11182022 NEWS AND SPORT

BAHAMAS REBUTS FTX ACCESS CLAIMS

GREAT COMMISSION MINISTRIES SERVES UP A THANKSGIVING TREAT

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Securities Commis sion last night debunked accusations the Gov ernment “directed unauthorised access” to FTX’s systems, and aided the withdrawal of digital assets, in violation of Baha mian and US court orders.

Tribune Business has seen an emergency Supreme Court Order, dated Novem ber 12, 2022, that gave the regulator lawful permission to transfer assets potentially worth millions of dollars from FTX Digital Markets, the failed crypto exchange’s

Bahamian subsidiary, to “a safer space” amid fears they were about to be stolen by hackers.

The Order, by Justice Loren Klein, completely rebuts allegations made by John J. Ray, appointed as FTX’s chief executive in the wake of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing, that he possesses “credible evidence that the Bahamian government is responsible for directing unauthorised access to the debtors’ [FTX’s] systems for the purpose of obtain ing digital assets” held by the exchange on behalf of clients.

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson yesterday described the nation’s fiscal performance for the first quarter as “very encourag ing”, saying while officials see no reason why this positive trajectory can’t continue, they must also

remain cautious due to the possibility of a recession, among other factors.

Mr Wilson pointed to increased revenues and decreased expenditure as he provided an overview on the nation’s first quarter performance for the 20222023 fiscal year.

“Revenue collections

DISASTER Reconstruc tion Authority Chairman Alex Storr said yesterday it is possible that the DRA may have to help additional homeowners repair homes

as Hurricane Nicole may have exacerbated the chal lenges for some in Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Mr Storr said assessments were continuing on those islands as there were still some people who had not had their homes repaired

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

DISASTER Recon struction Authority Chairman Alex Storr said there were several options for temporary housing after Hurricane Dorian, adding that if there had

AN airplane with 20 people on board experienced landing gear issues at Lynden Pindling International Airport yesterday afternoon.

According to the Aircraft Acci dent Investigation Authority, the nose gear of an Embraer E110 aircraft with registration C6-CAB enroute from Haiti collapsed, which resulted in a runway excur sion taking place. There have been no reported injuries.

The AAIA said investigations are ongoing into the matter.

been practical thought, the results would have the former government spend ing a “fraction” of the $4.6m it expended on domes in Abaco.

DRA financial state ments tabled at Parliament show that Brickell Man agement Group (BMG)

Securities Commission given lawful permission to transfer assets to ‘a safer space’

GREAT Commission Ministries hosted a thanksgiving luncheon for scores of people at its Wulff Road headquarters yesterday. The feeding programme, which is celebrating 35 years of ministry and service this year, aimed to feed about 2,000 people yesterday. ‘Singing Bishop’ Lawrence Rolle (inset) is pictured at the event.

PHOTOS: Moise Amisial

WATSON DEFENDS GOVT’S

RESPONSE TO FTX COLLAPSE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRESS Secretary Clint Watson yesterday defended government’s response to FTX’s collapse, insisting that officials are communicating with the public as they get new informa tion in relation to the embattled cryptocurrency exchange.

Mr Watson was asked about the Davis administration’s public relations plan regarding FTX in the wake of criticisms about the government taking too long to respond to the ongoing saga or not being as forthcoming with information.

“It’s exactly what we’re doing, we’re communicating it as we get information,” he replied yesterday.

“Sometimes because informa tion doesn’t come to you as you would like, it doesn’t mean that it’s not coming.

“We want to make sure that whenever we speak on matters, we’re speaking with intelligence and the right people are speaking and every time it’s the govern ment that needs to speak there are regulators that you want to allow to be able to speak to their industry and their sector.

“The prime minister speaks when there is a need for him to speak and not just because people want a story or people want comments.

“We always maintain that we are a government of trans parency and that’s why we’re addressing your questions today and that’s why we’re giving you as many answers as we possibly can.

“We want to be prudent with anything that we say publicly because at the end of the day,

the government has a respon sibility to govern, lead and to protect its country and so we’re doing that and make no mistake about it, as information needs to be disseminated, it will be.”

Mr Watson was speaking at the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly press briefing yesterday where reporters fielded ques tions about FTX’s collapse.

However, the press secretary declined to comment on most questions related to crypto currency exchange because of ongoing investigations.

In his first public remarks on FTX, Prime Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis told the House of Assembly on Wednesday he had

ordered that local investigations be of the highest order and given precedence. He also revealed that inves tigations will be a coordinated

effort with “duly appointed authorities” in other jurisdic tions and also, he said he had every confidence The Bahamas will emerge from proceedings related to FTX with an enhanced reputation as a solid digital assets jurisdiction.

The prime minister advised that government officials have not identified any deficiencies in the nation’s regulatory frame work that could have prevented FTX’s implosion and further cautioned “those who care about our country’s reputation” to tread carefully when speaking about matters related to FTX.

Free National Movement Leader and Marco City MP

Michael Pintard, however, has since criticised Mr Davis’ remarks, saying he was stunned “at the brevity and to a large extent, the hollowness” of his comments on FTX’s collapse.

Mr Pintard added: “We are facing a substantial risk to our financial services sector and one would’ve expected that since the international community’s eyes are trained on the Com monwealth of The Bahamas that on this occasion that this DavisCooper administration would’ve thought it necessary to break its silence much earlier with a far more comprehensive statement given the gravity of this.”

‘Very encouraging’ first quarter fiscal performance

for the first quarter of the fiscal year was estimated at $654.3m, which is a 9.7 increase over the previous year’s quarter,” the financial secretary said during a press briefing at the Office of The Prime Minister yesterday.

“The key improvements were VAT, which increased by $35.4m, departure tax by $26.9m and exercised duties by $23.6m, stamp tax of financial transactions – $1.8m.

“Expenditure decreased by $58m or 7.9 percent in comparison to the previ ous year’s first quarter. This represents 20 percent of the budget target so expenditure is in line with the budget target and what drove the expendi ture increase was a $13.2m decrease in subsidies which decreased by $16.7m, use of goods and service decreased by $13.2m.

“Social assistance for COVID-19 continued to decline.

“That decreased by $41.9m against the previ ous year quarter, which was very elevated.

“Obviously, because of the higher debt burden, we saw an increase in interest debt payments of $10.5m and we saw an increase in pension gratuity payments.

“So, in the first quarter, if you would recall, the gov ernment signed a number of industrial agreements, reinstated increments and promotions and really tried to deal with the issue of arrears to public officers.”

He noted an overall decline in the fiscal deficit for the first quarter when compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.

He added: “So overall, the fiscal position for the first quarter was very, very encouraging.”

When asked if officials expect this positive trend to continue, Mr Wilson said he was both optimis tic and cautious for several reasons.

He said: “We see no reason why it can’t continue but, however, there are pos sible headwinds. Obviously, the global economy repre sents risks. Elevated prices for fuel, which impacts both BPL and the Water and Sewerage Corporation,

represents a risk that we have to manage very carefully.

“And the potential of a recession, which may impact tourism numbers is a risk but overall, you know, on the revenue side, it’s been very, very encour aging. If you know our revenue is cyclical.

“Most of our revenue comes in during the third and fourth quarter fiscal period so, we look forward to that but we don’t want to celebrate too quickly. It’s a work in progress, I say.”

Mr Wilson also explained that a spike in illegal migra tion could “throw off the budget” tremendously given the feeding and trans portation costs associated with deportation exercises.

As for how the govern ment will maintain this positive financial perfor mance given the announced rise in minimum wage, Mr Wilson noted the govern ment was trying to make “smart investments and lower operating costs” going forward.

“So, this month, hope fully, we will bring all public officers up to the minimum wage so all public officers by the end of November payday will be at or above

minimum wage,” he said. “All arrears of public offices will be paid so we built that into our budget you know.”

He also estimated some $3m in arrears owed to roughly 3,000 civil workers “whose salary was below the minimum wage.”

“In terms of what’s hap pened with BPL increase, which is a staggered increase over 18 months. One of the things that I

think that was said, and I’ll repeat it, is the reason why you stagger the increases is to allow persons a chance to adjust behaviour to lower the costs.”

Mr Wilson continued: “So, for example, you may have seen the Ministry of Finance with BPL is going through a street light ing project – changing the street lights and so forth. That’s going to lower elec tricity costs.

“In addition, we have in today’s paper for exam ple, we have issued an RFP for rooftop solar which is a big part of our plans. Again, all those things have been done to really bal ance things out and making smart investments to reduce cost, operating costs going forward.”

Economic Affairs Min ister Michael Halkitis previously said that officials in finance remained “cau tiously optimistic” that The Bahamas would not enter a recession as he pointed to it being in the midst of a very strong economic rebound led by tourism.

“My take is we don’t claim it,” he said last month. “We don’t claim recession, all right. There are differ ent opinions. Some people think we’re already in it. Some economists say that, you know, it’s going to happen.

“Our experience is that we are in the midst of a very strong rebound in our economy led by tourism,” he also said.

PRESS Secretary Clint Watson speaking yesterday. Photo: Moise Amisial

“We always maintain that we are a government of transparency and that’s why we’re addressing your questions today and that’s why we’re giving you as many answers as we possibly can.”

Press

Secretary Clint Watson

FROM PAGE ONE

FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson. (File photo)

Recovering addict disappointed with Mental Health Bill

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

A RECOVERING addict recalled her trou bled past with drugs, while urging the government to do more than pass leg islation to assist people suffering from mental illnesses.

Brandis Thompson, a 28-year-old resident of Freeport, Grand Bahama, vividly explained the life style she once knew, as she initially started using mari juana as a teenager, which later mushroomed into using cocaine.

According to Ms Thomp son, cocaine provided a “euphoric” experience for her, as she felt invincible. Outside of the high the drug provided for her, she said there were many side effects such as irritability, discomfort and being easily angered.

These comments come one day after members of Parliament debated the Mental Health Bill, which once enacted, will allow people suffering with mental illness to be better protected.

The legislation, which aims to repeal the current Mental Health Act, was first laid before Parliament by Health Minister Dr Michael Darville in July.

However, Ms Thompson said this Bill alone is not sufficient, as she believed it would be more effective if it focused on prevention measures rather than cure.

“Frankly, I was dis appointed at the Bill. Obviously I would have assumed that mentally ill people had all those rights already. But I was hoping to see more along the lines of prevention of mental illness,” she told this

newspaper yesterday.

As a recovering drug addict, Ms Thompson recalled the feelings she had after experiencing cocaine.

“I’ll never forget the first time because it was something that I never felt before. I was so euphoric. I felt like I was just on a mountain or like in a cloud, and I felt like I could do anything. I felt so brave, you know,” she told this newspaper yesterday.

Beneath her addiction was a struggle with mental health. Ms Thompson

pointed to suffering from anxiety and depression, adding that the drug use made her mental state deteriorate.

“When cocaine was intro duced to me, everything just got worse. I was depressed. I didn’t want to go outside. I used to keep my phone off. I was just obsessed with get ting and using the drug.

“But, yeah, my mental health declined, within a short matter of months. I was a completely differ ent person, and I didn’t even want to look at myself in the mirror anymore

because I had lost so much weight. My skin was bad. My eyes were yellow. And I just hated myself because I was so hell bent on still using, even though it really messed my life up,” she continued.

The mother of one said she has been on and off the drug since the start of the pandemic in 2020, however she has since joined the road to sobriety. She dedicated her sobri ety journey to her son, despite being admitted to Sandilands for the third time most recently in October.

After seeking treatment in New Providence, the resident of Grand Bahama

urged the government to further develop mental health institutions on all major Family Islands, saying The Bahamas has an “active drinking and drug culture”.

