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Volume: 123 No. 199, Thursday, September 10, 2026

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‘WE STILL DON’T HAVE ANSWERS’ No arrests three months after brutal attack that claimed Pinder’s life

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net THREE months after primary school teacher Jillian Pinder was abducted from her Lake Cunningham home, stabbed in the throat and left for dead, no one has been charged with her killing and her family says it remains desperate for answers.

Police press liaison officer Chief Superintendent Sheria King told The Tribune yesterday there was no further update in the case, but said the investigation

COURT of Appeal President Justice Milton Evans.

remains active.

“The family has been in constant communication with officers,” Chief Supt King said. “The investigation is still ongoing.”

Mrs Pinder’s niece, Anna Capron, said the family, which is breaking its silence for the first time, understands investigations take time but is struggling with the absence of an arrest or charges.

“Months have passed,” Ms Capron said, “and our family is still living with the reality that someone took TEACHER - SEE PAGE THREE

Jillian Pinder (centre) pictured with her nieces and cousins.

Evans: Retirement rules fuel judicial brain drain

Georges backs call for English lessons

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

COURT of Appeal President Justice Milton Evans has warned that mandatory retirement ages are draining the Bahamian judiciary of experienced judges, saying some are forced from the

bench just as they reach their professional stride and later take their expertise to other countries.

Justice Evans said the retirement rules can strip the courts of institutional knowledge and contribute to what he described as “a brain drain”.

COURT - SEE PAGE FOUR

IMMIGRATION rights activist Louby Georges.

IMMIGRATION rights activist Louby Georges has backed calls for parents to ensure children who cannot speak English receive language instruction before entering public schools,

arguing that placing them directly into English-only classrooms puts both students and teachers at a disadvantage.

His comments come after Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson renewed concerns about ENGLISH - SEE PAGE FIVE

ABACO RESIDENTS WARNED OVER POSSIBLE PYTHON SIGHTING ABACO residents have been warned to stay away from large snakes and immediately report suspected Burmese python sightings as officials investigate whether the potentially invasive species is present on the island.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources said yesterday it received a report of a snake in Abaco believed to be a Burmese python and is treating the

matter seriously because of the potential threat the species could pose to native wildlife, agriculture and the wider ecosystem if it becomes established.

The immediate question is whether the reported snake is actually a Burmese python and, if so, whether it is a lone animal or evidence of a wider population.

PYTHON - SEE PAGE FIVE

PICTURE taken in Abaco of a Burmese Python snake.

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

THE TRIBUNE

Three months later family seeks answers over teacher’s death TEACHER from page one Auntie Jill’s life, and we still don’t have the answers or justice that we desperately need.”

“There is a tremendous amount of frustration and heartbreak that comes with that.”

Mrs Pinder, a 56-yearold mother of two and teacher at TG Glover Primary School, died on July 13, more than a month after the June 4 attack.

Two men allegedly held her at knifepoint at her Lake Cunningham home, told her that someone close to her owed them $4,000 and took her to an unknown location.

Mrs Pinder was stabbed in the throat and left in her vehicle in the Wulff Road area.

Despite her injuries, she later managed to drive into another vehicle whose occupants helped her.

She was admitted to

PHOTO of Jillian Pinder when she was young the intensive care unit,

later

discharged

and

JILLIAN Pinder (second from left) with her sister and relatives.

then readmitted before her death. Her funeral was held in early August.

Ms Capron said the family spent Mrs Pinder’s final weeks believing she would recover.

“She had just come through something that was already frightening,” Ms Capron said, “and the focus was on her recovering, getting stronger, and getting back to her normal life.”

“Nobody in our family was looking at those weeks thinking that we were watching the final chapter of her life.”

Mrs Pinder expressed gratitude to her relatives before she died, telling her niece: “Tell the family thanks.”

Ms Capron said there had been relief when Mrs Pinder was discharged and expectations that she would begin recovering at home.

“There were conversations about her healing pretty quickly,” she said, “being around family, and trying her best to move forward.”

“And then everything changed.”

Ms Capron said each day without an arrest deepens the family’s frustration.

“Every day that passes without an arrest or charges,” she said, “is another day that her family has to live with unanswered questions.”

She said the pain continues even as the police investigation remains open.

The family has tried to keep Mrs Pinder’s memory alive by remembering the ordinary details of her life.

Her children often recall her love of taking photographs with them, even when they were simply leaving the house

Thursday, September 10, 2026, PAGE 3

JILLIAN PINDER

JILLIAN Pinder with her children, siblings nieces and nephews. and rushing out the door.

Ms Capron said relatives miss Mrs Pinder’s laugh, humour and presence.

“Jill wasn’t just a victim in a news story,” Ms Capron said. “She was a mother, an aunt, a sister, a friend, a teacher, and someone who was deeply loved by her family and community.”

She said the family will continue pressing for answers and is not seeking publicity by keeping Mrs Pinder’s name

before the public.

“For us, this isn’t a headline that’s going to disappear when the next story comes along,” Ms Capron said. “This is our family. This is our loved one.”

She appealed to anyone with information to come forward.

“We’re going to continue asking questions,” she said, “continuing to speak her name, and continuing to ask for justice until there are answers.”

School administrators set to receive promotion letters

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net SENIOR school administrators who have waited years for promotions are expected to receive long-delayed letters after the Bahamas Educators Managerial Union said the documents were delivered to the Ministry of Education this week for distribution.

BEMU president Stephen McPhee said yesterday that some members had been waiting for promotions since 2016, one of several grievances that helped trigger rare industrial action by school administrators at the start of the new academic year.

Mr McPhee said promotion letters were delivered to the Ministry of Education on Monday and were now being prepared for affected members.

The development follows meetings between BEMU, the Labour Relations Unit and the Ministry of Education as the union presses the government over promotions, administrative vacancies, its expired industrial agreement and other unresolved concerns.

BEMU president Stephen McPhee Mr McPhee said negotiations for a new industrial agreement have also begun and that improvements were being made to policies affecting working conditions, staffing and members’ rights.

He cautioned, however, that key financial issues remained unresolved.

“BEMU will continue to advocate strongly for a financial package,” Mr McPhee said, “one that properly recognises the responsibilities and value

of our members as leaders in education.”

The union is now moving into what Mr McPhee described as critical financial discussions and hopes those matters will be addressed before the end of this week.

The progress comes a week after more than 90 percent of the country’s school administrators joined industrial action, forcing about 40,000 students to be dismissed early on September 2.

Mr McPhee had previously identified the promotion dispute as one of the issues behind the action.

He said the union’s concerns included promotions connected to a 2021 Supreme Court filing, promotions completed from 2018 and members who applied for advancement last year but were not promoted.

Principals, vice principals, district superintendents and assistant directors of education were among those reportedly awaiting promotion letters and related salary increases.

The industrial action took place before an interim injunction was granted by Justice Darron Ellis at the request of the Minister of Education and the Attorney General.

The order restrained BEMU, its officers and members from participating in any strike or other industrial action and required members employed by the Ministry of Education to report to their designated workplaces when scheduled.

It also prohibited them from taking sick leave without a valid sick certificate

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and barred union officials and members from inducing, inciting or intimidating ministry employees in a way that prevented them from attending work or encouraged them not to report for duty.

Mr McPhee urged

members to remain united as negotiations continue.

“To our members, I say, remain encouraged, remain unified, and remain vigilant,” he said. “Success is being achieved, and your union continues to work for you.”

PAGE 4, Thursday, September 10, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

Retirement rules drain courts of experience, Evans says COURT from page one He raised the concern yesterday as the Court of Appeal sat in Grand Bahama for the first time in nearly two decades, with Chief Justice Ian Winder and Justice Gregory Smith among the judges participating in the two-day visit.

Justice Evans said judges do not arrive on the bench with complete knowledge but develop their expertise over years of service.

By the time some judges reach their professional stride, he said, the mandatory retirement age can force them to leave the bench, taking that accumulated experience with them.

Under the Constitution, a Supreme Court justice ordinarily holds office until age 65, although the Governor-General, acting on the Prime Minister’s recommendation after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, may permit the judge to remain until no later than 67. A Justice of Appeal ordinarily retires at 68 but may similarly be permitted to continue until no later than 70.

Justice Evans pointed to retired Bahamian judges who have subsequently served in other jurisdictions where older judges are permitted to remain on the bench, including Dame Anita Allen and Justice Neville Adderley.

He also recalled the failure of a previous referendum that would have allowed Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges to serve to older ages.

