and once they develop and master their skills, you move them up the ladder.

“She still has work to do, but the potential is there. Once she gets the opportunity, I expect her to continue to grow,” said Wilmore.

As the president of the association, Ranger lauded Wells for other accomplishments.

“Wells is one of our upand-coming referees we have,” he said.

“She’s put in all of the energy and game that is needed to get the job done.

So, she deserves it. That’s why hard work pays off.

“She’s progressed really fast since she came in.

She’s a quick learner. She is willing to listen and do whatever it takes to become better.

“She will go very far in the sport as a referee because of her work ethic.”

To women out there who might have an interest in following suit, Wells encourages them to do so.

“It could be a new career for you and not just a job,” she said. “You can become an international certified official like I did and

now I can call international games. So it’s not just a job for me, but it’s a career.”

While she’s delighted to be a referee, Wells said the highlight for her has been becoming an international certified official.

She’s now waiting on her opportunity to officially officiate at her first major international competition.

“Officiating was never something that I saw myself doing,” she stated. “I went to a few Family Islands to officiate and it has opened up a lot of doors for me.

I have not gotten the call to officiate overseas yet, but I’m still waiting on that opportunity. “Every opportunity is a learning opportunity, so I have really not had a disappointing moment yet. I’ve had the opportunity to officiate at every national event, including night league and high school as well as the Bahamas Games.”

So far, Wells has no regrets in coming back from being a former player to officiate in the sport she so loves.

LAMAR TAYLOR NAMED TRIBUNE SPORTS’ SENIOR MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR 2023 FROM PAGE 16 Castro of Puerto Rico on fewer knockdowns after they both posted a mark of 7-feet, 4 1/4-inches or 2.24 metres. Luis Enrique Zayas of Cuba took the gold with 7-5 ¼ (2.27m).

After winning a silver in 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, gold in 2011 in Guadalajara, Mexico, and bronze in 2015 in Toronto, Canada, Thomas said he was disappointed as he sat on the sidelines and watched as a medal slipped away from him in 2019 in Lima, Peru. He dedicated his performance to the late Member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama and Bimini Obediah Wilchcombe.

Before going to Santiago, Chile, Thomas came home and won his third straight

and seventh overall title at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National Championships at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in July.

He also clinched the gold at the North American, Central American and Caribbean’s New Life Invitational’s World Athletics Continental Tour Silver Level meeting as he returned home and delighted the crown at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Grand Bahama.

Jones, on the other hand, got off to an exceptional season indoors and was on the verge of a major breakthrough on the senior international circuit when his season was almost derailed by the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations to secure The Tribune’s No.3 spot.

DONALD THOMAS

TERRENCE JONES

The 21-year-old rising star opened up the year winning the NCAA Indoor 60m title in 6.46 seconds in March in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had a relatively quiet outdoor season at Texas Tech, but

resurfaced for a semifinal appearance in the 100m at 10.06 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, in June.

After coming home to win the BAAA National Championships’ crown

BOWLEG FROM PAGE 16

“I intend to travel with that team and ensure that we get all of the pieces together so that we can accomplish that goal. The federation and the coaches are very confident that they can get the job done.”

If they qualify, basketball will become the first team sport to participate in the games for the Bahamas. They will join individual athletes who are expected to represent the Bahamas in a number of sports, including track and field, swimming, boxing, tennis, beach volleyball and judo.

“We are working towards that,” Bowleg said. “We have a number of athletes who we expect to assist to make sure that they are in the best position to be able to qualify to compete in the games.

“We want to focus on those athletes and to ensure that we can provide whatever financial assistance we can so that they can get to the level that they need to be to get to the Olympics to give the Bahamas the exposure that it needs at the games.”

While there is the focus on the Olympics, Bowleg said the ministry is continuing the process of renovating both the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium and the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex for two major international events this year.

The Bahamas will host the return of the World Relays for the sixth edition from May 4-5. The Bahamas hosted the first three editions in 2014, 2-15 and 2-17 before it was moved to Yokohama, Japan in 2019 and Silesian, Croatia in 2021.

On the heels of that, the Bahamas Swimming Federation will host the CARIFTA Swim Championships from March 28 to April 7 in their quest to continue their dominance of winning the title for the past five consecutive years.

“Repairs to both of those two facilities are going quite well,” Bowleg said. “We are also hosting to break ground during this budget year for the new 50 metre swim complex at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Grand Bahama.