According to Dr Darville, the objective of the bill is to preserve the human rights of those diagnosed with mental illnesses, to ensure that appropriate levels of mental health care and treatment options are avail able in our communities; to empower persons with mental illness to make deci sions about their care and treatment, while providing safeguards to protect them and ensure they are treated fairly and humanely.

Ms Thompson thinks more preventative care is needed.

“It shouldn’t be after get ting in police custody, then help is offered to you, it has to start from early. A lot of these things can be identified from early. A lot of mental illness stems from trauma and if we could avoid putting our kids through so much trauma, we would eliminate a lot of mental illness,” she told this newspaper yesterday.

She encouraged the gov ernment to be proactive rather than reactive, by teaching the youth healthy coping mechanisms.

CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS TO RECEIVE TRAINING ON HOW TO MANAGE MENTALLY ILL INMATES

By JADE RUSSELL jrussell@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said yesterday that officers at the Bahamas Depart ment of Correctional Services who oversee men tally ill inmates will be receiving training on how to effectively manage them.

“Now we have to not only get them (mentally ill inmates) treatment, but the correctional offic ers who deal with them need training. The Correc tional Service of Canada is coming down to give our officers some training and the American Correctional Association is also offering us assistance,” he said.

Mr Munroe explained that the mental strain of being admitted into prison can be challenging for inmates, even those who were not previously consid ered mentally ill.

“Considering that you have persons who are diagnosed mentally ill and then you also have persons through being in prison can put stress on you. And although you may not have been mentally ill before you were admitted, the fact that that added stress can lead to it. So, it is important to have the available compe tencies in there to address the needs of those persons.”

The management of inmates suffering from mental illnesses in prison has been criticised recently.

Kensey Cooper, a men tally ill inmate, died in hospital on October 25 two weeks after a prison fight.

Mr Cooper’s family called for justice and accused cor rectional officers of not paying attention to the inmates the night the attack occurred.

In a Facebook post, a

relative of the deceased claimed prison officers were not properly monitoring inmates, alleging that Mr Cooper was beaten by two other inmates “for hours well into the night until he was unconscious.” The relative claimed Mr Cooper was not discovered until the next morning.

However, Mr Munroe noted the Bahamas Depart ment of Correctional Services (BDCS) is taking steps to address the needs of mentally ill inmates, adding that a psychiatrist and other mental profes sionals will be hired to work solely at BDCS to help them.

He continued: “Under the new mental health ser vices Bill that we debated in Parliament, we’re going to have a mental health facility, which means we’re going to have professionals who could give the service and have that facility where they can be housed safely.”

For his part, acting Com missioner of Corrections Doan Cleare said yester day, “We (correctional officers) pretty much need the same training as those

“This training is geared towards us reducing as much as possible of them harming themselves or other persons. You know, once they (correctional officers) are trained, they can pick up on these vari ous signs.”

He said inmates who are mentally ill tend to be “strong” and “hyperactive”, adding that a specific kind of supervision is needed for them.

Although Commissioner Cleare did not give an official date on when the training for the officers will start, he said officials are sorting out the details.

When asked how many mentally ill inmates were currently in prison, he said there were 81 on record, but unofficially it could be more.

Currently Sandilands Rehabilitation staff go to the prison to treat inmates with mental illness.

officers who are over at Sandilands.”

Commissioner Cleare said correctional officers have to be able to detect signs in mentally ill inmates when something is wrong.

BRANDIS Thompson (above) and (right) outside Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe.

Vendors voice disappointment after Grand Lucyan sale falls through

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunememdia.net

STRUGGLING straw vendors at Port Lucaya Marketplace are disap pointed over the Grand Lucayan hotel sale fallout.

Although two cruise ships were in port when this newspaper visited this week, vendors were also frustrated over the lack of tourists at the marketplace.

“I feel bad about it because they promised us that it was sold, and when push came to shove, it was not sold,” said a vendor who spoke on the condi tion of anonymity. “Things are very tough in PL. Right now, today we have boats in, and we can’t even make $50.”

In May, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper and Grand Bahama Min ister Ginger Moxey, along with the board members of Lucayan Renewal Hold ings Limited, announced that Electra America Hos pitality Group had entered into an agreement to pur chase Grand Lucayan for $100m, and had plans to invest $300m to develop the property.

Many of the straw ven dors were optimistic and some were present during the official announcement held at the hotel.

Earlier this month, Mr Cooper reported that the deal with the prospective buyer was off after ongo ing stalling due to repeated requests for due diligence extensions.

“The hotel not being sold is a blow to Port Lucaya, and we are all disappointed about it,” vendor Lorenzo McKenzie said.

Mr McKenzie was also concerned by the lack of cruise ship visitors at the marketplace, even with two ships in port.

“Today we have a boat day and there are no people here,” he said on Tuesday. “Our real issue as vendors other than from the hotel is the lack of tourist attrac tion to bring them up to PL - that is our number one issue.”

Of the 4,000 cruise visi tors on the island, he said that fewer than 100 were at

PLM.

“I was out here from 6.30am and there are few of them out here,” he said.

“The vendors here are hurt ing and frustrated and tired. We had 2,200 passengers come here on one boat and another 1,500 on a second boat. That is almost 4,000, but we have not seen 100.

“If we can get 1,000 visi tors that would be great,

but 50 people or 100 per sons in PL won’t make it happen, and this will be a hard Christmas for a lot of people.”

“And so, we are look ing for the government and those in authority to make smart decisions for PL also. We are the second largest employees at PL, and we are not making it, and that is the tragedy.”

Mr McKenzie acknowl edged Ms Moxey for an initiative that was launched to attract people to Port Lucaya.

“They had music and Junkanoo here at Port Lucaya and we would love to see it back again because that brought people,” he added.

In terms of the cruise ships, he said they are

looking for the government to find some incentive to attract people.

Vendor Angelo said while the government gave stipends to vendors earlier this year, it was not enough.

“They visited the straw market a couple of months ago and gave all the ven dors in Grand Bahama $500 to keep us happy for a while. The cost of living is through the roof. How long was $500 supposed to last when we have rent, shop rent, light, water, and other bills to pay?”

Angelo said that he applied for the $5,000 small business grant announced by Ms Moxey, he has not received any word yet con cerning his application.

He also expressed his frustration over the lack of sales, especially on a boat day in Grand Bahama.

In addition to their booth rent, which is due on the 15th, he said vendors also must pay the Grand Bahama Port Authority a $100 shop licence fee. He said next year the fee will increase to $300.

Another vendor hopes that the government can find another buyer soon.

“I feel very disappointed that the sale did not go through, but I pray and hope they have something in the making to substitute because we depend mostly on the hotel guests than the cruise ship visitors as our source income,” she said.

Dorothy Pratt Bain said she had not made a dollar all day.

“Two ships are here and there is nobody in PL. We have been sitting here all day trying to make a dollar,” she said. “My MP Ginger Moxey, we are call ing on you baby to come and check on us. We at PL western market are really hurting.”

Ms Pratt Bain thinks the former government should have never bought the hotel.

“I know Chester Cooper will find the right one; don’t bring no broke people who trying to borrow from our bank,” she said.

since Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

He spoke to the issue yesterday after a newly tabled DRA report said the authority would need $6,444,828 to facilitate the repair of 3,735 homes.

The report only detailed information as of June 30, 2021.

It was tabled in the House of Assembly on Wednesday and covers a 19-month period from December 1, 2019, to June 30, 2021.

“As we go through the assessments we will get a better figure,” Mr Storr said yesterday when asked if there were still more than 3,700 homes to be repaired.

“That will take a while because we have quite a number of assessments. So far the government has allocated us $2 million.

“We began assessments in Grand Bahama in ear nest and we hope to begin very shortly in Abaco and as we do the assessments we’re also working so we probably won’t have the figure until after the pro gramme when we know what it is because right now we can’t even give you an accurate figure as people are still coming in to apply for assistance, especially after Nicole that has exasperated the situa tion because persons may have been in unlivable con ditions after Dorian, but Nicole may have caused

some increase in leaks and everything else and so more people are coming in.”

He said he was uncer tain as some people in past months repaired their own homes while others remained in need of help.

According to the audit as of June 30, 2021, the Small Homes Repair Programme approved 3,735 homeown ers for assistance in the disaster zone.

“The government of The Bahamas committed to complete 2,692 or 72 percent of those approved homeowners in what was categorised as stage one,” independent auditor LDL and Associates said.

“In the budget estimates and allocations for the year July 2021 through June 2022, a commitment of $2m was designated to complete stage one and assist homeowners in what has been labelled as stage two.”

The report said: “The DRA on behalf of the government of The Baha mas, is committed to spend an additional $6,444,828 to complete the SHRP funding for the 3,735 homeowners who were approved through June 30, 2021.

“This will require additional funding from the government of The Bahamas and a specific timeline for funding this commitment has not yet been established.”

received $4.6m of $6.4m for infra structure and construction of 213 domes on storm ravaged Abaco, but discontinued the work having only completed about 16 percent of the structures.

Mr Storr suggested that the best possible solution was not capitalised upon.

However, Mr Storr said Sebas Bastian’s BMG should not carry the blame alone, blaming the former administration.

While the DRA has determined that no further money was owed to the company, BMG’s initial position was that they were owed $1,129,182.

They were prepared to settle for a sum of $1m, which was further reduced to $600,000, the audit said.

But the chairman yesterday main tained that the DRA board said it owed nothing more to BMG.

“I would say this, since I have been chair, I have been pitched sev eral proposals for temporary housing that would have been far more suit able, more comfortable at a fraction of the cost,” Mr Storr said yesterday when he was asked if the undertak ing was a waste of taxpayer funds.

“With some practical thought more could have been done to get the best possible solution for the residents in those disaster zones. We are work ing feverishly to plan and research to avoid making similar pitfalls in the future.”

Asked about the money in dis pute, he said the conversations “seemed to have stalled.”

“The board has taken a position that we feel that we don’t owe them anything based on what was done, what was paid out, what we received and what we were able to locate,” he said.

“They were contracted to build

some 200 odd domes and only built a small percentage of that but received the lion’s share of the money so that was the big issue.”

Asked whether there were plans to recover some of the money from BMG, Mr Storr said the company should not carry the blame alone.

“Part of it and don’t put any of the blame on Brickell. Part of it was the former administration that was in place and the DRA received items and inventory from Brickell that can’t be accounted for. So, we can’t say that we received those. Brickell

may have turned over goods and a fair amount at that, but we can’t locate it and that is a big part of the problem and some of the kitchen items that were located were a part of that.

“Stuff could be floating around someplace in Abaco and we still have the forensic audit that may bring up even more items that may go for ward for investigation. So, even with the completion of the financial audit there is a lot out there and a lot will be done, and the chips will fall where they may when it’s over.”

LORENZO McKenzie

DOROTHY Pratt-Bain

THE STRAWMARKET at Port Lucaya Marketplace.

THE STRAW market on the western side at Port Lucaya Marketplace.

Photos: Denise Maycock

COUNT Basie Square.

AN EXAMPLE of one of the dome homes in Abaco, pictured in 2019.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

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Using the ocean to fight climate change raises serious environmental justice and technical questions

(THE CONVERSATION) Heat waves, droughts and extreme weather are endan gering people and ecosystems somewhere in the world almost every day. These extremes are exacerbated by climate change, driven primarily by increasing emissions of greenhouse gases that build up in the atmosphere and trap heat at the Earth’s surface.

With that in mind, researchers are exploring ways to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and lock it away –including using the ocean. But while these techniques might work, they raise serious technical, social and ethical questions, many of which have no clear answers yet.