The retirement issue was put directly to voters in the February 27, 2002 constitutional referendum. One of the proposed amendments would have raised

CHIEF Justice ian Winder, Justice Milton Evans and Justice Gregory Smith.

Photo: Vandyke Hepburn the normal retirement age for Supreme Court judges to 68, with possible extensions to 72, and for Court of Appeal judges to 72, with possible extensions to 75.

Voters rejected the proposal decisively: 60,838 voted no, compared with 25,018 who voted yes — about 71 percent against Justice Evans’ comments came as the Court of Appeal held proceedings outside New Providence for the first time since 2008.

The panel is sitting in Grand Bahama on September 9 and 10 and hearing two criminal matters involving Freeport residents, including one concerning a person convicted of causing harm and another involving the sexual assault of a young woman.

Justice Evans described the visit as a “very special occasion” and said it was intended not only to hear cases involving Freeport residents, but also to give the public an opportunity to see the appellate court at work.

He said holding hearings in Grand Bahama allows defendants’ families and others connected to cases to attend proceedings and hear the arguments first-hand without having to travel to

New Providence.

“That’s a benefit that persons in your province have,” he said.

Justice Evans also argued that greater public exposure to court proceedings was important because accounts of what takes place in court are not always accurate.

“When you read the different papers,” Justice Evans said, “the picture that is painted is not always accurate, and it’s usually given by persons who have spent no time within the court, so they don’t understand how it operates.”

He said the judiciary therefore believes the courts should be made as accessible to the public as possible.

Justice Smith said technology, including virtual hearings, cannot entirely replace judges physically visiting communities.

“Justice must not only be done,” he said, “but must be seen to be done.”

Justice Smith said virtual courts have proven effective, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, but there remains value in the “personal touch” of judges travelling to the Family Islands.

Chief Justice Winder

said the Grand Bahama sitting formed part of a wider effort to give communities throughout The Bahamas meaningful access to justice.

He said Grand Bahama is uniquely positioned among the Family Islands because it has a complete court structure, including three Supreme Court judges, three registrars and four magistrates.

The judiciary is also seeking to expand court infrastructure elsewhere.

Chief Justice Winder said the Court Services Council has received approval and is completing a court structure in Eleuthera as part of efforts to reduce the need for Family Island residents to travel to New Providence for court business.

Virtual proceedings will continue to allow lawyers and litigants in Grand Bahama and elsewhere to participate remotely in matters that cannot be heard locally.

Justice Evans, however,

stopped short of committing to regular Court of Appeal sittings in Grand Bahama.

He said the judiciary would like to hold them “as often as we can”, but additional financial resources and logistical arrangements are required.

The Court of Appeal has six members, and Justice Evans said bringing the full panel to Grand Bahama effectively means appellate proceedings cannot simultaneously take place in Nassau.

He said the longer-term objective would be to find a way for proceedings to take place in both locations.

Justice Evans also said the Court of Appeal is currently dealing with matters filed in 2026, although some older cases remain because of logistical difficulties.

He said only four judgments were outstanding when he checked the list before travelling to Grand Bahama, with one already completed and awaiting

delivery.

The judges also addressed longstanding concerns over sentencing.

Chief Justice Winder acknowledged public debate over whether sentences are too harsh or too lenient and perceptions that judges sometimes impose inconsistent punishments for apparently similar offences.

He said the judiciary, in consultation with prosecutors, the legal profession, social services and other stakeholders, has developed its first set of sentencing guidelines.

The guidelines establish sentencing ranges and identify aggravating and mitigating factors for judges to consider, but Chief Justice Winder stressed that they have not yet been implemented.

Once introduced, judges will be expected to follow the guidelines and provide strong reasons when departing from them.

Mitchell rejects claims PM Davis attacked the press

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net PLP chairman Fred Mitchell yesterday defended Prime Minister Philip Davis’ angry response to questions about his administration’s alleged ties to murdered businessman Warren “Spy” Ellis, saying the Prime Minister recognised a “put-up job” and invoking the term “propaganda prostitute” to describe a reporter perceived to be pursuing a gotcha question.

Mr Mitchell rejected claims that Mr Davis attacked the press when he appeared visibly frustrated with reporters last week while being questioned about Ellis, who had for years been linked to serious criminal allegations.

Mr Mitchell said the Prime Minister believed the journalist was “making something out of nothing”.

“You now see why the US president Donald Trump reacts the way he does,” Mr Mitchell said in a voice note, “when he thinks that a reporter has asked a question which is a gotcha question.”

“The feeling is,” he said, “that he is not dealing with a genuine inquiry by a journalist, but a propaganda prostitute.”

Mr Mitchell said Mr Davis did not attack the reporter or call her names.

“He simply indicated,” he said, “that two plus two is not five. It’s four.”

The defence comes as opposition scrutiny intensifies over the Davis administration’s alleged dealings with people linked to serious criminal activity.

Well-placed sources told The Tribune that Ellis was linked to contracts for housing work in Central Pines, Abaco, in 2022.

The Ministry of Housing has since denied awarding contracts to Ellis, saying it found no record of a company owned or controlled by him receiving a housing contract from the Davis administration.

When questioned on the matter last week, Mr Davis dismissed the claim as an allegation and asked reporters to provide the factual basis for the question.

Mr Davis said he was “tired of these allegations” and questioned why journalists were not asking him about ongoing government initiatives, including the school breakfast programme.

His response drew fierce criticism from the opposition.

FNM leader Michael Pintard said: “Lashing out at news reporters only confirms that you know what you are doing is wrong, and that no responsible government would do business with persons known to be actively involved in nefarious activities.”

Mr Mitchell yesterday praised Mr Davis for being “perceptive and smart enough to know a put-up job when he sees it.”

He also dismissed as “utter crap” controversy surrounding housing contracts awarded to companies linked to Eric “Player” Gardiner, a convicted drug offender.

Corporate records have linked Gardiner to Top Notch Builder, a construction company awarded contracts for housing projects.

The firm also owns Complete Construction, the company developing the government’s Carmichael Village affordable housing project, which got underway during the Davis administration’s first term.

Tribune Business previously reported that $20m intended for an educational scholarship trust was instead used to finance the government’s affordable housing project being built by a contractor linked to Gardiner.

Butterfield Trust (Bermuda), trustee and depository for the Heritage International Scholarship Trust, has since promised to investigate the matter.

Mr Mitchell has argued that the fund suffered no loss and that the loan was repaid in full with interest.

He also attacked a Tribune Business article on the matter and dismissed as nonsense speculation that “the government was helping Mr Gardiner to launder money”.

“These are the put-up examples,” Mr Mitchell said, “of why our prime minister and our officials have to rebuke stupidity in a but respectful manner.”

THE TRIBUNE

Abaco on alert over suspected Python snake PYTHON from page one Residents are being asked to report additional sightings immediately and provide the location and time of the sighting. Where it is safe to do so, they are also being asked to provide photographs or video to help officials identify and assess the animal.

Anyone who has already captured or killed a suspected Burmese python is being asked to keep the body as intact as possible so authorities can examine it, determine its sex and collect biological information that could help establish whether the sighting is isolated or whether a population may be present.

Burmese pythons are non-venomous constrictors and among the world’s largest snakes.

Native to parts of southern and Southeast Asia, they kill prey by constriction and

swallow animals whole.

Adults commonly grow between ten and 16 feet, although specimens exceeding 18 feet have been recorded.

The snakes can live in wetlands, swamps, grasslands and wooded areas and are also strong swimmers.

They prey on mammals, birds and reptiles, while their size, adaptability and ability to reproduce have made them particularly successful when introduced outside their natural range.

Female Burmese pythons can lay up to about 100 eggs in a clutch, heightening concern about the possibility of the species becoming established if a breeding population develops.

The ministry said it will continue monitoring the situation and provide further information as necessary.

Agriculture Officer Josefina Adderley-Curry can be contacted at 376-5069 to report sightings.

Parents should ensure children learn English ENGLISH from page one language barriers in classrooms, with some teachers saying they have significant numbers of Creole-speaking students who cannot communicate in English.

Mrs Wilson suggested parents should pay for English lessons for children who cannot speak the language before enrolling them in public schools and called on the Ministry of Education to ensure students entering the system are proficient in English.

Mr Georges told The Tribune yesterday that he did not interpret her position as an attempt to exclude Haitian or other foreign children.

“I didn’t take the statement as one that is trying to exclude Haitian children or any other foreign children,” Mr Georges said. “It’s about preparing them to succeed because, at the end of the day, it’s about the well-being of the children and putting them in the best possible position to excel.”