“Of course, you know, the renovations are being done for the World Relays and the CARIFTA swimming in Nassau. Work is going on time and on schedule and so I expect by the week of the 15th

RENOVATIONS are currently underway at the Thomas A Robinson National Track and Field Stadium.

Photo: Moise Amisial of this month, or by the end of the month, we will have a thorough inspection of both facilities with the media to get a complete report of the repairs.”

He noted that the Chinese workmen have been on the ground working around the clock with the repairs and things are on schedule to have both facilities ready for the Local Organising Committee to welcome the athletes at the appropriate times for their competitions.

“We are having weekly meetings with all of the stakeholders and so I’m sure that the Bahamian people

will be quite pleased with both of these facilities when they are completed,” he stated.

“So, we are encouraging the Bahamian public to come out and support the athletes on the field and in the pool this year.

“We have some exciting things to look forward to when it comes to Sports in Paradise so we want everybody to get ready to cheer on Team Bahamas as we compete against the rest of the world.”

With the relaunch of the Bahamas Games in July, 2023, Bowleg said they have seen a resurgence

in the 100m in July at the TAR Stadium, Jones went to the NACAC Championships later that month in San Juan, Costa Rica where he anchored the men’s 4 x 100m relay team of Antoine Andrews, Adam Musgrove and Carlos Brown to the silver medal in 39.59.

He was to have been suspended for disciplinary actions at the Championships with a leaked report that he will not compete at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August. The decision was overturned at the 11th hour and Jones eventually made the trip, finishing sixth in his semifinal heat in 10.32.

To add to his credit, Jones equalled the time of 9.91 that Derrick Atkins achieved at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, with his victory at

in sports in the Family Islands and they hope that the Sports Councils will be able to work hand-in-hand with the various sporting federations so that they can continue to develop as they prepare for the next edition of the Bahamas Games.

“The Family Island Sports Councils should now look at ensuring that the local sporting bodies are up and running on their islands,” Bowleg said. “The federations have a role to play to make the job that much easier for the Family Island associations.

“We hope to have another Sports Conclave in 2024 when we bring the federations and the Family Island Sports Councils together so that we can map out a plan that will ensure that everybody understands the way forward.”

He said the federations have been mandated to go into the Family Islands and to ensure that the associations are up and running for the growth of the development of sports.

He stated that’s one of the reasons why they receive their grants from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

“It’s not all about preparing the national team to represent the country,” he stated.

“They first have to put in place a developmental programme to ensure that the coaches and athletes in the Family Islands have the necessary tools to equip themselves to prove their skillsets so that the Bahamas can have a better representation locally, nationally and internationally.

“It’s a collaborative work with all of these entities, but it must start with the federation, who receives their grant from the ministry to help with the development of sports within their sporting disciplines.”

As for sports in general, Bowleg said he’s thrilled to see the level of competition that is showcased at the local level and he’s even more impressed with what he’s seen from Sports in Paradise with the international teams coming into the country to compete.

“We have a very vibrant sporting programme and we must find persons and federations with the necessary administrative skills to get the job done,” he said.

“We have a rich programme and the only way these disciplines continue to flourish, we need the right persons at the helm to get the job done.”

the Tom Jones Memorial Classic in Gainesville, Florida in April to add to the men’s 60m mark of 6.45 that he posted at the Corky Classic in Lubbock, Texas in January, 2022.

Among the performances of note were Miami Marlins’ outfielder Jasrado ‘Jazz’ Chisholm, professional boxer Rashield Williams, who went undefeated in four fights last year, along with National Basketball Association’s trio of Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield, Deandre Ayton and new addition Eric Gordon, who helped to propel the Bahamas into the qualifying round of the men’s basketball competition for the Olympic Games and golfers Devaughn Robinson and Richard Gibson Jr, who dominated the pro and amateur ranks respectively.

SPORTS NOTES

FROM PAGE 16 January 27-28 - Redline Athletics’ 4th annual Sonja Knowles Track Classic at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

BASKETBALL GSSSA ACTION THE Government Secondary Schools Sports Association’s 203/24 basketball season will continue this week with the following games on tap: Thursday at CI Gibson Gymnasium, starting at 4pm - LW Young vs CH Reeves (junior girls and boys).

Thursday at DW Davis Gymnasium, starting at 4pm - CC Sweeting vs RM Bailey (senior boys).

Friday at CI Gibson Gymnasium, starting at 4pm - AF Adderlery vs TA Thompson (junior girls and boys).

Friday at DW Davis Gymnasium, starting at 4pm - Anatol Rodgers High vs CR Walker (senior girls and boys).

MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH FAMILY FUN WALK THE Men’s Department of Macedonia Baptist Church is scheduled to hold a Family Fun Walk Race to kick off the new year and the beginning of its Men’s Anniversary at 6am on Saturday, January 6. The event will honour the late Minister Charles Albury, who passed away this year.

It starts at the church on Bernard Road, Fox Hill, and heads west on Bernard Road to the Village Road round-a-bout and returns on Bernard Road to the church.

Awards will be presented to the first three finishers in each category for men and women. Registration fee is $20 per person. Interested persons are urged to contact Brent Stubbs at 426-7265 or stubbobs@gmail.com for further information.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 3, 2024, PAGE 13

Dolphins to host Bills with a chance to win AFC East, start playoffs at home

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Florida (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will be in the playoffs no matter what, but there’s plenty at stake in their showdown with AFC East rival Buffalo on Sunday night.

The Dolphins’ chances at earning the AFC’s top seed ended when they were blown out at Baltimore last weekend. But a victory over the Bills would give them their first AFC East title since 2008 and the No. 2 seed in the conference.

If Miami loses, it would fall to the No. 6 seed and likely would need to win three road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl.

Playing at home could bode well for the Dolphins, who are 7-1 at Hard Rock Stadium.

Miami had three turnovers at Baltimore on Sunday and gave up a season-high 491 yards as breakdowns in communication on both sides of the ball stalled momentum.

Tua Tagovailoa was 22 of 38 for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Tyreek Hill caught six passes for 76 yards but dropped a potential touchdown when he was wide open in the end zone on Miami’s second drive.

Hill attributed the drop to poor concentration.

“I will say, I never get that wide open,” Hill said.

“The ball just floated so long. It was just like, ‘Get here’ to me. I just have to make the play, man.”

When the Dolphins lost at Buffalo in Week 4, they turned the ball over twice and were 3 of 10 on third down. Hill had 58 yards receiving, his second-lowest output of the season.

“The great thing about this team is we have such tremendous leaders,” Hill said. “You know what, I’m looking forward to seeing how we bounce back. I know coach (Mike McDaniel) is going to get us prepared, and it’s going to be what we need heading into the playoffs. It’s going to be fine.”

Miami will need to overcome a plethora of injuries.

Jaylen Waddle did not play against Baltimore because of a high ankle sprain, and it’s not clear whether he’ll be available Sunday night. And

CAROLINA Panthers owner David Tepper watches players warm up before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday in Jacksonville, Florida (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

NFL FINES PANTHERS OWNER TEPPER $300,000 FOR TOSSING DRINK AT FANS FROM PAGE 16

DOLPHINS quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws a pass against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half in Baltimore on Sunday.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke) the Dolphins will face a Bills offence that has dominated them in recent years without several key starters on defence, including pass rusher Bradley Chubb (knee), linebacker Jaelan Phillips (Achilles tendon).

Cornerback Xavien Howard (foot) is also likely to miss the game.

“Regardless of what we’re dealing with personally at home, or an injury to our body, this game is going to kick off when it kicks off and it’s going to go down,” veteran left tackle Terron Armstead said.

“You want to go out there with your best foot forward regardless. So when you prepare through the week, that kickoff time is going to be that kickoff time, no matter who is on the field, no matter what they’re dealing with. That’s how you’ve got to approach it.”

WHAT’S WORKING Miami has rushed for at least 120 yards in four of its past six games. The Dolphins had 154 yards rushing Sunday and averaged 6.2 yards per rush.

WHAT NEEDS HELP Some of Miami’s midseason issues with ball security returned. Tagovailoa hadn’t thrown an interception in four games but had two against the Ravens. Backup Mike

DOLPHINS wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) catches a pass for a first down against the Ravens on Sunday.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

White lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter.

STOCK UP De’Von Achane. He was Miami’s lead ball carrier in the absence of Raheem Mostert, who did not play because of ankle and knee injuries. Achane had a 23-yard run on the first play of the game and finished with 107 yards on 14 carries with a receiving touchdown.

STOCK DOWN The secondary, which was plagued by blown coverages and poor tackling.

Howard only played four snaps because of a foot injury, and the Ravens targeted backup Eli Apple throughout the game.

Apple lost track of Zay Flowers on a 75-yard touchdown.

INJURIES Chubb will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee late in the game. ... Howard’s foot injury is not expected to require surgery, but he is likely to miss the Buffalo game. ... Tagovailoa is

dealing with a sore shoulder.