We study climate change policy, sustain ability and environmental justice. Before people start experimenting with the health of the ocean, there are several key ques tions to consider.

• Ocean carbon dioxide removal 101

The ocean covers about 70% of the planet, and it naturally takes up carbon dioxide. In fact, about a quarter of humanproduced carbon dioxide ends up in the ocean.

Ocean carbon dioxide removal is any action designed to use the ocean to remove even more carbon dioxide from the atmos phere than it already does and store it.

It spans a wide range of techniques –from increasing the amount and vitality of carbon dioxide-absorbing mangrove forests to using ocean fertilisation to stim ulate the growth of phytoplankton that absorb carbon dioxide to building pipe lines that pump liquid carbon dioxide into formations under the seabed, where it can eventually solidify as carbonate rock.

There are other forms of carbon dioxide removal – planting trees, for example. But they require large amounts of land that is needed for other essential uses, such as agriculture.

That’s why interest in using the vast ocean is growing.

Would these methods store enough carbon?

The first crucial question is whether ocean carbon dioxide removal techniques could significantly reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it long term, beyond what the ocean already does. Greenhouse gas emissions are still increas ing globally, which means that ocean carbon dioxide removal would need to keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere for a long time, at least until greenhouse gas emissions have fallen.

Initial evidence suggests that some forms of ocean carbon dioxide removal, such as those that rely on short-lived bio mass like kelp forests or phytoplankton, may not keep captured carbon stored for more than a few decades.

That’s because most plant tissues are quickly recycled by decay or by sea crea tures grazing on them.

In contrast, mechanisms that form min erals, like the interaction when carbon dioxide is pumped into basalt formations, or that alter the way seawater retains carbon dioxide, such as increasing its alka linity, prevent carbon from escaping and are much more likely to keep it out of the atmosphere for hundreds or thousands of years.

• Ecological risks and benefits

Another key question is what ecologi cal benefits or risks accompany different ocean carbon dioxide removal approaches.

Research shows that some options, such as supporting mangrove forests, may promote biodiversity and benefit nearby human communities.

However, other options could intro duce novel risks. For example, growing and then sinking large amounts of kelp or algae could bring in invasive species. Dis solving certain types of rock in the ocean could reduce ocean acidity. This would enhance the ocean’s ability to store carbon dioxide, but these rocks could also contain trace amounts of metals that could harm marine life, and these risks are not well understood.

Each process could also release some greenhouse gases, reducing its overall effectiveness.

• Interfering with nature is a social

question

The ocean affects everyone on the planet, but not everyone will have the

same relationship to it or the same oppor tunities to have their opinions heard.

Much of the global population lives near the ocean, and some interventions might impinge on places that support jobs and communities.

For example, boosting algae growth could affect nearby wild fisheries or interfere with recreation. People and com munities are going to evaluate these risks differently depending on how they are personally affected.

In addition, people’s trust in deci sion-makers often shapes their views of technologies. Some ways of using the ocean to remove carbon, such as those close to the shore, could be governed locally.

It’s less clear how decisions about the high seas or deep ocean would be made, since these areas are not under the juris diction of any one country or global governing body.

People’s perceptions will likely also be shaped by such factors as whether or not they see ocean carbon dioxide removal as interfering with nature or protecting it. However, views of what is acceptable or not can change. As the impacts of cli mate change increase, tolerance for some unconventional interventions seems to be growing.

• It’s also an ethical question Ocean carbon dioxide removal also raises a variety of ethical questions that do not have straightforward answers.

For example, it forces people to con sider the relationship between humans and nonhumans.

Are humans obliged to intervene to reduce the impact on the climate, or ought we avoid ocean interventions?

Do people have the right to purpose fully intervene in the ocean or not?

Are there specific obligations that humans ought to recognise when consider ing such options?

Other ethical questions revolve around who makes decisions about ocean carbon dioxide removal and the consequences. For example, who should be involved in decision-making about the ocean? Could relying on ocean carbon dioxide removal reduce societies’ commitment to reducing emissions through other means, such as by reducing consumption, increasing effi ciency and transforming energy systems?

Who pays?

Finally, ocean carbon dioxide removal could be very expensive.

For example, mining and then adding rocks to reduce the ocean’s acidity has been estimated to cost between US$60 and $200 per ton of carbon dioxide removed. To put that into context, the world pro duced more than 36 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from energy alone in 2021.

Even macroalgae cultivation could be in the tens of billions of dollars if done at the scale likely necessary to have an impact.

These methods are more expensive than many actions that reduce emissions right now.

For instance, using solar panels to avoid carbon emissions can range from saving money to a cost of $50 per ton of carbon dioxide, while actions like reducing meth ane emissions are even less expensive. But the harm from continued climate change has been estimated to be in the hundreds of billions annually in the United States alone.

These costs raise more questions. For example, how much debt is fair for future generations to carry, and how should the costs be distributed globally to fix a global problem?

Ocean carbon dioxide removal could become a useful method for keeping global warming in check, but it should not be seen as a silver bullet, especially since there isn’t an effective global system for making decisions about the ocean.

Sarah Cooley, a former research sci entist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and director of climate science at the Ocean Conservancy, contributed to this article.

(This article is by Sonja Klinsky, Ari zona State University and Terre Satterfield, University of British Columbia for the conversation.com. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Commending the police on performance

EDITOR, The Tribune.

IT IS with the greatest of pleasure, that I write to commend the Com missioner of Police and members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force for the remarkable perfor mance in the arrests for violent crimes (murders, armed robbery and rape) and the recovery of guns and ammunition from criminals on our streets. The Oath of Office, which reads: “I do swear that I will be faithful and bear True Allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elize beth (no) King Charles) His Heirs and Successors according to Law is being kept and most importantly the Mission Statement continues to have a posi tive effect on the standard of performance and public relations.

For public information the Force’s Mission State ment reads; “The Force in partnership with all citi zens, residents and visitors exists to provide a quality of law enforcement ser vice with emphasis on the maintenance of law and order, the preservation of peace, the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of all laws with which it is charged. We will perform our duties in a manner which reflects fairness, sensitiv ity and compassion.

Yet we shall be in firm pursuit of all offenders of our laws, so as to ensure a safe and just society where neither crime nor fear of crime adversely affects the quality of life. We shall accomplish these goals with a high degree of professional ism through leadership and teams of individu als, who are competent, ethical and dedicated. We shall discharge our duties with courage, integrity, loyalty and being ever mindful of a changing environment with willing ness to embrace justified criticism and the need for change.” It is my opinion, that our Police Officers by their efficient/effec tive performance and the results being achieved are

LETTERS

abiding and adhering to the terms of the Mission Statement.

It appears to me, that public relations and public cooperation are at high levels and we are on the way to winning the War on Crime. There is the need for more support from our Courts. I concur with statements made by our Minister of National Security and Commis sioner of Police with regards to Bail. I am par ticularly concerned about the lengthy period in the trials in the Supreme Courts.

We should consider taking a Look at Mrs May nard Gibson’s plan for what she called, “Quick Justice”. Also, the sug gestion by a former Chief Justice to introduce Trials by Judges as is the case in many European countries.

I would like to see the Gun and Drug Court reestablished for the speedy trial of those offenders. It is my experience, that Police Officers are happier when recognised, com mended and rewarded for good work.

This is particularly so when done by members of the public in praising the Police for its standard of performance.

I must also recognise and commend the support received from the other law enforcement agen cies, such as the Defence Force and Bahamas Immigration.

The work must be continued, efficiently, effectively, with intensity and must be continued, effectively, with intensity and aggression. The minor offences must also be aggressively addressed.

PAUL THOMPSON, Sr Nassau, November, 2022.

letters@tribunemedia.net

HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., centre, is surrounded by members of the media as she heads back to her office after speaking on the House floor at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday. See page 11 for more. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

AMERICAN MAN FINED FOR DRUGS POSSESSION

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

MAN BAILED ON CHARGES OF STEALING AND ESCAPE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted bail in Mag istrate’s Court yesterday on theft and escape charges.

George Bamfo, Jr, 32, and Sophia Ridgner, 23, both of Atlanta, appeared before Magistrate Samuel McKinney on a charge of possession of dangerous drugs.

At around 1.30pm on November 16, while trav elling together through the US Customs area, the pair was arrested for suspected dangerous drug possession. Seven grams of Indian hemp were recovered by authori ties in the defendants’ luggage.

After their arrest, Bamfo admitted to the offence and claimed sole ownership of the drugs.

In court Bamfo pleaded guilty while Ridgner pleaded not guilty.

After being informed that Bamfo has no ante cedents the magistrate ordered him to pay a fine of $400 or risk two months in prison. Ridgner was discharged.

Lester Williams, appeared before Mag istrate Samuel McKinney on charges of vagrancy, unlawful possession, steal ing from a shop and escape from lawful custody.

Williams is accused of stealing the cash register from Da Junkanoo Grill, which contained $100 in cash, on November 12.

Williams is further alleged to have

been found on Marlborough Street on November 14 without giving authorities a satisfactory account of why he was there.

At the same time officers reportedly found the accused with a gold necklace and bracelet, both suspected of being stolen.

Then on November 16 it is said that Williams managed to briefly escape from lawful custody before being recaptured by police.

In court he pleaded not guilty to all four charges against him.

Bail was granted in the sum of $2,500.

Williams is expected to return to court on January 5, 2023 for his trial.

FIVE CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH FIREARM AND AMMUNITION SEIZURE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

FIVE men were charged in Magistrate’s Court in connection with a recent seizure of a firearm and ammunition.

Dean Smith, 20, Makaveli Tinker, 23, Dwight Stubbs, 31, Nathaniel Bain, 36, and Moneko Curtis, 30, all stood before Senior

Magistrate Derence A Rolle Davis on charges of possession of an unli censed firearm and possession of ammunition.

On November 13, the men were arrested by authorities after they were found with a black Aus tria Glock .40 pistol with the serial number erased. At the time of their arrest they were also found with 11 unfired rounds of

.40mm ammunition.

While Dean pleaded guilty to the charge his co-accused all pleaded not guilty.

Bail was granted to the defendants at $6,000 each with one surety. The matter was adjourned to December 7 for Smith’s sentencing and determi nation on the strength of case against the remaining defendants.

POLICE ‘HAVE NOT INTERVIEWED FTX CEO’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE have not interviewed former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Com missioner of Police Clayton Fernander said.

He said police are waiting for infor mation from the Securities Commission regarding the FTX investigation.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force announced on Sunday that police are working with the Securities Commission to investigate if any “criminal miscon duct occurred” in view of the crypto exchange giant’s collapse.

Asked for an update on the investi gation on Wednesday, Commissioner Fernander told reporters: “There’s not much I can say. There was a state ment that I sent out on Sunday that the

MORE THAN $32,000 RAISED FOR HURRICANE MEMORIAL FUND

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

MORE

“We have raised, at the fundraiser that was here in Nassau, $32,832,” the press secretary said when asked for an update on the fund.

The Courage to Rebuild Fund was launched in Sep tember in an effort to assist in the rebuilding and relief for residents of Grand Bahama and Abaco.

Donations to the fund were made on Aliv’s online platform, togetherba hamas.com and also at concerts held in New Prov idence and Grand Bahama as a part of Dorian memorial week that was held between August 26 to September 4.

According to officials from the Office of The Prime Minister, the dona tions are expected to be distributed to NGOs who have been on the ground in Abaco and Grand Bahama doing relief work.

Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco on September 1, 2019, as a category five hurricane before barreling toward Grand Bahama, causing widespread devastation and countless deaths.

Just last week, the islands were hit by another storm, Hurricane Nicole.

Nicole made landfall on Abaco November 9 as a tropical storm before strengthening to a category one hurricane over Grand Bahama.