He questioned how much a child could learn if they cannot understand the language in which lessons are being taught.

“So, placing a child into an English-only classroom without first giving the necessary English language foundation,” he said, “I think places the child at a disadvantage, and also additional strain on the teacher.”

Mr Georges agreed that parents bear responsibility for ensuring their children are proficient in English before enrolling them in school.

He said Haitian residents on work permits commonly place their children in institutions that provide English lessons, some of which are accredited by the Ministry of

Education.

“There may be a need for more such facilities,” Mr Georges said, “and not just for Haitian Creole, Spanish, and Filipino, and otherwise.

But overall, I do not necessarily disagree with the president of the teacher’s union.”

He identified the limited number of institutions and their availability as potential obstacles for parents.

Mr Georges suggested the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti and the Haitian League of Churches could help establish programmes for children and adults who need basic English instruction.

“Maybe they can come together,” he said, “and they can create some sort of institution that can help these children and even some adults in getting the basis of the English language.”

However, Mr Georges said children who are in The Bahamas are supposed to be in school, and he did not expect government schools to stop enrolling them in the meantime.

“I would say that again, I agree children are supposed to be in school,” he said. “If they are here, then they’re supposed to be in school.

So, until such time, I do not foresee anything different happening from the government schools enrolling these kids.”

Mr Georges also pointed to Bahamians of Haitian descent who speak both English and Creole as a possible source of additional language support.

He suggested they could pursue programmes or courses leading to certification that would allow them to provide specialised instruction for students who need help developing their English skills.

Thursday, September 10, 2026, PAGE 5

A photo taken in Abaco shows a large snake on the side of a road that has been identified as a Burmese python.

PAGE 6, Thursday, September 10, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

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The agreement is welcome; now turn it into better classrooms THE agreement reached between the Government and the Bahamas Union of Teachers is welcome news for educators, parents and, most importantly, students.

Only days ago, more than 1,400 teachers were placed on industrial-action alert after union members overwhelmingly rejected the Government’s sixth financial counterproposal.

The possibility of another disruption to public education was real.

Instead, Prime Minister Philip Davis, Education Minister Chester Cooper, officials from the Ministries of Finance and Public Service, BUT President Belinda Wilson and her executive team remained at the table and found common ground.

They deserve credit for doing so.

The new five-year industrial agreement, covering 2025 to 2030 and retroactive to July 1, includes salary increases, lump-sum payments and other benefits. Entry-level pay will increase to $30,100, while the maximum teacher salary will rise to $54,000.

The agreement also provides hardship allowances for teachers who relocate to the Family Islands.

Those provisions recognise an important reality: The Bahamas cannot build a stronger education system without attracting, retaining and properly compensating qualified teachers.

Family Island allowances are particularly important. Too many schools outside New Providence struggle to recruit educators because teachers must contend with relocation costs, limited housing and the expense of travelling home.

A meaningful hardship allowance should help, although its effectiveness must be reviewed against the actual cost of living and working on each island.

The settlement also represents a reasonable compromise.

The union had sought a 20 per cent salary increase over three years but accepted an arrangement spread across five years. Government, meanwhile, improved its offer while considering the fiscal consequences of increases affecting more than 1,400 employees.

Neither side received everything it initially wanted. That is the nature of genuine negotiation.

But the announcement cannot be the end of the process.

Public-sector industrial agreements too often produce celebration at signing, followed by disputes over delayed payments, different

interpretations and commitments that become trapped between ministries and agencies.

The Government must now publish a clear implementation schedule.

Teachers should know when salary adjustments will appear, how retroactive sums will be calculated, when lump-sum payments become due and how Family Island allowances will be administered.

The Ministry of Finance, Public Service and Treasury must coordinate closely so that teachers are not sent from one department to another seeking answers.

The union also has a responsibility to help explain the agreement accurately to its members, address individual concerns through an orderly process and avoid allowing administrative misunderstandings to escalate unnecessarily.

Regular meetings should continue even when no crisis exists.

The parties should establish a joint implementation committee that meets quarterly, tracks each obligation and identifies disagreements before they become threats of industrial action.

Minister Cooper has described the settlement as a beginning and spoke of Government and the union working together to bring about a revolution in education.

That ambition should be welcomed.

But an education revolution cannot be measured by salaries alone.

Better compensation should support a wider effort to improve teacher recruitment, professional development, classroom resources, attendance, school leadership and student performance.

Teachers deserve proper pay and suitable working conditions. In return, the public is entitled to high professional standards and a determined focus on helping every child learn.

Government must also address shortages in specialised subjects and ensure that the new salary structure makes teaching an attractive career for talented Bahamians.

The most encouraging feature of this agreement may be that it was achieved through dialogue at a moment when confrontation appeared imminent.

Government listened. The union compromised. Students will remain in their classrooms.

That is a positive result.

The next test is whether every commitment is implemented faithfully, and whether this renewed partnership produces meaningful improvements for the children the education system exists to serve.

What is COP doing to reduce crime?

EDITOR, The Tribune.

DO we have a Police Commissioner?

Where is the Commissioner to reassure us that we live in a safe environment and her officers are on the job.

On an almost daily basis, motorcyclists are creating havoc on the streets. Some have their faces covered with a mask, no helmets.

Where are the traffic cops? Who is accountable in the traffic division? Are police officers motivated to do their jobs? Where are the weekly updates from the Commissioner on strategies to reduce crime, updates on unsolved crimes and an upfront presence to reassure the public that she is indeed the leader of the

RBPF and is in charge.

The Commissioner of Police needs to step up to the plate. She needs to make her division heads accountable. The honeymoon of becoming the first female Police Commissioner is over.

PAT STRACHAN Nassau, September 5, 2026.

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Everyone asking the wrong questions about AI EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Bahamas is currently debating artificial intelligence, but the primary concern seems to revolve around whether workers will lose their jobs. However, that debate is already outdated.

The more pressing question is whether entire categories of businesses will still require the organisational structures we currently take for granted.

This distinction is crucial, especially since The Bahamas is a high-cost, small-scale economy. We cannot afford to misunderstand the changes ahead.

Artificial intelligence is no longer just developing as software that assists people with tasks; it is evolving into systems of autonomous agents capable of researching, analysing, communicating, coordinating, monitoring, delegating, and executing.

The next step will be significantly more disruptive: AI agents organising other AI agents. This marks the beginning of what I call the “Emergent Machine Organisation.”

As this development scales, it will fundamentally redefine what a company is. A conventional company functions as an organizational machine made up of human beings, including directors, managers, supervisors, departments, administrators, analysts, coordinators, meetings, reporting structures, and approval chains. All of these elements exist to organise human economic activity.

However, organising a company is very costly. A business may hire many individuals just to coordinate the work of others.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to reduce these costs.

Imagine a Bahamian business looking to enter a new market. Traditionally, this might require hiring lawyers, accountants, financial analysts, market researchers, marketing consultants, project managers, compliance specialists, software experts, and administrative staff.

In contrast, a machine-native business would deploy specialised AI agents to handle these functions.

One agent would research the market, another would analyse competitors, another would build the financial model, while another would review regulatory requirements.

Additional agents would prepare the marketing strategy, test assumptions, monitor execution, and report exceptions back to the human owner, all while coordinating among themselves.

In this scenario, the organisational chart is no longer the starting point; the objective takes precedence.

This represents a profound change. For decades, Bahamian businesses have faced significant disadvantages of scale: a small market, scarce specialised talent, expensive professional services, imported technology, and high administrative overheads. Many companies still rely heavily on manual processes and human coordination.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to alleviate many of these disadvantages, but we must first understand what is truly happening.

The opportunity for transformation is enormous.

A ten-person Bahamian company would eventually achieve capabilities that once required 100 or even 500 people.

An entrepreneur in Grand Bahama would operate a sophisticated digital business that leverages machinebased research, accounting, compliance, customer service, software development, marketing, and administration.

A small resort would utilise machine agents for revenue

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net management, bookings, purchasing, guest communication, and maintenance coordination.

A construction company would apply AI agents for procurement, scheduling, estimating, contract review, logistics, and project reporting.

A financial services firm would automate significant portions of onboarding, monitoring, analysis, and regulatory reporting.

The individual entrepreneur’s productive capacity would rise dramatically.

This represents a significant opportunity.

Now, consider the threat.

If international companies learn to operate with drastically lower organisational costs while Bahamian companies retain expensive bureaucratic structures, we won’t simply face an AI skills gap.

We will encounter an organisational competitiveness crisis.