KEY NUMBER 100 — It was the fourth 100-yard rushing game for Achane, which tied Karim Abdul-Jabbar for the most such games by a rookie in Dolphins history.

The Dolphins have beaten the Bills just once in the past 11 meetings. If they win, they would not have to go on the road during the playoffs until the AFC championship game.

interception with less than three minutes to play in a 26-0 loss to the Jaguars.

“I am deeply passionate about this team and regret my behaviour on Sunday,” Tepper said in a statement.

“I should have let NFL stadium security handle any issues that arose. I respect the NFL’s code of conduct and accept the League’s discipline for my behaviour.”

It wasn’t clear whether Tepper was reacting to something said to him or another loss for the NFL’s worst team. The Panthers are 2-14 and won’t even have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft because it was traded to Chicago for the top pick used to select Young.

Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer was standing near Tepper when he tossed whatever remained of his drink while watching the game from a club suite.

In 2009, the NFL fined the late Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for making an obscene gesture at Buffalo fans while celebrating Tennessee’s victory over the Bills.

Fans have been banned from stadiums for throwing drinks at players.

It’s been a rough year for Tepper, who fired first-year coach Frank Reich after just 11 games. Since Tepper bought the Panthers less than six years ago, he has gone through coaches Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule and Reich, plus interim coaches Perry Fewell, Steve Wilks and Chris Tabor.

Bucs have chance to clinch 3rd straight NFC South title, 4th consecutive playoff berth

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Florida (AP) — There’s no more room for error in Tampa Bay’s bid for a fourth straight playoff appearance.

Win Sunday’s regularseason finale at last-place Carolina, and the Buccaneers are in as NFC South champions.

Lose and they’re out.

“By any means necessary, we have to show up,” coach Todd Bowles said.

“All we need is a chance to get in,” quarterback Baker Mayfield reiterated, “and we’re still sitting where we need to be.”

While beating the Panthers to earn what would be a franchise-record third consecutive division title may not appear to be a daunting challenge, the Bucs (8-8) have not performed consistently enough this season to draw any conclusions about how they might play this week.

At 2-14, Carolina has the worst record in the NFL and is coming off a 26-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

But the Bucs are looking to rebound from a stinker of their own after wasting an opportunity to clinch the division title in a listless 23-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

“Very disappointing. It was like we didn’t know what’s at stake,” linebacker Lavonte David said. “We came out very flat on both sides of the ball.”

Mayfield threw a pair of interceptions and the Bucs also fumbled twice to lose the turnover battle 4-0.

Offensively, they were held scoreless into the fourth quarter. Defensively, they struggled to stop the Saints in critical situations while falling behind 20-0.

New Orleans (8-8) climbed into a tie with Tampa Bay for the division lead. If the Bucs lose to the Panthers, then the winner of Sunday’s Saints-Atlanta Falcons finale will win the NFC South and host a playoff game the following weekend.

“Our thing is we can’t beat ourselves. We don’t care if they were 14-2. In the NFL anybody can beat

BUCCANEERS quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) scrambles under pressure from Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (99) in the second half on Sunday.

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) anybody any given week, until the middle of the and division games are fourth quarter. The defence always tough,” Bowles said. contributed to a 17-point “We have to play our halftime deficit by allowing game, make less mistakes, New Orleans to convert six and then we’ll worry about of nine third downs through the opponent on Sunday,” the first two quarters. Even the coach added. “If we usually superb punter Jake can do that, we will have a Camarda struggled with a chance to win.” couple of bad kicks.

WHAT’S WORKING WHAT NEEDS HELP Coming off the clunker The pass rush remains they played against the inconsistent. The Bucs Saints, it’s hard to identify had one sack against the anything that’s working. Saints, and that came on a The offence was shut out play in which Derek Carr

scrambled out of bounds.

The defence finished with no quarterback hits.

STOCK UP With teams doing everything they can to try to slow down Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, rookie WR Trey Palmer is developing into a reliable option for Mayfield. He had four receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown against New Orleans, hiking his season totals to 37 catches for 375 yards and three TDs. STOCK DOWN On a play that typified how poorly things went against the Saints, a wideopen Palmer caught a deep pass before stumbling — and not only falling, but fumbling — on a 54-yard gain to the New Orleans 21. Saints CB Isaac Yiadom recovered.

INJURIES Mayfield took a hard hit to the ribs after releasing a pass on a 2-point conversion try with 1:37 remaining against the Saints. Bowles said while the quarterback is sore, he should be fine to play against the Panthers.