However, unlike Dorian, the storm caused minimal damage and there were no reported casualties.

Security Commission is in full control of the investigation at this point. We are still working alongside them and we are just waiting on information from them that we could move forward. That’s the most I could tell you at this present moment.”

Last week, local regulators moved to protect clients of The Bahamas’ flagship crypto currency investor by “freezing” its assets, and seizing control of the company.

In addition, the US Justice Depart ment is also investigating FTX.

According to Tribune Business, the probes are said to be focusing on whether Mr Bankman-Fried and FTX used customers’ deposits to fund bets and trading activities at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.

Client funds are supposed to be kept separate from company assets, and

there were suggestions the FTX founder has committed the “ultimate sin” by tap ping into FTX’s custodial assets to fund Alameda Research. Commissioner Fer nander said he had no communication with the US investigators and does not know if the Securities Commission did.

He also shot back at specula tion on social media about the police investigation.

“Please we don’t investigate in social media we deal with facts and as I‘ve indicated we have not spoken to him. We are waiting for information from the Securities Commission.

“As you are fully aware, they’re in charge of the investigation at this point. And as it comes available we will update you. But at this point in time, we are not investigating this matter at this time, but we are in communication with the commission.”

INDECENT ASSAULT CHARGES

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO men were placed on overnight remand yester day in connection with two separate charges of indecent assault.

Henry Williams, 46, faced Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain on two counts of indecent assault.

Between April 1-30, Williams is accused of indecently assaulting a 19-year-old female. Wil liams is further alleged to have once again indecently assaulted the complainant on October 7.

After electing to continue his case before the magis trate, Williams pleaded not guilty to the offence. How ever, his bail application

was deferred to today as the prosecution required time to confirm whether the accused has a criminal history.

In the meantime Williams was placed on remand over night until his next court appearance.

The second accused, Kron Wallace, 21, also appeared before Magistrate Swain on a separate charge of inde cent assault.

Wallace is accused of indecently assaulting a woman on November 15 at West Bay Street.

In court he elected to continue his case before Magistrate Swain and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Wallace was also placed on remand overnight as he awaits a decision on his bail in court today.

THREE ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH SEPARATE ARMED ROBBERIES

POLICE said quick response by officers resulted in the arrest of one man and two teenagers in connec tion with two separate armed robberies that occurred on Wednesday.

The first incident happened shortly after 4pm at a business on Montagu Beach.

According to initial reports, a woman was approached by two young men, one allegedly armed with a handgun. The boys stole the woman’s hand bag and robbed the establishment of an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing the area on foot.

Officers from the Mobile Division apprehended a Kemp Road boy and recovered a handbag in con nection with this incident. The other juvenile remains at large.

The second incident occurred shortly after 10pm in the area of Poinciana Avenue.

Police said the victim was approached by two men, one allegedly armed with a handgun. The suspects robbed him of cash before fleeing the area on foot. The victim was able to point out the direction in which the suspects fled.

Moments later, officers from “Operation Just Road” sprang into action and arrested an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old in the area of Watlings Street and Cordeaux Avenue. During this arrest, a handgun, a quantity of marijuana along with cash believed to be the property of the victim was recovered from the suspects. Both males are assisting police with their investigation.

BNT selects Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle as its new Executive Director

INCOMING Bahamas National Trust Executive Director Lakeshia Ander son-Rolle will be the first woman to lead the country’s foremost envi ronmental stewardship organisation as it charts an ambitious course towards a sustainable and climate resilient future.

Having worked with BNT for more than a decade, Ms AndersonRolle has now ascended to the highest level of leadership within the organisation. BNT said she has deep working knowledge of the entity and the key conservation and stewardship roles the organisation plays across the length and breadth of The Bahamas.

“It is a true honour to accept the role of BNT executive director and the incredible responsibili ties and opportunities that come with it,” Ms Ander son-Rolle said. “I now have the amazing oppor tunity to fulfil my life’s work to protect and sus tain the natural resources of The Bahamas for future generations. The Baha mas’ national park system is our country’s unique crown jewel - there is nothing like it anywhere in the world.

“Our national parks preserve and protect our way of life, and help to protect us from our own destructive behaviour.

The BNT’s focus moving forward will be rooted in effective national park management and engag ing the Bahamian people and the world in this cru cial work. Together we will accomplish great things for The Bahamas as we focus on the BNT’s core priorities: parks,

science, and education.”

As a former assistant fisheries officer in the Department of Marine Resources and long-time BNT national parks man ager, Ms Anderson-Rolle is keenly focused on the critical environmental and economic challenges facing The Bahamas. Today, all Caribbean nations face increased climate disasters, the economic impacts of the fast-spreading coral pan demic Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD), the sharp decline of key fisheries, and severe

wetland and terrestrial habitat loss. Ms Ander son-Rolle will lead BNT and the Bahamian public headlong into these realities. She is deeply committed to forging innovative solutions and driving results for future generations.

BNT Council President Geoff Andrews stated, “This BNT leadership team is committed to making an environmen tally sustainable future for all Bahamians and uplifting our national park system at home and around the globe. We believe that Lakeshia

Anderson-Rolle is the ideal leader to help us recruit all Bahamians to the cause of protecting and restoring the precious, delicate ecosystems that play such a fundamental part in making this the best country in the world to live.”

Outgoing Executive Director Eric Carey has enthusiastically endorsed his replacement.

“I am extremely pleased that Lakeshia has been selected to take the BNT through the next chapter of its incredible conserva tion history. She is highly respected by her BNT

colleagues, as well as the Bahamian and inter national conservation communities. Lakeshia has consistently exceeded the BNT’s expectations, rising to every occasion on the journey across her tenure. Lakeshia is without question the envi ronmental leader for the future of The Bahamas,” he said.

AN American man was fined yesterday after drugs were found in his luggage at Lynden Pindling Inter national Airport.

than $32,000 was raised for the Hurricane Dorian memorial fund that was created by the govern ment to assist storm victims still recovering from the monster storm, Press Secretary Clint Watson revealed yesterday.

“I now have the amazing opportunity to fulfil my life’s work to protect and sustain the natural resources of The Bahamas for future generations. The Bahamas’ national park system is our country’s unique crown jewelthere is nothing like it anywhere in the world.”

Incoming Bahamas National Trust Executive Director Lakeshia Anderson-Rolle

Dame Dr Doris Johnson should inspire us all

“THE times demand that Caribbean women must learn that they must either, as we say in The Bahamas, ‘fish or cut bait.’

“I plead with our men not to remain asleep through this women’s revolutionary period. All must participate if the ship of state that we have taken into the treach erous sea of independence is to survive.

“It will take the consci entious effort of men and women in the towns as well as men and women in the field and rural areas to make their contribu tion ...for new nations to survive.”

- Dame Dr. Doris Johnson, “Women as Responsible Citizens, 1975”

It was a joy and privi lege to find this quote in a speech by Dame Dr. Doris Johnson, a surprise archival gem while researching my doctoral dissertation. Dame Johnson was the leader of the now monumental Baha mian Women’s Suffrage Movement, the first Baha mian woman nominated to serve as a Member of Par liament, and she was also appointed to the Senate. In addition to her work in the public sector, Dr. John son was a teacher, scholar, author, and leader within the third sector, serving as a member of The Baha mian Federation of Labour and The Bahamas Folklore Group. She also served as President of the National Women’s Housing Asso ciation and a coordinator of the Bahamas Baptist Mis sionary and Educational Convention’s Women’s Auxiliary.

The quote comes from the text of a speech deliv ered by Dame Johnson in 1975 during a regional con ference held in Grenada focused on the importance of Caribbean youth and the role of women. Dr. Johnson used a well-cited Bahamian catchphrase to admonish her audience, revealing her pride in her Bahamian roots while also signifying her belief that grassroots and local community work are vital aspects of nation and region building. Dr. Johnson sought to encour age others to get off the sidelines and fully engage in community building. In her speech, Dr. Johnson laid out a comprehensive practical, interconnected community engagement strategy that included form ing father’s and mother’s clubs, youth work, rural health education, and coop eratives. She knew that collaborative work and partnerships were the keys to the success of any com munity. Dame Johnson’s life’s work was not only dedicated to fighting for women’s rights. She was also invested in grassroots and inclusive community development and com mitted to participating in various organizations building collaborative partnerships.

Dr. Johnson’s vision and insight shape my leadership as a Board member of the One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF) and as a researcher and writer. I am invested in exploring the Bahamian third sector by document ing its rich history while identifying best practices to support local commu nity development. At OEF, we know that we cannot traverse this journey alone. We have a commitment to setting an open table. This commitment is much like Dame Johnson’s efforts to inspire men, women, and youth from the cities and rural areas to get involved as active community change-makers.

Dr. Johnson also sur mised in her speech, “In the Caribbean and devel oping nations, our human resources are greatergreater perhaps than our material resources.” Our unique history of strug gle and persistence is the Bahamian story and one of our most powerful assets.

By Kim Williams-Pulfer, Ph.D.

A love for The Bahamas and its people has created friendship bonds among many visitors and residents.

At its founding ten years ago, OEF engaged a group of Bahamians and residents with love for Eleuthera and The Bahamas and formed a coalition to discuss and imagine the possibilities for Eleuthera’s holistic and sustainable development.

Today, a living document called “A Shared Vision for South Eleuthera” cap tures the outcome of these discussions. This docu ment provided OEF with its founding principles and guides our mission of 1) Strengthening communi ties, 2) Connecting the island, and 3) Planning for the future. As Dr. Johnson also noted in her speech, “no country can become truly great if it fails to uti lize the full potential of its resources.” OEF strives to identify, preserve, and develop Eleuthera’s inclu sive potential and, indeed, The Bahamas through pro gramming focused on five social pillars: health, educa tion, environment, heritage, and the economy.

In addition, OEF also has a comprehensive approach to partnerships with other like-minded organizations categorized as either core, service, or strategic. Some of our core partners (also known as founding part ners) preceded and laid the critical groundwork for OEF’s emergence. While deeply connected to the mission of OEF, these part ners provide programmes and services as a part of their distinct mission while operating within one of OEF’s five core pillars. OEF continually provides these organizations with financial and programmatic support and, at times, direct admin istration. Some of our core partners include the Centre for Training & Innovation (CTI), South Eleuthera Emergency Partners (SEEP), The Eleuthera Arts and Cultural Centre (EACC), Island Journeys, and the Cancer Society of Eleuthera. For example, while CTI serves the educa tional needs of Eleutherans, SEEP provides critical emergency services on the island.

OEF’s service partners are often located on the island of Eleuthera or in the wider Bahamas and are independent of OEF. OEF partners with these organizations by providing financial grants and techni cal support as they seek to fulfill their unique missions. Many of these organiza tions share their expertise and community experience while supporting OEF’s efforts. Some of our pre vious and current service partners include CTI’s Har bour Island Trade School and the Rotary Club of

Eleuthera.

Finally, OEF also works with strategic partners. These part ners engage with OEF in service delivery or implementing initia tives that address social challenges. Strategic partners can include

public sector institu tions as well as local and international organizations. Some of OEF’s previous and current strategic partners include The Bahamas Ministry of Education, the Caribbean Agricul tural Research and Development Insti tute (CARDI), The Harbour Island Green School, and numerous universities.

We love how our work has evolved work ing alongside all of our partners. We aim to advance these relationships in the coming years while identifying new partner ships for increased mission impact.

What Dame Doris knew back in 1975 was that an expansive focus on human

develop ment was necessary for addressing community needs. Her words and approach prove fruitful as our society grapples with old challenges such as gender and economic ine quality and newer existential

threats like climate change. Even though Dr. Johnson did not win her seat as the Member of Parliament for Eleuthera, fate would have it that we can carry the torch of her vision in our work at OEF.