A foreign competitor would no longer need 500 employees to produce what a Bahamian company requires 500 employees to achieve.

They might need only 50 or even ten.

This shift changes pricing, profitability, speed, and the capital required to enter a market. Ultimately, it would influence who survives in the market.

Therefore, it is inadequate for us to merely instruct workers and students to “Learn AI.” The challenge extends beyond individual productivity; companies themselves must learn to redesign their structures around artificial intelligence.

The government must recognise this as well.

The Bahamian Public Sector remains reliant on large volumes of administrative coordination.

Applications circulate between departments, files await approval, information is redundantly entered, citizens navigate multiple agencies, and businesses experience delays in routine decisions.

Officials spend time processing information that machines would handle in seconds.

AI presents an opportunity to redesign our government itself. However, merely inserting chatbots into outdated bureaucratic systems will not lead to significant improvements. Digitising bureaucracy is not the same as transformation; a flawed process running on a computer is still a flawed process.

The deeper question must be: If we were designing this ministry, agency, regulator, or public service today, with autonomous machine intelligence available from the start, would we construct it the same way?

In many cases, the answer would be no.

The same question would apply to Bahamian companies as well: Would we still create the same departments?

Would we still need the same number of management layers? Would we still move information through the same approval chains? Would we still employ people to manually execute repetitive coordination tasks?

These questions can be uncomfortable because organizations tend to defend their current structures. Departments protect their budgets, managers guard their authority, and institutions uphold their procedures. Workers understandably protect their jobs.

However, technology does not cater to nostalgia. If a fundamentally cheaper organisational model becomes feasible, competition will eventually necessitate its adoption.

Bahamian Policymakers must prepare for this reality. Bahamas’ Education Policy must go beyond teaching students how to use AI applications. Students must learn how to direct intelligent machines, design workflows, validate machine outputs, coordinate agent systems, exercise judgment, and build enterprises centered around computational labor.

Bahamas’ Business Policies must now acknowledge that future entrepreneurship may require much less traditional payroll capital.

Our Financial Regulations need to prepare for companies where AI systems fulfill substantial operational functions.

Bahamas’ Corporate Laws must eventually grapple with difficult questions about responsibility when decisions arise from complex agent networks. Our Economic Policies must consider the implications of rising productivity without a corresponding increase in traditional employment.

This last issue may pose the most significant political challenge. For generations, the basic economic bargain has been simple: Businesses are started.

Businesses grow. Businesses hire. People work.

People earn wages. People consume. The government taxes the activity.

What happens when businesses start and grow without proportionate hiring? When revenue increases while payroll shrinks? When a company produces the output of 1,000 workers with just 100 people and a vast machine workforce?

This issue extends beyond a simple technological concern; it fundamentally involves the economic landscape of our nation. We must consider how advancements in technology impact various sectors, influence job markets, and shape the overall financial health of our economy. It encompasses the need for strategic investment in innovation, infrastructure, and workforce development to ensure sustainable growth and competitiveness on a global scale.

The Bahamas needs to shift its perspective on artificial intelligence from merely considering it another passing software trend to recognising it as a vital component of our emerging economic infrastructure. Embracing machine organisations as essential elements of our economy will allow us to foster innovation and create new business opportunities within our borders. Countries that grasp this concept early on will have the advantage of developing homegrown companies that can leverage AI technologies to enhance efficiency, drive growth, and create jobs.

Conversely, those nations that delay in adapting to this shift may find themselves at a disadvantage, ultimately relying on external services and expertise from countries that were proactive in harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence.

By positioning ourselves as leaders in this field, we can ensure a more prosperous and competitive future for The Bahamas.

We are now faced with a significant decision that will shape our future.

While AI may eliminate some jobs, the broader transformation may be that companies become leaner, faster, cheaper, and more efficient.

With nearly five decades of experience in the field of technology, including AI, I can confidently assert that this perspective is not merely theoretical; it represents a profound revelation that challenges conventional understanding.

C ALLEN JOHNSON Freeport Grand Bahama September 7, 2026.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, September 10, 2026, PAGE 7

Doctor details injuries observed Teen faces charges over motel during examination in rape trial and service station robberies

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A DOCTOR testified that he examined a woman the day after she was allegedly raped and physically assaulted by the father of her child in Exuma in 2024 as his trial continued.

Khethino Cadet is on trial before Justice Jeannine Weech Gomez on charges of rape and aggravated assault.

Prosecutors allege Cadet raped and assaulted a then 33-yearold woman in Exuma on August 17, 2024.

Dr Moxey testified that he examined the complainant at noon on August 18, 2024, and collected samples for a rape kit about 15 minutes later.

Dr Moxey said the complainant told him she had allegedly been penetrated anally with the defendant’s fingers.

He said he observed blood in that area during the examination.

When jurors asked whether Cadet’s DNA was found in the samples, Dr Moxey said that was a question for the prosecution because he did not receive the test results.

Dr Moxey also said the complainant had trauma to the left side of her face.

He observed tenderness in that area, which he said indicated that she had been hit.

Retired Corporal Donovan Higgs testified that on August 18, 2024, he received a sexual assault kit used on the complainant and sent the samples for further analysis.

Higgs said he also went to the residence shared by the complainant and Cadet the day after the alleged incident.

He spoke with the complainant and photographed the scene.

During that period, Cadet was informed of the complaint against him and arrested.

A photograph of the complainant’s bedroom showed a dresser with all of its drawers open near the bed and an open suitcase on the floor.

Higgs said the bed had been damaged during an altercation.

Photographs of the bathroom adjoining the bedroom, the living room and the exterior of the two-storey yellow house were also shown.

Under questioning from defence attorney Keith Seymour, Higgs said he could not recall seeing any blood in the residence or on the furniture.

In response to a question from the jury, Higgs said he did not recall seeing any burnt items.

Eucal Bonaby and Cassie Bethel appeared for the prosecution.

Tourist admits drug possession and failing to declare cash

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net AN AMERICAN man forfeited $12,142 to the Crown after admitting to travelling through LPIA with marijuana and failing to declare more than $10,000 in cash to a US officer.

David Kim, 63, of Virginia, failed to declare to a US officer on August 8 that he was travelling with more than $10,000 in cash.

He was also found with six grams of marijuana that day.

Kim pleaded guilty to failing to declare to an officer of the United States and possession of

dangerous drugs before Deputy Chief Magistrate Shaka Serville.

He accepted the facts of the case.

Kim was ordered to forfeit the $12,142 to the Crown and was told he would face no further penalty.

Inspector Cordero Farrington prosecuted the case.

184 Haitian nationals repatriated to Cap-Haïtien in two-part operation THE BAHAMAS repatriated 184 Haitian nationals to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, in a two-part operation involving a Bahamasair flight from New Providence through Inagua.

The repatriation began when the aircraft departed New Providence for Inagua with 29 detainees. Upon arrival, another 71 detainees boarded, bringing the total number of Haitian nationals on the flight to 100.

The aircraft then travelled

to Cap-Haïtien, where the 100 detainees were disembarked before returning to Inagua for the remaining 84 Haitian nationals.

The aircraft subsequently returned to Cap-Haïtien, where the remaining detainees were disembarked, completing the operation.

Minister of State for Immigration Darron Pickstock said the operation demonstrated the Government’s commitment to enforcing the country’s immigration laws.

“Today’s repatriation exercise demonstrate that our immigration laws are enforced in a manner that is organized, accountable, and consistent with established procedures. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement agencies and international partners to strengthen border management, address unlawful migration, and ensure that those subject to removal are repatriated in a safe and orderly manner.”

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A TEENAGER was accused of a string of robbery-related offences, including an attempted robbery at a service station and robberies at a motel.

Prosecutors allege Tarino Moss, 19, while armed with a handgun and accompanied by others, attempted to rob Lashante Forbes of an undetermined amount of cash while she was working at a Rubis Service Station on August 31.

Moss, while armed with a handgun and accompanied

by another person, allegedly forced his way into the Glowell Motel on St Alban Drive around 11pm on September 2 and robbed Crystal Williams of $1,882 belonging to the establishment.

That same night, Moss allegedly robbed motel guest Yolette Armbrister of a brown wallet containing $1,040 and her lavender Samsung A07 phone.

The suspects allegedly fled on foot and escaped by climbing over a fence on the eastern side of the property.

Moss was charged with two counts of armed

robbery and one count of attempted armed robbery.

He was not required to enter pleas to the charges before Acting Chief Magistrate Ancella Evans.

He was informed that the case would proceed to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI) and advised of his right to apply for bail in the higher court.