LB Shaquil Barrett (groin)

and CB Carlton Davis (concussion) were inactive against New Orleans. Their status will be determined later in the week.

“They’re trending in the right direction,” Bowles said of Barrett and Davis.

“Once I see them Wednesday, I’ll have a better feel.”

KEY NUMBER 3,907. In throwing for 309 yards and two TDs vs. the Saints, Mayfield established new career single-season bests for passing yards (3,907) and touchdown passes (28).

NEXT STEPS A win at Carolina not only would give the Bucs their third straight division title, but ensure a home playoff game the following week.

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PAGE 14, Wednesday, January 3, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 36 as Thunder top league-leading Celtics for 5th straight win

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai GilgeousAlexander scored 36 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the NBAleading Boston Celtics 127-123 last night for their fifth straight win.

Josh Giddey had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Chet Holmgren added 14 points, seven assists and four blocks for the Thunder, who entered the night with the league’s fourth-best record.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum had 30 for the Celtics, who had won six straight and 11 of 12.

Oklahoma City has won eight of nine. During that stretch, the Thunder have beaten defending champion Denver twice, ended the Los Angeles’ Clippers win streak at nine, beaten Minnesota — the top team in the West — by 23, and now topped the Celtics.

Boston led 61-58 at halftime behind 18 points from Porzingis. Gilgeous-Alexander kept the Thunder in it with 17.

The Thunder got off to a strong start in the second half.

Giddey’s deep 3-pointer gave Oklahoma City a 76-69 lead.

It got so frustrating for the Celtics that coach Joe Mazzulla was called for a technical during the period.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points on 7-for10 shooting in the quarter to help Oklahoma City take a 98-86 edge into the fourth.

Oklahoma City started hot in the fourth. Jalen Williams took off on a fast break, cocked the ball back with his right hand and brought down the hammer on a dunk to give the Thunder a 108-90 lead.

The Celtics rallied late. Derrick White hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining to cut Boston’s deficit to 121-119.

Williams quickly responded with a short floater to push the lead back to four.

Porzingis was fouled with 15.2 seconds left, and he made both free throws to cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 123-121.

Giddey was fouled with 12.1 seconds left. His first free throw rolled in and

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

OKLAHOMA City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots over Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

(AP Photo/Nate Billings) his second was perfect to put the Thunder up four.

Porzingis hit a shot deep in the left corner with 3.7 seconds left. It was called a 2-pointer, and that was

upheld upon review, so Boston still trailed by two.

Gilgeous-Alexander was fouled with 2.8 seconds remaining. With the crowd chanting “M-V-P!” he

made both free throws to put the game away.

UP NEXT Celtics: Host Jazz Friday.

Thunder: Visit the Atlanta Hawks tonight.

MORANT SCORES 26, DUNKS ON WEMBANYAMA AS GRIZZLIES PULL AWAY FROM SPURS FOR A 106-98 WIN

By CLAY BAILEY Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 26 points, 10 assists and a fourthquarter dunk over Victor Wembanyama, Desmond Bane added 24 points and the Memphis Grizzlies used a second-half spurt to beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-98 on Tuesday night.

Santi Aldama added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Wembanyama led the Spurs with 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Keldon Johnson finished with 19 points, along with six rebounds and four assists.

Julian Champagnie and Jeremy Sochan scored 12 points apiece.

Morant brought the Memphis crowd to its feet with 9:11 left as he drove down the right side of the lane, cut left into the middle and dunked on the 7-foot-3 rookie from France, who leads the

EMBIID RETURNS WITH 7TH CAREER TRIPLEDOUBLE IN 76ERS’ ROUT OF BULLS

NBA in blocked shots.

The dunk led to a scream, a shake of the head from Morant and an 88-70 lead for the Grizzlies.

The game was a matchup between two teams mired at the bottom of the Western Conference.

The Spurs are trying to learn on the fly with the youngest team in the NBA, centred around Wembanyama, the top pick in the 2023 draft. Meanwhile, Memphis has dealt with mixed results in finding a balance and the right

rotations since Morant’s return last month from a 25-game suspension for a displaying a gun on social media.

Memphis is last in the league in average points scored at 106.8, and the two teams rank at the bottom in offensive rating.

The first half, a lowscoring, poor-shooting two quarters, fit the narrative. Both teams went into halftime connecting at less than 40% from the field, and Memphis was 5 of 19 from 3-point range.

The Spurs’ issue was a dozen turnovers in the half.