Dame Doris should

inspire us all. Her life and words cer tainly speak to our work and mission at OEF. I reflect on her speech writ ten over forty-seven years ago, just two years after our nation’s independence and I am amazed at how it still resonates today.

of One Eleuthera Foundation

DAME Dr. Doris Johnson

KIM WILLIAMS-PULFER, Ph.D.

SOUTH Eleuthera Emergency Partners (SEEP).

GRADUATION from the Centre for Training & Innovation (CTI).

EMORY Nurses.

COMMUNITY support.

Open your eyes and see the beauty of foreign in all of us

ON a bright, sunny morn ing last week, the students, faculty and staff of LN Coak ley Senior High in Exuma poured out of classrooms and gathered along the halls and in the courtyard, filling every available foot of open air.

Steel drums played. A glamorous Mrs. Canada was making the rounds. There would be prayer, singing, dancing, remarks of love and appreciation, a student Jun kanoo rush-out.

It was the day before the 8th year of the Run for Pompey, the half marathon that unites a community as it raises money for scholar ships. It was a day to welcome guests who would deliver more than the pre-race day words of encouragement.

They were delivering a gift -- a new school bus.

On that day, under blue skies and the sound of young, joyous voices, xenophobia was nowhere in sight.

No one thought about who made the bus purchase pos sible and whether they were local or ex-pat. Attention was on the bright blue bus all decorated up from hood to tailpipe, painted with a native sloop and a bicycle.

Students swarmed race patron Bahamian legendary sprinter and triple Olym pic medalist Pauline Davis.

They embraced and thanked race co-founders – a trans planted Canadian-born videographer and screen writer, Kevin Taylor who has lived in Nassau for years, and Canadian journalist, author and communications specialist Jeff Todd.

An ex-pat, a transplant and a native Bahamian blending, proud to deliver a present that was funded in large part by another Exuma event, the Tour de Turquoise charity bike ride, also organized by a trifecta of nationalities that makes the magic happen.

Like Todd and Taylor giving countless hours to Run for Pompey, Howard Chang and family along with Friends of Exuma dedicate themselves to fund-raisers like Tour de Turquoise that last year raised more than $100,000 for Exuma.

BAF and Grand Isle Villas are stalwart supporters of both events, reinforcing the formula of together, for eign and local, we can work miracles. When we come together, good things

happen. When we focus on the differences between us, we are stuck in place like boots in wet cement.

In moments like the cel ebration at a high school in Exuma gifted with the pres ence of powerful women, friends and a new bus, there is a glowing connectivity. It happens in Family Island events, an understanding, a peacefulness and acceptance between foreign and local, a hand-holding that is far too rare in New Providence where gates designed for security all too often lock out friends we might make, expe riences we might treasure, cultures we might learn from.

If a cultural mix is a recipe for success, it sometimes feels someone forgot the spoon that stirs the wet and dry ingredients together and

THE SHORT SCARY TRUTH THAT CAME OUT OF COP 27

Here’s a tidbit of just what might have been the most frightening fact to come out of the recent climate change conference in Egypt.

Researchers at Wales research university Aberystwyth said as the planet heats up, causing giant glaciers to melt at an alarming rate, those melting waters have the potential to unleash bacterial microbes that would leak into rivers and lakes, causing irrepara ble harm to humans and marine life.

According to the report, the research ers studied meltwater from eight glaciers in

Europe and North America and two sites in Greenland, and estimated “the situation could result in more than a 100,000 tonnes of microbes, such as bacteria, being released into the environment over the next 80 years - a number comparable to all the cells in every human body on earth.”

The glaciologists urged quick action to slow the rate of rising temperatures that is in turn causing large chunks of ice to melt faster than predicted, adding to already rising sea levels while releasing the bacte ria that has been growing inside the warmer sites.

RIGHT: The Burrows sisters, Kaylee, left, and Kassidy, right, finished the 5k Run for Pompey with smiles, med als and memories to last a lifetime. (Photo by Nelson Ranger)

left them separated into two worlds. There’s the world of the Family Islands and the other in Nassau where if ‘ya born here, ya born here,’ and if you weren’t, you’re toast. You’re nothin’ if you ain’t Bahamian and can’t trace Grandpa’s roots back to someplace in a Family Island.

If that is the case, how do you account for all the people like Todd and Taylor

and Chang and the Coughlins, who recently sold a business Bob Coughlin started in Cin cinnati called Paycor, moved to Exuma and already are making a huge difference in the community? Their donation helped buy, refur bish and ship that bus to LN Coakley, the bus that will

take students on field trips and to compete in sports events, to a holiday celebration or to the southern part of the island to study the waters of Moriah Harbour, a des ignated marine protection area.

Throughout the islands

ABOVE: Mrs Canada with students in front of the new school bus.

JUBILATION at LN Coakley Senior High.

Open your eyes and see the beauty of foreign in all of us

FROM

there are organizations like Friends of Exuma and Friends of Abaco. The Lyford Cay Foundations started out more than 50 years ago as Friends of The Bahamas. In the more than half a century past, the American and Canadian Foundations have funded more than 2,000 scholarships for Bahamians along with a host of other programmes, including the eight-year long college readiness initiative called FOCUS.

Even the NGO charged with protecting the Bahamian environment, the Bahamas National Trust, is a product of a mix of cul tures. An expedition led by naturalist Ilya Tolstoy, grandson of the Russian author Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace, Anna Karenina), set out to inspect and save the Exuma Cays from developers who wanted to buy and develop the chain of islands. That expedi tion included Bahamians named Russell and McKinney whose descendants still protect the environment. And it gave birth to the BNT in 1958 along with the world’s first underwater national park, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, now 112,000+ acres, prime protected breeding ground for the declining population of the conch we depend on.

It is not just that foreigners who care about The Bahamas generously support so many efforts. They bring fresh ideas, innovation, new culture from food to music to social ritu als and a different perspective. They generate business and economic activity. They invest in

homes and schools and support businesses, fill restaurants, lend support in so many ways and often behind the scenes.

Every successful country recognizes the importance of importing people lest it risk stagnation. Yet in The Bahamas we remain afraid. Why, I ask, why? Do we not trust them? Do we think those who are generous are trying to buy favour? This is not a news flash. I have worked with some of the kind est and most caring of people, Bahamians and those not, who reach into their pocketbooks and give unstintingly. Their generosity is not patronizing; their involvement in community efforts is not to fill a day in which there is little else to do.

Most who were not born here but came here for one reason or another fell in love with The Bahamas and love is a strong motivator.

It’s a sad state of affairs that Just the word foreign makes a lot of Bahamians angry. It’s the craziest thing, given that those same people would not be here if some ancestor who was not a Lucayan had not been here. Like it or not, we are all from somewhere else. As for that glamorous Mrs. Canada, she is a former Rwandan refugee who expe rienced years of unspeakable terror before making her way to another place where the door was open and she was safe. Today, mar ried and the mother of three, she tours the world representing that country, Canada, sharing its message of welcome and the underlying intrinsic value of acceptance.

LYFORD CAY CLUB DONATES 16 ‘RESPIRATORS’ TO PHA

THE Public Hospitals Authority received 16 ‘respirators’ donated by the Lyford Cay Club on Wednesday.

The DeVilbiss healthcare five-litre oxygen concen trators (respirators) were officially handed over to the PHA in a brief ceremony held at the Lyford Cay Club.

Lyford Cay Club Chief Financial Officer Peter Maguire recalled the team coming together to donate the respirators they had in storage.

“We saw an article in the paper regarding the

increase in respiratory ill nesses, especially among children, and the need for equipment at PMH,” said Mr Maguire. “I immedi ately contacted members of the board that were very thrilled at the opportunity we had to utilise the equip ment to provide a service to the hospital.”

Lyford Cay Club Execu tive Committee Chair Patricia Leonard said, “It is our pleasure to offer PHA these respirators. We saw the need and are very grate ful that we could give you the opportunity to use them

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

to help the people of The Bahamas.”

Accepting the dona tion on behalf of the PHA were Managing Direc tor Aubynette Rolle, board Chairman Andrew Edwards and PHA Founda tion Director Alana Major. Mrs Rolle said, “The compact model of oxygen concentrator is ideal as a portable solution for sup plemental oxygen supply. Our recent experience with the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for portable and flexible solutions to meet patient needs.”

US AGENT, SUSPECTED SMUGGLER KILLED OFF PUERTO RICO COAST

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent and a suspected smuggler died during a shootout Thursday off the Puerto Rico coast, authorities said. Two other U.S. officers were injured.

CBP’s Air and Marine Operations unit was on routine patrol around 8 a.m. Thursday when the shots were fired about 12 miles (19 kilometres) off the coast from Cabo Rojo, a major drug smuggling corridor for cocaine coming out of South America known as the Mona Passage, the agency said. It lies between Puerto Rico’s western coastline and the Dominican Republic.

Three CBP Marine Interdiction Agents exchanged gunfire with two people who were aboard the suspected smuggling ship, officials said. All three agents were shot and airlifted to local hospitals in Puerto Rico.

One of the agents was later pronounced dead. The agent’s identity was not immedi ately released and the condition of the other two agents was not immediately clear.

One of the people aboard the suspected smuggling ship was also killed, officials said. The second person on that vessel was arrested.

After the shooting, another U.S. marine interdiction crew intercepted another boat nearby, finding firearms and other contraband onboard, Customs and Border Protection said. The two people on that ship were also arrested.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting.

Speaking to reporters in Puerto Rico, CBP spokesman Jeffrey Quiñones said it was too early to know where the vessel originated from, the nationality of its two passengers and whether it was carrying narcotics or ser vicing another suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean.

Typically, drug cartels recruit poor fish ermen from Colombia and Venezuela to transport large amounts of cocaine northward to the Dominican Republic where it is broken down into smaller bales and transferred at sea to waiting vessels manned by better-paid, sometimes well-armed Puerto Rican drug runners.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in testimony before a Senate committee that an Air and Marine Opera tions agent was killed and several other agents were “gravely wounded.”

“These are brave members of our Air and Marine Operations within U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” Mayorkas said. “So the difficulty of this job cannot be compared to the difficulty that our frontline personnel face every day. Their bravery and selfless service should be recognised.”

Air and Marine Operations employs about 1,650 people and is one of the smaller units of CBP, the largest law enforcement agency in the United States that also includes the Border Patrol. It works to stop the illegal movement of people, drugs and other goods.

The unit detected 218 “conventional air craft incursions” on U.S. soil in the 2021 fiscal year, seized 1.1 million pounds of narcotics, $73.1 million in illicit currency, made more than 122,000 arrests and recued 518 people, according to CBP.

MAKING the presentation on behalf of the Lyford Cay Club were Mrs. Helen McBride, Managing Director; Mrs. F. Patricia Leonard, Chair, Executive Committee and Board of Governors; Mr. Bruno A. Roberts, Deputy Chairman, Executive Committee and Board of Governors; Mr. Peter McGuire, Chief Financial Officer and Mrs. Janette E. Smith, Director of Member Relations.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) —

Russian airstrikes targeted Ukraine’s energy facilities again Thursday as the first snow of the season fell in Kyiv, a harbinger of the hardship to come if Mos cow’s missiles continue to take out power and gas plants as winter descends.

Separately, the United Nations announced the extension of a deal to ensure exports of grain and fertilisers from Ukraine that were dis rupted by the war. The deal was set to expire soon, renewing fears of a global food crisis if exports were blocked from one of the world’s largest grain producers.