Moss was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until service of the VBI on December 10.

Corporal Moultrie prosecuted the case.

Man gets three months’ probation after admitting indecent exposure

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was placed on probation for three months after admitting to trespassing on his neighbour’s property and exposing himself last week on Golden Isles Road.

Yvenot Pierre, 45, trespassed on a woman’s property and exposed himself to her and another man on August 6.

Pierre pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent exposure and one count of trespassing before Magistrate Abigail Farrington.

He accepted the facts

of the case and expressed remorse for his actions.

Pierre was granted a conditional discharge and placed on probation for three months. A breach of the order would result in a $450 fine or one month in prison.

Reserve Inspector Deveaux prosecuted the case.

Negligence denied after dog allegedly causes harm to child

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net A MAN was charged in Grand Bahama’s Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday with negligently causing harm to an 11-year-old boy who was allegedly injured by a dog while walking in a residential neighbourhood.

Stephen Ferguson, 70,

of Freeport, appeared before Magistrate Uel Johnson unrepresented by counsel.

It is alleged that on September 5 in Freeport, Grand Bahama, Ferguson negligently and unlawfully caused harm to the child.

He was also charged with permitting an animal to be at large.

Prosecutors allege Ferguson was in charge of

a dog that was at large in a public place and on the road when the animal caused harm to the boy.

Ferguson pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Prosecutor Corporal 3700 Kenton Smithy did not object to bail.

Magistrate Johnson granted Ferguson $2,000 bail with one surety and adjourned the matter to February 3, 2027.

PAGE 8, Thursday, September 10, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

US invests $245,000 to restore historic Fort Montagu and cannons

MINISTER of Culture, Arts and Heritage Leslia Miller-Brice and US Amabassador Herschel Walker sign an agreemnt for the United States to invest $245,000 to restore Fort Montagu.

Photos: Chappell Whyms Jr

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net THE United States is investing $245,000 to restore Fort Montagu, including major conservation work on its historic cannons, as part of an effort to preserve one of The Bahamas’ oldest surviving military landmarks.

US Ambassador to The Bahamas Herschel Walker said the project, funded through the United States Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation and the Freedom 250 Initiative,

represents the second-largest US investment in cultural preservation in The Bahamas.

American and Bahamian officials gathered at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas last night to mark the initiative.

Fort Montagu was built in 1741.

Mr Walker said the United States has invested more than $750,000 in Bahamian cultural preservation projects.

“Fort Montagu has stood there for nearly three centuries,” Mr Walker said, describing its preservation

as an important part of the Bahamian story.

He said the project also demonstrates what can be achieved through cooperation between the two countries.

Dr Michael Pateman, executive chairman of the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation, said the restoration will include work on the fort’s roof and urgent conservation of its cannons.

“The cannons also require urgent attention,” Dr Pateman said. “Salt, moisture, and the coastal environment have caused

serious corrosion.”

He said the proposed treatment will use electrolytic reduction, a specialised conservation technique intended to remove destructive chlorides and salts.

“This process will probably take about 12 months,” Dr Pateman said, “but it offers the best opportunity to preserve these cannons for future generations.”

Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Leslia Miller-Brice said professionals and partners from The Bahamas, the United States and the

Dominican Republic will contribute expertise to the restoration.

Mrs Miller-Brice said the project is intended to preserve not only the physical fort but the history and identity attached to it.

“Fort Montagu is still standing,” Mrs Miller-Brice said, “and tonight, The Bahamas and the United States are connected once again through this historic site, not through conflict, but through friendship, collaboration, and a shared commitment to preservation.”

“We are preserving memory,” she said. “We are preserving identity.

We are preserving a place where history happened.”

Mrs Miller-Brice said she particularly wants young Bahamians to understand that the country’s history is not something confined to distant places.

“I want our young people, especially, to understand that history did not only happen in distant places in textbooks,” she said. “History happened here, on our shores, in this harbor, on Bahamian soil.”

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THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, September 10, 2026, PAGE 9

PAGE 10, Thursday, September 10, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

Simon • Front Porch

What will we show King Charles?

THE impending visit of King Charles as king of The Bahamas and head of state is anachronistic. Celebrating the British monarch as our sovereign is archaic, a relic of the past for a sovereign country still glorying in colonial fawning and servility.

The King’s three-nation regional tour includes the Republic of Guyana, which has its own head of state, and Antigua and Barbuda, which is hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

After the April 30, re-election of Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, the twin-island nation dropped its oath of allegiance to the British monarch.

The Telegraph reported: “Newly elected officials in the twin-Caribbean nation now pledge their allegiance directly to the state of Antigua and Barbuda, its laws, and its constitution rather than to Charles III and his heirs.”

Mr Browne has signalled his intention for his country to become a republic, which he stated is a “natural progression.”

Antigua and Barbuda became independent in 1981, eight years after The Bahamas.

Last year, Grenada also officially dropped the oath of allegiance to the British monarch, with the changes coming into effect on their Emancipation Day, “the anniversary of the day that slavery was abolished in the British Empire.”

Alas, here in The Bahamas, we still excitedly and gloriously proclaim allegiance to the King.

Given the paralyzed and decrepit state of The Bahamas, a country stuck in yesteryear, with much that is creakingly outmoded, the King’s visit is a moment to reflect on our outsized failure to continue to

modernize and realize certain benchmarks that should be in evidence in a 21st century state.

When the King visited The Bahamas in 1973, representing Queen Elizabeth II at our

independence celebrations, he was in his mid-20s. In his upcoming visit in October, 53 years after independence, he’s three years shy of his 80th birthday.

Charles will meet a country that has made progress in a number of areas, including in economic and social

development and in sustaining an impressive national park system, and other areas.

in the use of public funds, collapse of basic public services, filthy public spaces,

In 1973, he met a people in a celebratory, hopeful mood.

Today, he will visit a country in a state of collapse on many fronts. The mood of

and other flashing signs of dereliction and decline.

King Charles will arrive at the worldclass Lynden Pindling International Airport. He will have to endure shaking hands with a gussimae cabinet, the size of which per capita is egregiously large compared to the UK and other countries.

Thankfully, he will be driven on modern main thoroughfares. God help the King if he has to experience the fuller state of the roads on New Providence.

(The Government will undoubtedly quickly pave any roads in areas Charles will visit.)

The King will miss a novel feature of our broke down Photos: Tribunefile roads that a friend most Bahamians is neither recently described: speed hopeful nor celebratory. bumps that now have potMany citizens are holes in them, a master depressed, exhausted by metaphor for the country’s massive corruption, wide- collapsing infrastructure. spread dysfunction and The Bahamas is incompetence in govern- caught in a classic ment, ever growing and developmental trap: gnawing inequality, con- Off the chain levels tempt for accountability of public corruption, incompetence, and indifference that has drained billions of dollars into the coffers of entitled greedy oligarchs and enabling politicians, while Bahamians struggle with poor government services and outrageous costs for food, electricity, and other basic needs.

The Government will be holding its breath that the lights will stay on during

Charles’s visit in late October, so that neither the King nor the international press will have to endure the horrible blackouts paralyzing businesses and aggravating the approximately 300,000 residents of New Providence.

A story the international press may ask is why a Bahamas that boasts of millions of tourists as a prime Caribbean destination cannot keep the lights on in thousands of homes, in downtown Nassau, at the Supreme Court, at LPIA, at the state broadcaster, and at the main public hospital?

The Princess Margaret Hospital bears the name of

Queen Elizabeth’s sister, the King’s late aunt. The facility has saved many lives and

not visit will be quite long, including the sports center named after his mother.

Prince Charles laid the cornerstone for the new Central Bank in 1973. His mother performed the official opening ceremony for the Bank in 1975. Half a century later and we have failed to build a new modern Central Bank.

There were exciting plans for an attractive new facility with a unique Bahamian design. For still inexplicable reasons the Philip Davis Administration cancelled a beautiful structure that would have helped enliven downtown.

King Charles will also not be able to visit a National Museum of The Bahamas, a National Centre for the Performing Arts, or a new parliament building seen better days. Today, it befitting a modern Bahamas too is in a state of collapse. which brags of our nearly The photo of a rat in a hos- 300 years of parliamentary pital room captures much democracy! that is scandalously broken He will not be able to visit in the public the Fish Fry or a range of poorly-kept heritage sites.

Much work will have to be done to make Fort Charlotte presentable. Even the privately-run Ardastra Gardens will be a no-go.

He can visit the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, and will be impressed by the artistic accomplishments of the country in the visual arts.