Wembanyama had an effect on the Grizzlies’ shooting with four blocks in the first half.

Memphis improved its shooting in the third quarter, allowing the Grizzlies to build the lead to as many as 18 in the second half.

UP NEXT Spurs: Host Milwaukee on Thursday.

Grizzlies: Close a threegame homestand against the Toronto Raptors tonight.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his return from a sprained right ankle, Tyrese Maxey scored 21 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 110-97 last night.

Embiid missed all four games on the 76ers’ holiday road trip, and they went 2-2. One of those games was in Chicago just three nights earlier, a 105-92 loss in which the Sixers never led in the second half.

Embiid is the reigning NBA MVP for a reason.

With the big man back, the Sixers turned this into an early blowout against a Bulls team that had played well recently without injured guard Zach LaVine.

LaVine can return to the lineup as early as Friday.

Even the two-time All-Star wouldn’t have helped much in this one as the Bulls fell to 10-6 this season without him.

The 76ers raced to a 43-18 after one quarter, with the Bulls missing all 10 3-pointers.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 16 points. Andre Drummond had 11 points, 17 rebounds and muffed a dunk to the delight of the home crowd when he was stuffed by the front of the rim.

Forward Patrick Williams left with an injured right ankle. It was that kind of night in Philly, where the 76ers continued a recent trend of comfortable wins.

They handed LeBron James the largest margin of defeat in his pro career in a 44-point win in November. There was a 45-point win over Washington and a 32-point victory over Detroit.

UP NEXT Bulls: Visit New York tonight.

76ers: Host the Knicks on Friday.

ARSENAL LIMPS INTO 2024 AFTER ‘WORST PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON’ AS TOTTENHAM CLOSES IN ON TOP FOUR

By MATTIAS KAREN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Arsenal is limping into 2024 after a damaging stretch that culminated in what coach Mikel Arteta called “the worst performance of the season” on the final day of the year.

A toothless Arsenal side lost 2-1 at Fulham on Sunday despite taking the lead in the fifth minute, a second straight defeat that means the team stayed in fourth place in the Premier League — when a victory would have lifted it into first.

“It’s a really sad day because today we didn’t deserve to win the game,” Arteta said. “That was the worst performance of the season.”

It continued a worrying run that has seen Arsenal end 2023 with just one win in its last five league games, including its first home loss of the season to West Ham on Thursday.

Arsenal would have provisionally climbed above Liverpool atop the table with a win, but could find itself five points off the lead if Jurgen Klopp’s team beats Newcastle on Monday. Arsenal stayed in fourth — having been top of the table at Christmas — and is now just one point ahead of fifth-place Tottenham after its north London rival beat Bournemouth 3-1 at home.

ARSENAL’s Bukayo Saka loses his balance after he was challenged by Fulham’s Joao Palhinha, on ground, during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Fulham at Craven Cottage stadium in London on Sunday.

(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) This latest setback came despite Bukayo Saka putting Arsenal ahead after just five minutes as he turned in the rebound from a shot by Gabriel Martinelli, who had made a marauding run from inside his own area.

There was little in the way of attacking threat

from the visitors after that, though, and bad defending helped Raul Jimenez equalise in the first half and Bobby De Cordova-Reid poke in the winner after a corner in the 59th.

“Not good enough from us again today,” Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said. “The game against

West Ham we had 30 shots, so many touches in the box but couldn’t put it away.

Today when (we) go one up we have to have more control. We need to demand more from each other. We had to push on again and go for more. In this league there is no room to mess up.

It is a tough one to take.”

Fulham had lost its last three league games by a combined score of 8-0 but was boosted by the return of Jimenez from a suspension.

The striker has now scored four goals in his last four league games — equalling his tally from his previous 50.

TOTTENHAM BOUNCES BACK Don’t count Tottenham out of the title race just yet.

Ange Postecoglou’s team is three points behind Liverpool after bouncing back from a 4-2 defeat at Brighton on Thursday with a convincing win against Bournemouth.

Tottenham was boosted by the early return of Rodrigo Bentancur from an injury at a time when Postecoglou is without a handful of starters. But the win was marred by Senegal international Pape Sarr leaving the field in tears with an injury in the first half — just two weeks before the start of the African Cup of Nations — after he had scored the opening goal in the ninth minute.

Tottenham had to wait until the 71st minute for another goal, but Son Heung-min and Richarlison scored late to make the game safe before Alex Scott pulled one back for Bournemouth.

After a great start to the season under Postecoglou, Tottenham fell out of the top four after a five-game winless run but could soon be back in the Champions League places.