Even as all sides agreed to extend the grain deal, air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine on Thurs day. At least seven people were killed and more than two dozen others wounded in the drone and missile strikes, including one that hit a residential building, authorities said.

The Kremlin’s forces have suffered a series of setbacks on the ground, the latest being the loss of the southern city of Kherson. In the face of those defeats, Russia has increasingly resorted to aerial onslaughts aimed at energy infrastructure and other civilian targets in parts of Ukraine it doesn’t hold.

Russia on Tuesday unleashed a nationwide barrage of more than 100 missiles and drones that knocked out power to 10 million people in Ukraine — strikes described by Ukraine’s energy minister as the biggest assault yet on the country’s battered power grid in nearly nine months of war.

It also resulted in a missile landing in Poland, killing two people.

Authorities still were trying to ascertain where that missile came from, with early indications pointing to a Ukrainian air defence system seeking to counter the Russian bombardment.

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thurs day visited the site where the missile landed and expressed understanding for Ukraine’s plight. “It is a hugely difficult situation for them and there are great emotions, there is also great stress,” Duda said.

The renewed bombings come as many Ukrain ians are coping with the discomforts of regular blackouts and heating out ages. A light snow dusted the capital Thursday, where the temperature fell below freezing. Kyiv’s military administration said air defences shot down four cruise missiles and five Iranian-made exploding drones.

In eastern Ukraine, Russia “launched a massive attack on gas pro duction infrastructure,” said the chief of the state energy company Naftogaz, Oleksiy Chernishov. He did not elaborate.

Russian strikes also hit the central city of Dnipro and Ukraine’s southern Odesa region for the first time in weeks and hit critical infrastructure in the northeastern Kharkiv region near Izium, wound ing three workers.

The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, called the strikes on energy targets “naive tactics of cowardly losers.”

“Ukraine has already withstood extremely difficult strikes by the enemy, which did not lead to results the Rus sian cowards hoped for,” Yermak wrote Thursday on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that 10 million people in Ukraine were without power on Thurs day as well, mainly in the Kyiv, Odesa, Sumy and Vinnytsia regions. Ukraine had a prewar population of about 40 million.

Zelenskyy earlier posted on Telegram a video that he said was of one of the blasts in Dnipro. The footage from a vehicle dashboard camera showed a fiery blast engulfing a rainy road.

Pelosi to step down from House leadership, stay in Congress

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP)

— House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she will not seek a lead ership position in the new Congress, ending a historic run as the first woman with the gavel and making way for a new generation to steer the party after Democrats lost control of the House to Republicans in the mid term elections.

In a spirited speech on the House floor, Pelosi announced that she will step aside after leading Democrats for nearly 20 years and in the aftermath of the brutal attack on her husband, Paul, last month in their San Francisco home — and after having done “the people’s work.”

The California Demo crat, a pivotal figure in U.S. history and perhaps the most powerful speaker in modern times, said she would remain in Congress as the representative from San Francisco, a position she has held for 35 years, when the new Congress convenes in January.

“I will not seek ree lection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” she said. “For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect.”

Now, she said, “we must move boldly into the future.”

Dressed in white in a nod to the suffragettes, Pelosi was greeted with cheers as she arrived for the hastily called address.

She received a standing ovation when she closed, lawmakers and guests one by one crowding her with hugs, many taking selfies of a moment in history.

President Joe Biden, who had encouraged Pelosi to stay on as Demo cratic leader, spoke with Pelosi in the morning and congratulated her on her historic tenure as speaker of the House.

“History will note she is the most consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives in our history,” Biden said in a statement, noting her abil ity to win unity from her caucus and her “absolute dignity.”

It’s an unusual choice for a party leader to stay on after withdrawing from congressional leadership, but not without precedent and Pelosi has long defied convention in pursuing power in Washington. In an interview with reporters after her announcement, Pelosi said she won’t endorse anyone in the race to succeed her and she won’t sit on any

committees as a rank-andfile lawmaker. She said the attack on her husband “made me think again about staying.”

But in the end, after the election, she decided to step down.

“I quite frankly, per sonally, have been ready to leave for a while,” she said. “Because there are things I want to do. I like to dance, I like to sing. There’s a life out there, right?”

During her remarks on the House floor, Pelosi recapped her career, from seeing the Capitol the first time as a young girl with her father — a former New Deal congressman and mayor — to serving as speaker alongside U.S. presidents, noting three of the four, but not mention ing Donald Trump.

“Every day I am in awe of the majestic miracle that is American democ racy,” she said.

At one point, she compared the betterthan-expected showing for Democrats in the mid terms, the first national election after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capi tol, as “proof through the night that our flag was still there,” drawing cheers from colleagues.

The American histo rian Jon Meacham helped Pelosi with her speech, but an aide said she added that impromptu line herself.

On short notice, law makers who have been waiting and wondering about the long-serving leader’s plans filled the House, at least on the Democratic side, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined. He later joined a throng

of lawmakers and hugged and kissed Pelosi on the cheek.

The Speaker’s Gallery was filled with Pelosi’s staff and guests. Some Republicans, includ ing some newly elected members, also attended, though House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who’s seeking the speaker ship in the new Congress, did not, telling report ers afterward that he was “busy, unfortunately.”

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement late Thursday: “The Speaker and I have disagreed fre quently and forcefully over the years, but I have seen firsthand the depth and intensity of her com mitment to public service. There is no question that the impact of Speaker Pelosi’s consequential and path-breaking career will long endure.”

Elected

Pelosi was twice elected to the speakership and has led Democrats through consequential moments, including passage of the Affordable Care Act with President Barack Obama and the impeachments of President Donald Trump.

Her decision Thursday paves the way for House Democratic leadership elections next month when Democrats reorganis e as the minority party for the new Congress.

Pelosi’s leadership team, with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Democratic Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, has long moved as a triumvirate. All now

in their 80s, the three House Democratic lead ers have faced restless colleagues eager for them to step aside and allow a new generation to take charge.

Hoyer said after Pelo si’s remarks that “it is the time for a new genera tion of leaders” and that he will also step down from leadership but stay in Congress. Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black American in Congress, has said he expects to stay in Congress next year and hopes to remain at the leadership table.

Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Pete Aguilar of California have similarly moved as a trio, all working toward becom ing the next generation of leaders. Jeffries could make history in the future if Democrats regain con trol, and he enters the race to become the nation’s first Black speaker of the House.

First elected in 1987, Pelosi was among a dozen Democratic women in Congress.

She was long ridiculed by Republicans as a San Francisco liberal while steadily rising as a skilled legislator and fundrais ing powerhouse. Her own Democratic colleagues have intermittently appre ciated but also feared her powerful brand of leadership.

Pelosi first became speaker in 2007, saying she had cracked the “marble ceiling,” after Democrats swept to power in the 2006 midterm elections in a backlash to then-Pres ident George W. Bush

and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When she was poised in 2018 to return as speaker, in the Trump era, she vowed “to show the power of the gavel.”

Pelosi has repeatedly withstood leadership chal lenges over the years and had suggested in 2018 she would serve four more years as leader. But she had not discussed those plans more recently.

Emotion

Typically unsentimen tal, Pelosi let show a rare moment of emotion on the eve of the midterm elections as she held back tears discussing the grave assault on her husband of nearly 60 years.

Paul Pelosi suffered a fractured skull after an intruder broke into their home in the middle the night seeking the Democratic leader. The intruder’s question — “Where is Nancy?” — echoed the chants of the pro-Trump rioters at the Capitol as they hunted for Pelosi and tried to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election vic tory over Trump.

David DePape is being held without bail on attempted murder and other charges in what authorities said was a political attack.

Historians have noted that other consequen tial political figures had careers later as rank-andfile members of Congress, including John Quincy Adams, the former presi dent, who went on to serve for nearly 18 years in Congress.

HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks on the House floor at the Capitol in Washington Thursday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., hugs Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., after she spoke on the House floor at the Capitol in Washington Thursday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

National baseball team in Grand Bahama training camp

IN preparation for the fourth Caribbean Baseball Cup, sched uled for December 4-11 at the newly constructed Andre Rodg ers Baseball Stadium, members of the Bahamas Baseball Federa tion’s national team are in Grand Bahama for a training camp.

The camp, conducted by the coaching staff led by Geron Sands

and Albert Cartwright, is featuring a number of collegiate and profes sional baseball players who are all in line to make the team to repre sent the Bahamas.

The Bahamas will be matched against visiting teams from the US Virgin Islands, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Curacao. The winning team, if it’s not defending champion

Curacao, will qualify for the Cen tral American and Caribbean Games, scheduled for 2023.

This is the first time that a major qualifying tournament is being staged in the Bahamas.

It’s being held under the auspices of COCABE and the BBA, headed by Sam Rodgers. The Local Organ ising Committee is headed by

BBA’s secretary general Theodore ‘Teddy’ Sweeting.

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Ministry of Works are working feverishly to have the stadium ready for the tournament.

Tickets are priced at $45 for VIP, $20 for general admission and $15 for children 12-and-under.

TENNIS CHINESE

25th Chinese

in The Bahamas by hosting a Table Tennis event 9am to 4pm on Saturday.

RUGBY SCRUMMAGE TIME

THE Bahamas Rugby Union is inviting the public to come out and support the Bahamas Renegades as they play host to the Bermuda’s 15 touring side.

The match will be played on Sunday at the Winton Rugby Pitch, starting at 11am.

BASKETBALL US EMBASSY CLINIC

The United States Embassy will facilitate two basketball clinics today and Tuesday at the Sir Kendall G.L Isaacs Gymnasium from 10am to noon.

Today’s session will be geared for 30-40 girls (Grades 4-6 and under 12 years old) from neigh bourhood public primary schools.

Tuesday’s session is designed for 30-40 boys (Grades 4-6 and under 12 years old) from neigh bourhood public primary schools.

Tannehill leads Titans to 27-17 victory over Packers

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP)

— Ryan Tannehill threw for 333 yards and two touch downs to outduel Aaron Rodgers as the Tennessee Titans beat the Green Bay Packers 27-17 last night.

Tannehill looked much sharper in his second game back after missing two games with an injured right ankle.

He went 22 of 27 and had one interception as the Titans (7-3) won for the sev enth time in eight games.

The Titans improved to 10-2 when playing on short rest under coach Mike Vrabel. Green Bay (4-7) has lost six of seven.

Rodgers went 24 of 39 for 227 yards with two

touchdown passes to rookie Christian Watson, a 14-yarder to close the first quarter and an 8-yarder in the third quarter. That followed Watson’s threetouchdown performance in a 31-28 overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Watson became the first Packers rookie since Max McGee in 1954 to have multiple touchdown catches in consecutive games.

The Packers limited Ten nessee’s Derrick Henry to 87 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries — a 3.1-yard average — but the Titans still posted season highs in points and yards (408) by throwing the ball better than usual.

Henry even got into the act by throwing a

3-yard jump pass to Austin Hooper for a touchdown.

Hooper scored his first two touchdowns of the season.

Treylon Burks, the Titans’ rookie first-round pick, had

the best game of his young career with seven catches for 111 yards.

Tannehill’s TD passes were a 14-yarder to Dontrell Hilliard and a 16-yarder to Hooper.

Tennessee led 7-6 at the end of the first quarter and then dominated the second, running 27 plays to the Packers’ six and outgaining Green Bay 91 yards to 17.

Tennessee started the quarter with a drive that lasted over 10 minutes but didn’t result in any points because Quay Walker stuffed Henry for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the 4. Tennessee had the ball for 18 plays, the Titans’ longest scoreless drive since at least 2000.

But the Titans forced a punt, got the ball back

on Green Bay’s 41 and extended their lead to 14-6 on Henry’s 4-yard touch down run with 32 seconds left in the half.