The main structures of the buildings in Parliament Square were erected in the early 1800s. The Supreme Court was added in around 1921 and the Queen Victoria statue was placed in the early 1900s.

The Bahamas should preserve our historical past and buildings, contextualizing the history for new generations.

But at long last, where is the national pride, desire, and will to create modern state structures such as a new parliament? Why Photo: Toby Smith has it taken 50-plus years for a modern health system and its facilities. Supreme Court? Where are There’s an awful, but telling, the life-sized statues and joke making the rounds: A monuments to Bahamian group of rats took a vote not heroes and milestones?

Even as “God Save the to go to PMH because it was too neglected and unkempt King,” the UK’s national anthem, is played for for them.

The Bahamas that Queen Charles, it will be a jarring Elizabeth and other members juxtaposition listening to of the royal family visited the lyrics cum strains of the

over the decades did not have a number of the modern buildings now on New Providence. The most modern structures now, however, are two tourist resorts, and not impressive state facilities.

Though there is more modern infrastructure, Nassau and New Providence are filthier and less clean than when previous royals visited in the last century.

Unlike past royal visits to healthcare facilities, the Government will have to ensure that Charles stays far away from the hospital named after Princess Margaret. The list of public facilities the King should

Bahamian national anthem suggesting what we have failed to achieve as a people over the last half century.

We are not moving to a rising sun. Many of the banners of nationhood are not bright. They are soiled and not waving high. And when the world and Bahamians mark the manner of our bearing, we are found desperately wanting.

Still, we must continue to pledge to excel through love and unity because genuine patriotism requires resilience and hope as we seek to fortify and reinvigorate ourselves to march on in Bahamaland.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, September 10, 2026, PAGE 11

Angelo Leopold Roker

August, 1929 — September, 2026 Nassau, The Bahamas • Augusta, Georgia Angelo Leopold Roker — printer, artist, master calligrapher, historian, and man of God— went home to be with the Lord on the morning of September 5, 2026, at the age of 97, surrounded by the love of his family in Augusta, Georgia. Born August 10, 1929, in Nassau, The Bahamas, Angelo was the son of Lorenzo A. Roker— artist, calligrapher, and Gold Leaf Gilder — and Laura Cartwright Roker — Gold Leaf Gilder and Antique Restorer. From his earliest days at his parents’ side, Angelo learned that a well-drawn letter was a small act of dignity — a lesson he carried into every page, canvas, and blessing he ever set his hand to. Angelo left school as a boy to go to work, so that his mother would be provided for and the household kept running.

In every way that mattered, he became the father of that family. He raised his brothers and sisters, provided for them, and mentored them as though they were his own children — which, in every way but name, they were. It was the first work of his life, and it shaped everything that came after. In 1950 the Butlin Visitor Village in West End, Grand Bahama, contracted him to produce the resort’s signs, lettering, and posters, a contract he held for three years. In 1954 he went to sea, working as a seaman as an inexpensive way to travel and to gather the trade secrets, formulas, and working methods of craftsmen in the United States, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. He returned to Nassau in 1956 with a long list of ambitions and no money to fund them, reopened his studio, and began reproducing his paintings on a silk-screen rig he built himself. That same year he taught the basic elements of lettering and calligraphy to the inmates of Her Majesty’s Prison, Nassau.

APIONEEROFBAHAMIANPRINTING Angelo obtained his first letterpress and offset printing equipment in 1959, and in 1962 he secured the contract to print The Bahamas Weekly, the 12- to 24-page tourism newspaper he would produce for the next eight years. He was the first person to print an offset newspaper in The Bahamas — a historic milestone in the young nation’s media history. Over the years his presses produced the Star Advertiser, Voice of the Church, The Abaco Account, and many other publications. He published Bahamas Pictorial in 1965 and The Bahamas Trade Directory and Investors Guide in 1969, both landmark references of their era. Angelo’s press served the highest offices of two nations. Certificates, scrolls, and commercial work flowed from his shop for The Bahamas Government, The Dominican Government, Citibank, the Emerald Beach Hotel, and the Balmoral Beach Hotel. In 1973 he was entrusted with printed materials for Bahamian Independence itself, and among his signature works were A Tribute to Sir Milo Butler and pieces created for Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling — the printer’s craft entrusted with the memory of a nation.

ANGELO’SARTCENTREONHARROLDROAD When Angelo bought the property on Harrold Road in the late 1960s, there was no road to it. No water, no electricity — nothing but a bicycle track running through the bush.

What he saw standing there, nobody else could see yet.

Within a few years he had built Angelo’s Art Centre on that ground — a print shop, gallery, antique shop, and museum under one roof, and a destination for artists, school tours, and art auctions. His gallery was, in fact, the first museum in The Bahamas devoted to fine art.

The entrance was a trellised courtyard with stone tables and benches, surrounded by lush tropical foliage — a Bahamian welcome before a visitor ever stepped through the door. Beyond the courtyard, the Tea Gardens featured a pergola surrounding a wishing well, and hosted art auctions, afternoon teas, and art classes. Collectors were welcomed into three rooms of paintings, and Angelo raised the hammer at auction himself, presenting works with the enthusiasm of a man who loved every artist in the room. From 1970 he tutored and lectured art students, opening the museum to schoolchildren from across Nassau. His favorite song was “The Impossible Dream,” from Man of La Mancha. Anyone who saw what he made of a bicycle track understood why.

Bahamian art patron Vincent D’Aguilar remembered buying his first artworks from Angelo, calling him “a very enthusiastic promoter” of art and a great resource for anyone in The Bahamas with an interest in fine art.

HISTORIAN,MAPMAKER,ANDDESIGNER

ALIFEWELLLIVED

Angelo was a self-taught historian and commercial artist who played an active role in the design of the Bahamian flag and became a notable designer of Bahamian maps. In 1980 he created a stunning artistic map of The Bahamas — depicting the islands’ history from Columbus’s 1492 arrival forward — that was printed as a poster and sold to visitors from around the world. He painted seascapes, landscapes, biblical scenes, boats, and portraits, working with brush and palette knife with equal fluency.

Angelo moved to the United States in the early 1990s after suffering a stroke, and — never one to lay down his tools — he simply learned to paint with his left hand and kept creating. In his final years, he made his home with his son Mario in Augusta, Georgia, where he continued to hold court on the porch, mid-story, mid-blessing, hand raised as if to underline the word.

In 1972 he rendered The Bahamas Coat of Arms in sculpture — designed by Bahamian artist Hervis Bain and sculpted by Angelo — and six years later carried a stone casting of it to the office of Deputy Prime Minister Arthur D. Hanna, presenting it in person alongside his wife Sylvia. He carried a wider vision for his nation as well: a Cultural Centre and Hall of Fame honoring the Bahamian men and women who built the nation from Columbus’s 1492 landfall through Independence in 1973; studios for pottery, ceramics, and handcrafts; a professional workshop reproducing maps, calligraphy, and commercial print; and promotional media that would carry The Bahamas home into the world with every incoming visitor.

MASTERCALLIGRAPHER Above all, Angelo was a master calligrapher. The Old English blackletter that graced his cover pages, his Psalms, and the flourished capitals of his own name — Angelo Leopold Roker — was drawn with the eye of a medieval scribe and the heart of a modern craftsman. He believed a hand-lettered word carried weight that no keyboard could ever match.

AMANOFGOD Angelo’s Messianic Jewish faith was the center of everything he did.

He loved the Scriptures deeply and had many favorite passages, but Jeremiah 33:3 — “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” — was one of the verses he returned to most often. He read the Psalms as though they had been written for him personally, and he wrote his own poem, “Children,” as a blessing over the generations that would come after him. Kipling’s “If—” was the poem he loved best.

FAMILY Angelo is survived by his son Mario Roker and his wife Sheila, and their children Mia Bowe, Michael Roker, and Alexander Roker; his daughter Angelique McDowall and her husband Timothy, and their sons Jordan Pinder and Ashton McDowall; his son Miguel Roker; fourteen greatgrandchildren; his brother Peter Roker; and his sisters Judy Marshall and her husband Collin, and Donna Butcher.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Sylvia Roker — mother of his children and quiet grace beside him through the great presentations of his career — and by his beloved siblings Carlos, June, Rudolph, Juanita, and Tony.

STILL THE ARTIST. STILL THE TEACHER. STILL OUR DAD. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

— Psalm 90:12 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

— Numbers 6:24–26

Service arrangements will be announced by the family.