“We’re still in there and fighting,” Postecoglou said.

“We’re three points off the top so if that is the difference between having a great season and where we are I’ll take it.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, January 3, 2024, PAGE 15

PROVIDENCE BASKETBALL CLUB’S 24TH YULETIDE CLASSIC

ON THE REPLAY: The Agape Eagles junior boys celebrate their Providence Basketball Club’s 24th Yuletide Basketball Classic title on Saturday at the CI Gibson Gymnasium.

Photos: Moise Amisial

T

he CI Gibson Rattlers clinched another senior boys’ title in their own Providence Basketball Club’s 24th Yuletide Basketball Classic on Saturday on their home floor at the CI Gibson Gymnasium.

But coach Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson said although they won 69-66 over the visiting St George’s Jaguars from Grand Bahama, it was no easy walk through their familiar territory.

CHAMPIONS: CI Gibson Rattlers senior boys celebrate their Providence Basketball Club’s 24th Yuletide Basketball Classic title on Saturday at the CI Gibson Gymnasium.

WILTON Johnson presents coaches Darrel Sears and Calvin McIntosh and their St George’s Jaguars with their senior boys’ runnersup awards.

WILTON Johnson presents the junior boys’ MVP trophy to Valdez Johnson of Agape Eagles.

MEMBERS of the senior boys’ all-tournament team pose with their awards presented by Wilton Johnson.

COACH Ernest Saunders and his Jordan Prince Williams Falcons receive their trophies from Wilton Johnson, one of the organisers.

MEMBERS of the Agape Eagles junior boys’ team named to the All-Tournament team pose above.

SPORTS SECTION E

NBA, Page 14

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2024

Taylor named senior male athlete of 2023

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

I

t was the Grand Bahamian trio of Lamar Taylor, Donald Thomas and Terrence Jones who turned in some of the most outstanding performances to highlight the 2023 sporting scene for Bahamian men.

Taylor’s feats in capping the year with the Bahamas’ first medal - a bronze in the men’s 50 metres freestyle in a new record of 22.13 seconds - at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile in October, enabled him to cart off The Tribune’s Male Athlete of the Year honours.

The 20-year-old smashed his previous personal best

and national record of 22.26 seconds achieved at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in July.

At Pan Am, Taylor was also 13th in the 100m backstroke and 16th in the 100m freestyle. He also swam on two men’s relay teams that got ninth in the 100m freestyle and 10th in the 100m medley. Both mixed 4 x 100 freestyle and medley relays, that he was also a part of, got 11th.

In what was a busty international year, Taylor also competed at the Central American and Caribbean Games last week in San Salvador, El Salvador, and lowered the Bahamas Aquatics’ record with his gold medal performance in the men’s 50m backstroke

and he earned a bronze in the 50m freestyle.

Before all of that, Taylor competed for Henderson State at the NCAA Division II Swim Championships in 50-yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 19.04, becoming the Red Wave’s first individual national champion since 2010.

He also won the national championship in the 100 backstroke (45.95) and 100 free (42.30), became the first three-time national champion at a single national championships event in HSU history and was also named the CSCAA Division II Male Swimmer of the Year, was awarded the NSISC Male Swimmer of the Year and was named the 2022-23

THE TRIBUNE SPORTS’ ATHLETE OF THE YEAR 2023: Top swimmer Lamar Taylor proudly displaying the three NCAA championship titles he won last year while competing on the Henderson State University swim team.

Minister Bowleg looking forward to the new year

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net AS the new year unfolds, Minister Mario Bowleg has some bright ideas for the further development of his tripart Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Bowleg, who was in Grand Bahama at the time for the staging of that island’s New Year’s Junkanoo parade, said these are some exciting times and he’s excited about the future, which will start with the passing of three legislations in the House of Assembly.

“The first one is the youth policy, which we hope will empower and provide more opportunities for the young people,”

said Bowleg of the youth perspective of his ministry.

“We’ve had many drafts of the youth policy, but it has not really come to fruition.

So that’s something I’m looking forward to doing in 2024.

“We also hope to upgrade the sports policy, which has not been upgraded since the 1990s and to empower more of the federations and to the new and up and coming new smaller sports federations into this policy, so that they can receive the financial assistance that they need to develop their discipline.”

While there’s some discussion about it in the public domain, Bowleg said his ministry intends to pass the implementation of an Athletes’ Pension Bill, which will enable former

PLANS TO IMPLEMENT ATHLETES’ PENSION BILL

MARIO BOWLEG athletes to receive a pension from the ministry.