That was the first of three straight touchdown drives for the Titans.

Henry’s rushing TD was his 10th of the season, the fifth straight season he’s reached that mark.

The only other players to have at least 10 touchdown runs in five straight seasons are LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Shaun Alexander and Michael Turner.

Watson’s second touch down of the night helped Green Bay narrow Tennes see’s advantage to 20-17 late in the third quarter, but the Packers’ offence did noth ing the rest of the game.

The Titans extended the lead and scored their first fourth-quarter touchdown of the season when Hooper opened the period with his 16-yard catch from Tanne hill. The play was originally ruled an incompletion but got overturned on replay.

HONORING BUTLER

The Packers saluted 2022 Hall of Fame inductee Leroy Butler during a halftime ceremony that included the unveiling of his name on the Lambeau Field facade. Butler was a four-time All-Pro who played for the Packers from 1990-2001 and spent his entire career in Green Bay.

UP NEXT Titans: Host Cincinnati on Nov. 27.

Packers: At Philadelphia in a night game on Nov. 27.

RODGERS, NFL PLAYERS URGE LEAGUE TO NIX TURF, GO WITH GRASS

By MARK LONG AP Pro Football Writer

AARON Rodgers has hit the ground in every NFL stadium except one. And while the “frozen tundra” of Lambeau Field has deliv ered its share of bumps and bruises, the venues with artificial turf have been even rougher on Rodgers’ nearly 39-year-old body.

“I do think it’s time to go all grass throughout the league,” the four-time MVP said Tuesday, echoing a growing sentiment that’s become a major talking point around the NFL.

Players Association Pres ident JC Tretter called on six venues to immediately change their playing sur faces last weekend, saying the artificial turf in those stadiums results in higher injury rates when compar ing non-contact injuries and lower extremity injuries like sprained ankles and torn knee ligaments.

Players from Seattle to Miami, from New England to Los Angeles, have loudly backed Tretter. Rodgers, Green Bay’s 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback who has played in every stadium except Las Vegas, thinks there’s a way for the league to pivot to grass quickly.

“A lot of money in this league,” he said. “It’s about cost. I don’t know how much that would cost. ... But the league’s been doing pretty well.”

Does Rodgers think it will get done?

“No, honestly,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of con fidence when it comes to the league making that

decision without some sort of big vote and gripes from certain owners who don’t want to spend the money. ... This would be putting your money where your mouth is if player safety is important.”

The NFL hasn’t acknowl edged a need for new sod.

Jeff Miller, the executive vice president of commu nications, public affairs & policy for the NFL, said in a statement Saturday that injury rates are approxi mately the same on grass and turf.

The data provided by the league did not distinguish between the three types of turf used: monofilament, dual fiber and slit film.

Tretter specifically took exception with the slit-film surfaces used in Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Min nesota, New Orleans and New York.

Players parroted Tret ter’s plea, and even a few coaches have joined the push.

“I prefer natural grass,” Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I’ve lis tened to all the studies, density studies, I’ve seen all the different compounds they’ve put in there. I still like grass.”

Most players do, too.

“You kind of feel the difference when you’re run ning,” Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook said. “If we can fix it, let’s fix it. Let’s get the safest atmosphere for us to go play in.”

Added Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown: “I do prefer playing on grass. It’s more forgiving, more

natural, and it just feel it’s better. It feels better on my joints, my ankles and whatnot.”

Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins called artificial turf the equivalent of playing in a parking lot, saying “I’m getting slammed on the concrete. It doesn’t feel good.”

Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble watched teammate Donte Jackson tear an Achil les tendon at home — the latest in a rash of seasonending injuries sustained on turf.

“Guys get terrible inju ries from that stuff,” Tremble said. “I get the usability of it, but this is a billion-dollar business, and I think where we should put the money into should be for the players because if we got grass fields and can keep playing, the money keeps rolling in. You see star guys go down all of the time because of it.”

The Panthers already have urged owner David

Tepper to switch to grass in the offseason. Sure, it costs more in the long run, but technology advancements have made grass fields more tolerant to every condi tion seen in the NFL: heat, cold, humidity and dryness. Two indoor venues — in Arizona and Las Vegas — have grass fields that can be rolled into the sun.

Fourteen of the NFL’s 30 venues still use a version of synthetic turf. The Hellas Matrix Turf used in Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles is widely considered the best. It’s created using a textured and twisted mono filament fiber.

Slit film, meanwhile, has sliced strands that form a honeycomb shape. It holds up well to frequent use, but the concern is whether cleats are getting caught in the honeycombs.

“They don’t have a bad field in this league, but there are better fields,” New York Giants safety Julian Love said. “There is a type of turf that has proven to be better. We happen to play on the

lowest turf in the league, so you want to see those standards go up.”

Switching from artifi cial turf to grass would be expensive, as Rodg ers suggested. It would cost roughly $500,000 for demolition, new rock underlayment and irri gation (drainage could be reused) and another $350,000 for lay-and-play sod. Cold-weather teams, including those playing indoors, would be lucky if the new grass lasted a month before needing to be resodded.

A potential compromise would be placing thick-cut sod on top of the fake stuff and swapping it out a few times over the course of a football season.

Any tweak would be a welcome relief for most players.

“I do know that after having surgery, and when I go out there and play on turf fields, it’s different,” Cincinnati Bengals nose tackle D.J. Reader said.

“It’s a lot more pounding. I get a lot more achy after games.”

Tretter, a longtime NFL center who played in Green Bay and Cleveland, began his anti-artificial turf cam paign two years ago after San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and players expressed concern about the MetLife Stadium turf in New Jersey.

Defensive end Nick Bosa, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, defensive tackle Solomon Thomas and running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman all suffered game-ending

lower-body injuries that day.

Thomas, coincidentally, now plays for the Jets. He was among the many calling for immediate change.

“No one knows the beat ing that our bodies take on turf more than us — the players,” Thomas posted on Twitter. “The sport is vio lent enough. We shouldn’t be taking more damage from the field, too.”

All those 49ers injuries prompted a review involv ing representatives from the NFL, NFLPA, MetLife Stadium, the Jets, the Giants, the turf maker and an independent field inspec tor. They concluded that the field met all applicable standards and protocols for NFL surfaces.

Two years later, Tretter — now with players like Rodgers standing behind him — insists the standards need to be raised.

“As players, we have a simple message for the league: stop with the lip service, stop with the media spin, stop pretending you care,” he said. “And if you actually do care, take the actionable steps to fix the problems our union has identified, especially those issues you actually agree with.”

MEMBERS of the Bahamas Baseball Federation’s national team.

TABLE

VS BAHAMAS The Bahamas Table Tennis Federation will help in the celebrations of the

Embassy

PACKERS quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) throws a pass during the second half against the Tennessee Titans last night.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)

TITANS QB Ryan Tannehill (17) throws a pass under pressure from Packers linebacker Pres ton Smith last night. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Robinson wins Bahamas Professional Golf Association’s Korn Ferry Qualifier

CLASSIC

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

DEVAUGHN Robin son booked another trip to the Great Exuma Classic by winning the Bahamas Professional Golf Associa tion’s Korn Ferry Qualifier by five strokes on Monday at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.

Robinson, an architect by profession now resid ing in Grand Bahama with his family, won the pair of 18-hole rounds of golf in the morning and even ing sessions with scores of one-under-par 71 and six-under-par 77 for a total of seven-under-par 134 to earn the rights to represent the Bahamas in Exuma January 15-19.

Keno Turnquest was the runner-up with a twounder-par 148 with his rounds of 74-68. C Riley was third with even-par 72-72 for 144 for third place. Rising young players Heathcliff Cane was fourth with 80-76 for 156 and Alex Dupuch rounded out the top five with 70-80 for 158.

Association presi dent Raquel Riley said she was pleased with the eight golfers who par ticipated, including two amateurs, although they

HALL OF FAME

FROM PAGE 16

thou visitest him? “What is the Bahamas that thou art so mindful of us,” Wilson countered, “and as sons and daughters of the Bahamians that thou visited us.”

Wilson, a former out standing basketball player who was honoured for his role as a volleyball player and as coach of the national men’s and women’s national teams that won medals at a number of international events, said their class is loaded with notable per formances that included Minus Jr being crowned a champion and the ‘Golden Girls’ stopping the world with their gold medal per formances. “We the class of 2022, we thank you, all of you who are here, the Min istry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Minister Mario Bowleg, our Governor General Cornelius Smith, we thank you so much for what you have done,” he said. “We the class of 2022 leave this with you: ‘the journey continues. March on Bahamaland.’”

His fellow inductees were all thrilled to have been honoured.

While Symonette played just about every sport, like Wilson, she too went in for volleyball, but it didn’t matter. She knew she has accomplished enough to get inducted in any sport.

“It’s humbling because I always tell people, when I was competing in sports, there was no Hall of Famer. You didn’t do it for that. You did it for the love of the game,” she said. “But you really feel good when you have contributed to some thing that is nation-building and you are recognised for it.”

She thanked the sports media for providing the coverage that enabled her performance and those of the other honourees to be highlighted to the world.

“It feels very good. I’m very honoured that the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture recognised me,” said Darville, one of the most prolific female bodybuilders who won numerous national and CAC Championship titles. “It was magical. Just to be recognised.”

Darville, a personal trainer, said it made her want to get back on stage, but she dares not come out of retirement.

As a bowler, Leary went around the world dropping the pins to cart off various international titles.

had anticipated a bigger field of competitors, some of whom had other obliga tions and were unable to participate.

“We had some good com petition on Monday,” Riley said. “It went great. Keno (Turnquest) or treasurer and Chris Lewis from over seas, helped to assist me in putting the event on. The golf course was in pretty good shape.

“They walked the first 18 holes and drove the next 18 in the 36-hole qualifier that was opened to Bahamian professional players and amateurs with handicaps of point five or less. We had a lot of players who couldn’t play for one reason or the other, but we had a really good time.”

With veteran golfer Jimmy Delancy as his caddie, Robinson said all he had to do was go out and execute his game.

In the process, he will earn $500 from the BPGA to assist with his travel arrangements to Exuma, according to Riley.

“In the first round, I got off to a pretty shaky start. In the first two holes, I think I was two-over-par. I played pretty steady. I just didn’t make any putts in the first round,” Robinson said.

“It was a round that could

“It’s a beautiful, beauti ful feeling right now. It’s a humbling honour,” said the Grand Bahamian native, who served as president of the Bahamas Bowling Fed eration. “Sitting there with all of these great people, was just a great feeling.”

Miller, the long-time president of the Bahamas Boxing Federation after he retired as one of the top heavyweight boxers before he ventured into the Baha mas Olympic Committee as a vice president and presi dent, said he’s reached the pinnacle of sports in the country.

“This is the highest that I can go into sports in the National Hall of Fame,” he said.

“I’ve been inducted for administration so it gives other persons to work just as hard when they get involved. You never know what will happen for you.

“It’s just great to be in this class with the Golden Girls, but especially with Ray Minus Jr and Stevie Larimore. We came up together through boxing. Now look at us. We are all inducted in the same class.”

Minus Jr, accompanied by his long-time former sparring partner and arch-rival Quincy ‘Thrill-AMinute’ Pratt, was unable to talk about his triumph as the WBC Continen tal Americas lightweight, WBA Inter-Continental super lightweight and British Commonwealth bantamweight titles as he was too overwhelmed in his physical condition.

But Larimore, another boxer honoured, was thrilled. “It’s great to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I was praying for years that this was going to happen,” said Larimore, who won a Commonwealth Games bronzes medal and held both the WBC Continental Americas lightweight and the British Commonwealth light wel terweight titles. “It’s great to be a Hall of Famer for all of my accomplishments in my boxing career. Boxing did well for me.”