Cards and flowers may be sent to Whole Life Ministries, 2621 Washington Road, Augusta, Georgia 30904

PAGE 12, Thursday, September 10, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

Charlie Harper • Stateside

The consequences (and memories) of Sept 11th had been highjacked by terrorists cut off all means of escape.

The main dining room in the restaurant faced north and east, allowing guests to look out onto the skyline of downtown New York City. The dress code required men to wear jackets and was strictly enforced. According to the dress code, a man who arrived with a reservation but without a jacket would be seated at the bar. The restaurant offered jackets that were loaned to the patrons so they could eat in the main dining room.

In 2000, its final full year of operation, Windows on the World reported revenues of $37 million, making it the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States.

Jim carried on with his tale. “Wouldn’t you know it?” he mused. “My son Billy never saw the girlfriend again. To this day, he has no idea whatever happened to her. He says he was troubled for months afterward by what he calls ‘survivor’s guilt,’ and never could bring himself to reach out to her.

He thinks maybe she felt the same.

“Anyhow,” Jim continued, “I was working in my downtown Washington office on the bright, clear morning of 9/11. I remember thinking that the air that day felt scrubbed clean in the same way it does after a tropical depression or even a hurricane passes through.

“There was a television monitor mounted in the corner of a conference room in the suite where my office was located. I had gone to the conference room to set up for a meeting with some of my staff, when I heard loud voices on the TV, which was set to CNN. I looked up, and there were images of the twin towers in New York City on fire.

“I just stood there in the conference room, staring incredulously at the TV on the wall. A couple of colleagues drifted in and did the same. Then there was shouting from down the hall.

We looked up, and out of our windows we could see a giant plume of black smoke billowing from the area

around the Pentagon, several miles down the river from where we were.

“Soon enough, we learned from TV reporters what had happened. We began to get notices from higher-ups in the organization to evacuate the building and seek to get across the Potomac River to Virginia. There was this surreal feeling we all shared – was this the apocalypse?

“Most of us had grown up in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, all too aware of the threat of what was then called ‘mutual assured destruction’ from prospective simultaneous deployment of the large nuclear weapons arsenals maintained by the US and the Soviet Union.

But by 1990, 11 years earlier, the Soviet Union had collapsed of its own internal contradictions and the biggest threat to American security had seemed to be isolated attacks against US embassies by Islamic terrorists in East Africa.”

what happened 25 years ago.

A defining image from that day was of then-president George W Bush, leaning into a photo op at a primary school near Orlando, having just been advised by an aide of the apparently interrelated terrorist attacks against New

Photos: Sydney Morning News

FOR Americans of a certain age, there was for decades one singular, defining question: “Where were you when JFK was shot?”

US President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963. It was American Thanksgiving time, and the entire nation was turned on its head. Polls show that most Americans still believe that Kennedy’s death was part of a complex conspiracy, notwithstanding the fact that several blue-ribbon government panels have found that the killer acted alone.

Now, though, there is not so much general focus on the JFK shooting. These days, it’s more like “Where were you on 9/11?”

Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of a significant moment in American history.

It could have been a defining, even transformative moment.

It was not. That’s a shame, and there is lots of blame to go around for why it wasn’t.

More on that in a bit.

Meantime, old friend Jim, a veteran of US national intelligence with all of its superficial glamour and internecine bureaucratic wrangling, recalled not only where he was on 9/11/01, but where his son was on the evening before.

“I’ll tell you in a bit where I was on 9/11,” Jim recalled.

But my son Billy… he had a story to tell.

“Billy took his then-girlfriend up for a late dinner and drinks on the evening of September 10 at Windows on the World, the famous restaurant/bar high in the north tower of the World Trade Center. They were celebrating the girlfriend’s promotion at work. Billy said they both had too much to drink and actually stayed until the place closed for the night at 2:30 am.”

Windows on the World occupied 50,000 square feet in the north tower. The restaurant had opened on April 19, 1976. None of the staff members who was present in the restaurant on 9/11 was able to make it out alive and died when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 am because the impact of the American Airlines flight that

Jim paused to reflect on the quarter-century that has passed since 9/11 and the brilliant execution of Osama bin Laden’s masterpiece of terrorism. “I do wonder sometimes what we’ve learned from that horrific day,” he said.

There was no question then, and none now, that the US wasn’t prepared for

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York City and Washington DC. Bush is shown looking up in confusion. He clearly was stunned, as was the entire nation.

There was an urge for revenge, leading eventually to a series of misbegotten wars in the Middle East. There was Kuwait, then Iraq, then Afghanistan, plus various adventures in Syria, Libya and elsewhere, leading the US eventually to what may become the worst of all misbegotten wars in the Middle East – the stuttering, intermittent but potentially

really devastating conflict with Iran.

The US plunged in where others had failed, even as it had done in Vietnam in the 1960s, learning little from others’ experiences while continuing to rely upon the fabulous run of “American

Department of the Treasury to DHS. The Transportation Security Administration was established just two months after 9/11 when president Bush signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. And within a year, commercial airports across

exceptionalism,” a hyperbolic term for American innovation and hard work (and the extraordinary and unprecedented run of good luck and serendipity that had blessed the USA and masked its shortcomings from its very inception 250 years ago.)

At home, meanwhile, the country demanded that Bush do something to forestall future attacks on what was quickly renamed the ‘American homeland.’ The major domestic result of 9/11 was the creation, in November 2002, of the US Department of Homeland Security. DHS rapidly assumed a tough, law enforcement posture in Washington.

DHS is, first and foremost, the answer to the question ‘what did President Bush do after 9/11 to make sure it never happened again?’

In studying the government after 9/11, many experts found an opportunity to fix bureaucratic anomalies that had accumulated after World War II in an era of dramatic US government growth.

For example, the US Coast Guard was transferred from the Department of Transportation to DHS. This made sense in some respects. So too did the transfer of the US Secret Service from the

the US were progressively "federalized," placing federal security screening personnel at all major airports by November 2002.

But the grouping of agencies such as the Coast Guard, Secret Service, and TSA within DHS underscored their law enforcement missions, as did the simultaneous merger of previously dissonant agencies US Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS), also under the DHS umbrella.

The US Customs Service, whose proud history dated back to 1789, had a long history of robust collective representation through the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) within the US government.

(US Customs, incidentally, was the progenitor, in 1973, of the Drug Enforcement Administration.)

Many INS employees were previously represented by a broader-based, generally less aggressive umbrella group. Since the merger, some of these discrepancies have persisted.

Another entity that resulted from the formation of DHS was the bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We now know what ICE can be.

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Thursday, September 10, 2026, PAGE 13

United States News

A more perfect union? Congress has been the place where America tries to resolve its problems

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's one thing to issue a Declaration of Independence. It's quite another to launch a grand experiment in representative democracy.

Congress isn't quite yet celebrating its 250th anniversary — the House and Senate as they are recognized today first convened in 1789 — but from the start it has provided an enduring, if imperfect, forum in the country's pursuit of a more perfect union.

From drafting the Bill of Rights that enshrines for many what it means to be an American — freedom of speech, the right to bear arms — to passing modern-day legislation on taxes, Civil Rights, war and peace, the work of Congress has shaped the nation.

"Congress needs to be the place where we figure out how to live with each other," said Philip Wallach, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, and author of the book "Why Congress."

It's a messy, often broken process. Most of the bills introduced never become laws. Those that do are often challenged anew.

In recent years, Congress has allowed its foundational powers to erode, shrinking when confronted with a powerful executive in President Donald Trump.

Yet as the branch of government closest to the people, Congress holds a unique spot in the system of checks and balances — one that is revived every two years as voters choose their representatives in the midterm elections, including this fall.

Here are five measures that shaped — and are still shaping — America's pursuit of a more perfect union.

Money: From tariffs to income taxes — and back again?

The new Congress, established on the revolutionaries' battle cry of no taxation without representation, also needed to pay the bills.

Lawmakers debated how to raise revenues over the years — at times relying heavily on tariffs, then moving briefly toward taxation to handle Civil War debt. But it wasn't until the 20th century that Congress sought ratification of a constitutional amendment to stand up the modern income tax.

First set at 1%, income taxes now account for about half of all U.S. revenues — "the workhorse of the U.S. tax system," said Daniel Bunn, president of the nonpartisan Tax Foundation think tank.

But the tax debate is far from finished. Congress approved a sweeping tax cuts package last year that the president signed into law, while Trump him- THE U.S. Capitol is seen, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Washington. self has sought a new tariffs regime, some blocked by the AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson courts.