“That is something we are looking at in 2024,” he stated.

And coming of the two major junkanoo parades in New Providence for Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, along with the one held in Grand

SPORTS CALENDAR

Jan. 2024

Bahama, Bowleg said they will look at the first draft of the cultural policy, which will enhance all aspects of culture in the country, including junkanoo.

“These are some of the things as it relates to youth, sports and culture that we want to push forward in our ministry,” Bowleg said.

“We hope that these things will benefit the youth of our nation, our athletes and the cultural practitioners in a holistic approach for the country.”

In a broader scale for sports, Bowleg said with this being an Olympic year as they head to Paris, France, in July, his ministry

church service will be held at 9am at the St Paul’s Catholic Church, Lyford Cay. The BAAA is inviting all of its executives, coaches and athletes to come and participate in the service.

BAAA EVENTS AFTER hosting their Odd Distance Meet in December, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations will be hosting a series of events in January to kick off the new calendar year.

Here’s a look at January’s schedule: January 5-6 - T-Bird Flyers Classic at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

Sunday, January 7 - BAAA Church Service - venue and time yet to be released.

BAAA 20 DTSP Wolfpack at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

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NFL FINES PANTHERS OWNER TEPPER $300,000 FOR TOSSING DRINK AT FANS

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer

will be providing as much assistance as possible for all athletes who seek to make it to the world’s greatest sporting spectacle.

“We want to make sure that every athlete who has an opportunity and every team that has an opportunity, and right now it’s only basketball, are given the attention that they need to ensure that they have all of the necessary assets and tools needed to qualify for the Olympics,” Bowleg.

“In July, the men’s basketball team will be playing in Spain to qualify for the Olympics for the first time.

THE NFL has fined Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper $300,000 for tossing a drink at fans in Jacksonville toward the end of a game on Sunday.

The league called Tepper’s conduct “unacceptable” in a statement released yesterday.

“All NFL personnel are expected to conduct themselves at all times in ways that respect our fans and favourably reflect on their team and the NFL,” the statement said.

Tepper’s reaction came after rookie quarterback Bryce Young threw an

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FORMER BASKETBALLER STEVANDRAE CERTIFIED AS INTERNATIONAL REFEREE

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

T-BIRD FLYERS TRACK CLASSIC THE T-Bird Flyers Track Club will kick off the 2024 season for the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations with their annual Track and Field Classic this weekend at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

The meet will begin on Friday at 6pm and wrap up on Saturday, starting at 2pm. The registration fee is $15. Persons interested in sponsoring any of the individual races are urged to contact meet director Foster Dorsett at 427-3883.

TRACK CHURCH SERVICE As they begin the 2024 season this weekend with the T-Bird Flyers Track Classic at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations will follow up with their annual church service on Sunday. This year’s

GAC Male Athlete of the Year.

On his return home for the Bahamas Aquatics’ National Swimming Championships, Taylor established a pair of Bahamian national records at the Bahamas National Swimming Championships in June at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex in the 100-metre backstroke (56.47) and the 50-metre freestyle (22.35).

Thomas, showing that age is only a number, also had a rather remarkable season to earn the number two spot on The Tribune’s list. At the Pan American Games, the 39-year-old Thomas was beaten out for the silver by Luis Joel

AFTER retiring from the game as a player, Stevandrae Wells never envisioned herself making the transition to a referee.

Since running the floor from 2019, she has now moved up the ranks as one of three Bahamians who have earned their international referee certification.

She, along with Grand Bahamian Eustacia Smith, are the only two certified female referees in the Bahamas, who have secured their international certification along with their male counterpart Christian Wilmore.

After sitting a series of physical and theory courses for about six months, Wells passed the course. It became official

STEVANDRAE WELLS as of September 1 and will be in effect for two years.

In taking the course, she and Smith had to be nominated by the Bahamas Basketball Federation.

This was the second time that Wells had to undergo the test after she had some difficulties with her training process during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Freddie Brown, the highest serving FIBA basketball official in the country, noted that he had a chance to work with Wells, putting her through a vigorous training programme to get prepared for the course last year.

He said he was thrilled to see how well she responded to the challenge and got the job done, knowing that she did extremely well and applied herself to go well beyond the call of duty for a woman.

In accepting the accolades as she closed out the year officiating at the Providence Basketball Club’s 24th Yuletide Classic for senior and junior boys over the Christmas holiday at the CI Gibson Gymnasium, Wells said

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