People: Reconstruction, Civil Rights and the promise of equality It was a Saturday in 1867 when Congress passed one of the early Reconstruction Acts in the aftermath of the Civil War, overcoming a lengthy veto message from then-President Andrew Johnson. The era became a stress test of the system of checks and balances as Congress and the White House sparred — and ultimately led to the president's impeachment.

"Johnson regularly vetoed congressional Reconstruction legislation," according to the House website. "In response Congress overrode his vetoes more than any

other president."

Nearly a century later, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, seeking to end the persistent discrimination and racial violence against Black Americans.

More recently, those once-settled issues are being revisited again. The Supreme Court recently struck down part of the Voting Rights Act, unleashing a wave of redistricting battles that threaten to eliminate Black-majority congressional districts particularly in the Southern states.

And as the Trump administration seeks to decrease

the number of immigrants in the U.S., it appealed to the Supreme Court to strike down the Reconstruction Era's 14th Amendment, which guarantees birthright citizenship. While the Supreme Court rejected Trump's proposed limits, his court battles continue.

Health and social services: Building a safety net In signing the Social Security bill into law, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that even if the House and Senate had done nothing else, that session of Congress "would be regarded as historic for all time." Roosevelt said the Social Security

legislation was a "patriotic" bill that would provide seniors some measure of income protection "against poverty-ridden old age."

Thirty years later, Congress added the Social Security amendments, which stood up the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs for seniors and lower-income people. And by 2010, Congress approved the Affordable Care Act, expanding Medicaid and other health care options.

Some 75 million people now receive Social Security.

Two in five Americans use the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs. And more than 20 million are enrolled in the ACA, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Republicans in Congress tried to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump's first term, but those efforts collapsed. More recently, Trump's tax cuts bill required certain adults who use Medicaid to also work, volunteer or go to school, a shift that is expected to save billions of dollars as millions of people are thrown off the program.

Meanwhile, congressional Democrats shut down the government last fall as they tried, and failed, to preserve expiring Obamacare subsidies that help some people purchase health insurance.

Conflict: The powers of war While Congress has the authority to declare war, the president as the commander-in-chief executes it. That divide inherent in the Constitution has been called a "'twilight zone' of concurrent authority," according to a Congressional Research Service report, referring to an earlier Supreme Court opinion.

During the Vietnam War, Congress had had enough.

In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act, which requires, among other

provisions, that the president seek congressional approval of military action within 60 days of the start of a conflict.

President Richard Nixon promptly vetoed it.

"Saving our Nation from autocracy demands, at the minimum, that Congress begin the process of becoming again a truly coequal branch of Government," said Republican Sen. Mark Hatfield of Oregon during the debate to override Nixon's veto.

This year, Congress has voted multiple times on war powers resolutions that would stop Trump's military actions in Iran and Venezuela, and prevent attacks on Cuba. None has made it to the president's desk.

Behavior: Censures and expulsions set a tone Congress sets many of its own rules and, in the process, sets a tone for the nation.

The House first expelled members in 1861, ousting three representatives who "took up arms for the Confederacy during the Civil War," according to House history. The Senate notably censured anti-communist crusader, Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.

Once rare, censures and expulsions have become more common, particularly in the House.

In 2023, the House voted to expel Republican Rep. George Santos of New York after Ethics Committee investigators said they found "overwhelming evidence" that he had exploited his public position for his own profit.

More recently, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas resigned their seats rather than face possible reprisals over allegations about their personal conduct.

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PAGE 14, Thursday, September 10, 2026

THE TRIBUNE

World News

A NYC firehouse was first to respond on 9/11.

25 years on, Sal Argano is the last still on staff

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press SAL Argano got lucky.

When the World Trade Center was struck by hijacked jets on Sept. 11, 2001, the New York City firefighter was in Brooklyn, on loan to another station, rather than at his usual post at the small Manhattan firehouse just across an intersection from the twin towers.

He rushed downtown to find his firehouse badly damaged but still standing.

Six of its members, he’d later learn, were among the 343 New York City firefighters killed in the World Trade Center’s collapse.

“If I wasn’t sent out on rotation there would have been a good chance I would not be here today,” Argano says. “I think about that all the time.”

Almost 25 years later, Argano, now 65, is still on duty at the firehouse — the last of the firefighters assigned there in 2001 who still works there.

Today, the crews at the firehouse respond to emergency calls but also serve as

place,” said Capt. Terence Brody, who commands Ladder 10 and has worked at the station since 2016.

“People around the world know this firehouse. They’re going to come by and say hello.”

Ten House served key roles during and after 9/11

FIREFIGHTER SAL ARGANO, Ladder 10, poses for a portrait at FDNY “Ten House” near Ground Zero on Friday, August 7, 2026, in New York.

Photo: Angelina Katsanis/AP a de facto part of the 9/11 memorial, visited by crowds of tourists daily.

Some visitors come specifically to see the large bronze relief along the side of the building listing the names of the firefighters

killed on 9/11.

Others pause to take selfies as they pass by on their way to the National 9/11 Memorial plaza across the street, drawn by the sight of Engine 10 and Ladder 10, the gleaming trucks sitting

in the garage that give the station its nickname: Ten House.

“This is definitely one of those companies where if you don’t want to ingratiate yourself to the public, it’s definitely not the right

Brody, now 55, was still in the fire academy on 9/11.

Cadets grabbed their gear and were bused to ground zero.

The debris hung so thickly in the air around the fallen towers that it looked like it was snowing, he said.

“It was a beautiful sunny Tuesday, and then you’re in this kind of apocalyptic atmosphere,” Brody said.

“It was a little overwhelming, to say the least.”

In the days after the attack, Ten House served as both command center and safe space for weary first responders, he said. As the years passed, its crew had a front-row seat to the area’s rebirth.

Robert Favata joined Ladder 10 in 2008, fresh out of the academy.

In those early years, he worked beside a giant hole teeming with construction activity. Now 46, he looks out at a transformed landscape.

A pair of waterfall pools sit in the footprint of the old towers, ringed by parapets etched with the names of nearly 3,000 victims.

Below ground, the 9/11 Museum houses mangled steel beams, a destroyed fire truck and other artifacts.

New skyscrapers ring the memorial.

“When I got here, there was nothing,” Favata says.

“I never thought they were gonna finish.”

Today, an endless stream of visitors stop at firehouse Argano can be found most days perched near the station’s open bay doors, patiently answering questions, shaking hands and posing for photos.

He says Ten House firefighters have a unique charge: they’re both living testimonials to the events of 9/11 as well as public faces of the centuries-old FDNY. Argano says he tries to impress on younger firefighters — many increasingly not even born before the attacks — the importance of treating every visitor with respect.

“This is not like any other firehouse,” he said. “We have our fire duty, we have our responses, and then we have a responsibility toward the people outside.”

He acknowledges the task is not always easy. The

packs of gawking tourists can be relentless. Their questions can sometimes come across too personal, too insincere or just simply too out there.

Many of the younger firefighters tend to keep a lower profile for that reason, he said.

After responding to an early morning call this particular day, most of the crew heads to the back of the station to stow their gear or upstairs to help prepare lunch.

Argano meanwhile chats up a firefighter from France and his wife and then invites them into the station.

He points to a wall of patches from fire departments across the world that have been gifted over the years, as well as the wellworn helmets hanging in the rafters.

At another point, though, a lady asks — perhaps a bit too flippantly — what’s so special about Ten House.

Argano shrugs: “It’s just a fire station.” After she departs, he says it simply wasn’t worth the effort.

“If I need to explain to you all of that, then it’s like, ‘Pull up a seat’,” Argano said. “Let me get another cigarette. It’s gonna be a long one.”

Ten House members reflect on 9/11 milestone Favata considers the approaching 25th anniversary as likely one of his last before retirement. He worries, though, if he’s done enough to keep the memories of Ten House alive.

“When I got here, so many of the guys worked 9/11 and they told me their stories of that day,” Favata said, choking on tears. “I just hope I can give like a percentage of what they’ve told me to the younger guys.”

Brody, meanwhile, handed in his retirement papers Tuesday. His last day will be in October.

“It’s interesting to think that my first day in the field was right across the street, and this is where I’m gonna end my career,” said Brody, who writes screenplays in his spare time and has already had two of them turned into Hallmark Channel movies.

But Argano, who drives Engine 10, isn’t quite ready to pack it in. He fears something will be lost when no one is there who still remembers.

“I’m not done. I’m gonna be here as long as I can,” Argano said. “I’m going to keep telling them what I know, what I saw, what I’ve been through. Telling them the history of this firehouse. Everything I can remember.”

PAGE 16, Thursday, September 10, 2026

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