After almost 50 years when he starred as a bas ketball player, Laing said he never envisioned this day would come.

“It’s great. I really appre ciate this,” he said. “I’m glad that they didn’t over look me. I’m done playing, but I’m still doing some things in the sport and I will continue to do so.”

Thompson, a former bas ketball player who went on to become the head of the perennial kingpins Com monwealth Bank Giants, said he had an awesome

DEVAUGHN Robinson.

have been if I was a little better on the greens.

“I wasn’t disappointed. I knew I was going to be around the lead or close enough to strike in the second half. I had a oneshot lead at the end of the first round, which gave me a lot of confidence going into the second round.”

After the break to talk things over with Delancy, Robinson readjusted his game and played up to his full potential.

“Unlike the first round when I played my C game, I was close to my A game in the second round,” Robin son noted. “I missed a few shots, but I played a very strong second round to get the job done.”

This is the third time that Robinson would have qualified for Exuma where he will get to match up with some of the world’s best as they travel to the Bahamas for the first of two tourna ments in Exuma.

“This is our fourth year getting a local exemption into the tournament and this is my third year getting it, but the second time play ing in it,” Robinson said. “I’m excited about it. You don’t get too many of these opportunities to play in the second biggest stage in the game and in your backyard.

“It’s a huge opportunity for me if I can take advan tage of it. I’m excited to see however it goes.”

Robinson first qualified in 2018, but he couldn’t make it because of work commitments.

He came back and quali fied in 2020 and played, but fell short of making

the cut for the final. This time around, he hopes to advance to the final.

“Jimmy Delancy is a seasoned veteran, old pro fessional. He kept me pretty focused for the whole day. He stayed around for 36 holes. That was impressive for itself for a 73-year-old,” Robinson said.

“He was very well around the greens, letting me know to finish it off.”

Delancy said it was a pleasure to work with Rob inson who, at 34, is the son of late golfer Walton Rob inson. He noted that he is progressing very well in his game.

“The course in Exuma suits his game because he hits the ball pretty long and it’s a straight course,” Delancy said.

“It will be right up his ally, so we will be going down for about three or four days before the tour nament just to get him sharp and ready.”

There’s another qualifier in December for the second leg for the other tourna ment to be played in Abaco at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at the Abaco Club January 23-26.

Riley said as soon as they can confirm the date for the qualifier, they will release the information.

FRITZ BEATS AUGERALIASSIME, FACES DJOKOVIC IN SEMIS

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Taylor Fritz advanced to the final four of the ATP Finals by beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-2 yes terday at the year-end tournament.

The American will face five-time champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

The match went with serve until the final set when Fritz broke twice in the final three games, either side of holding to love, sealing his spot in the next round on the first of two match points as fellow tournament debutant Auger-Alias sime sent a backhand wide.

Prior to the sixth game of the final set, the only other break points had come in the second game of the second set when Fritz had to stave off three of them against his Canadian opponent.

Casper Ruud had already booked his place in the semifinals but he lost 7-5, 7-5 to the already eliminated Rafael Nadal to leave the Norwegian 0-8 against top-three players.

The top-seeded Nadal had lost his first two matches in the tour nament and avoided equalling his careerworst streak of five straight defeats.

“I have been practic ing well,” Nadal said. “Just probably not enough matches to be at the level that I needed to be. Not enough con fidence, probably, after six tough months. That’s how it is.

“I accept that the season didn’t end the way that I wanted, at least I finished with a positive victory,” he con tinued. “It’s important, the last official match of the season, so I am happy for that.”

experience as a member of the class of 2022.

“I’m just happy and elated to be here with my family and friends,” he said. “I wish I could suit up again. But God has been good and I’m glad that I was able to make it as a player and as a coach in the sport.”

Fernander, credited with helping to organise soft ball in Grand Bahama, also charted the course for both the men’s and women’s national teams, guiding the latter to a third place finish in the World Games in Seattle, Washington, in 1981.

“I waited a long time, but the one thing, I went down with the Golden Girls. I’m happy that I caught the Golden Girls,” he said. “It was a nice ceremony and I enjoyed it.”

Also retired from playing fastpitch where he made a name for himself as a power hitting pitcher, Aber John son said he’s just glad that he’s still alive to receive his roses and to do it in what he dubbed the “best class” with the ‘Golden Girls.’

“I’m very happy that I didn’t go in posthumously,” he said. “I really appreci ate the fact that I got it. I’m very happy. It’s nothing like smelling your flowers and I’m glad that I got that opportunity. So I’m really happy.”

For the ‘Golden Girls’, it was a reunion in person, although they stay in touch on social media. “It’s always a pleasure to be appreciated by one’s country, so I would like to thank the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Cul ture for this honour,” said Clarke, considered the glamour girl of the crew.

“We can’t wait to go back out to Fish Fry and hang

out and do some of the things we did before and have a girls’ time.”

The veteran of the crew, Davis-Thompson, con curred with Clarke, but took it a bit further.

“It feels so great to share this honour with so many other distinguished Baha mians, who did so many great things for our coun try,” she said. “It’s hard to describe the feeling when you put on the Bahamian uniform to represent your country and that is what each of us did. It’s the Bahamas that matters the most.”

Sturrup, still the wom en’s national 100m record holder at 10.84 seconds from 2005 in Lausanne, Switzerland, was limited in her reaction as she was remembered for her fast take off as the second leg runner on the relay team.

“It’s great. My son, Shawn Jr, is here with me, so it’s even more fabulous,” said Sturrup, who now resides in North Carolina where she’s coaching at the high school level. “It was lovely to be back here with the rest of the Golden Girls.”

Ferguson-McKenzie, now an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky under Bahamian head coach Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene, said it’s an honour for her because she remem bers how most people got it posthumously. “It was spe cial for us because Chandra and Savatheda and I got a chance to spend some time together reminiscing with your days travelling together to compete and then we got reunited with Eldece and Pauline,” said Ferguson, who anchored the Olympic gold medal relay team.

“This was so special because we got to sit around with some great people who we watched on TV like Ray Minus Jr. It was just fantas tic and give God all thanks for this opportunity and this moment to learn from a lot of them who came before us and hopefully we will have something to pass down to those who come after us.”

And Fynes, the Abaco native known as one of the fastest starters in the world, said she’s always excited to be home, even this time as she got to celebrate with her former team-mates.

“There’s always memo ries. I will always have memories from the time I spent with the ladies and coming here for this event, it’s kind of emotional because it’s a while since we had something to celebrate together,” said Fynes-Coke, who resides in New Jersey with her husband and family.

Bowleg, in thanking his staff at the Ministry and Governor General Smith for carrying out the induc tion, said it was a great night for sports in the country.

“This is one of the strongest representations of athletes we have seen in any of our classes inducted recently,” Bowleg said.

“This is just my second induction, but when you look at the others, this one was very strong with inter national performances from the ‘Golden Girls’, body building, bowling, softball and volleyball.”

He said he’s just delighted to be the sitting minister to celebrate the performances of the Bahamian athletes.

Bahamas Olympic Com mittee president Rommel Knowles had some words of

Nadal won the Aus tralian Open and French Open to take his tally of Grand Slam titles to a record 22, but he has played just nine singles matches since withdraw ing from Wimbledon a day before his semifinals match because of a torn abdominal muscle.

“I can’t ask for more: 2022 has had a tough six months, two Grand Slams, and finishing the year in a high spot in the rankings. So, I can’t complain at all,” the 36-year-old Nadal said. “At my age, to be able to achieve and be competi tive means a lot for me.”

For 2023, the Spaniard said he wants to “start the season with the right energy, the right attitude, to reach the level that I need to be competitive from the beginning. Let’s try it, I am excited about it.”

Ruud will face the winner of today’s match between Stefanos Tsitsi pas and Andrey Rublev.

commendation, calling the inductees some of the finest sports icons in the history of the Bahamas as he noted that they all have a story that one would appreciate.

“Their journeys are all diverse but you would find a singular most prolific thing as an athlete, which is adorning our national uni form and the rising of our Bahamian flag and hearing our national anthem gives one a sense of pride compa rable to nothing else in the world,” he summed up.

Former football player Obie Wilchcombe, the Min ister for Social Services, was also on hand to offer his own personal words of congratulations to the inductees, noting how he covered many of their his toric performances when he was a reporter at ZNS.

GOVERNOR General Cornelius Smith, right, presents Charles Franklyn Adderley (Martial Arts) with a certificate during his induction into the Class of 2022 National Sports Hall of Fame.

Photo: Moises Amisial/Tribune Staff

‘I know what it takes to run the association’

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH a mandate to change the mindset of the athletes and coaches and to develop a programme to revitalise the sport of track and field, Dawn WoodsideJohnson has revealed her platform she’s campaign ing on to become the new president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations.

Woodside-Johnson, a former athlete, coach and executive, is hoping the delegates would give her a chance to take over the helm rather than returning it in the hands of incum bent president Drumeco Archer and immediate past president Rosamunde Carey.

With her campaign now in full gear, WoodsideJohnson is confident that she secures sufficient votes during the annual gen eral meeting and election of officers on Saturday, December 3 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

“They’ve had two presi dents who served running again, so why not give me a chance as a new candidate running to become presi dent,” Woodside-Johnson said.

“I’m a former athlete, who became a coach and then served as an executive and a manager. So I know what it takes to run the association.”

Woodside-Johnson said while they saw the need for change because she felt the BAAA was not head ing in the right direction,

she’s pleased to see that the association is putting some emphasis on making sure that they get the job done.

“I’ve grown up around track and I’ve seen how the BAAA is operated in the past and so I said if not me, why not me,” she said.

“I’ve been around track for a long time and I know what the athletes need, having served in all areas of the sport. So why not run to become the president.”

If elected, WoodsideJohnson said she intends to bring good govern ance, make the association more accountable and to make sure the members are all educated on the constitution.

“At some point during the next administration, the constitution has to be revamped and revised in order to bring it in align ment with NACAC and World Athletics and to make sure that the consti tution enables us to engage all of those persons living on the various islands in our archipelago.

“We also need to rebrand the BAAA in terms of being able to finance the association by ensuring that corporate Bahamas is on board with us, so we won’t just be going on trips, but we try to bridge the gap between those athletes graduating from college and making the transition to being pro athletes.”

This has been one of the biggest downfalls for the BAAA in recent times as Woodside-Johnson said it’s evident in the fact that the Bahamas has failed over the past few years to field relay teams in both the

men and women divisions as they’ve been in the past.

“We can’t field the teams because we lose those ath letes in between college and the pro ranks,” she said. “They are making the decision between whether they will enter the job market or they continue to pursue their track careers,” Woodside-Johnson said.

“We need to provide some type of funding to assist the athletes who are on the borderline and we have to make sure that, not only the executives, but both the athletes and the coaches are kept abreast of what’s happening in the BAAA, NACAC and World Athletics.”

When the membership are invited in the decision making of the BAAA, Woodside-Johnson said they will feel more a part of the organisation and they will be more willing to do more, rather than always complaining.

While she’s not pro posing a slate of officers to work with her, Wood side-Johnson said she has identified some persons to assist her, including an accountant to ensure that the BAAA is operating properly and a marketing and public relations officer in Tanya Woodside.

“We are finding out that the members don’t want to concentrate on slates during this election,” Woodside-Johnson said.

“They want to choose the best candidates and put them in their positions so we can function the way we should.”

With the count down on the elections,

throw line in an 80-62 loss to the Yuba 49ers.

Woodside-Johnson said her campaign is going quite well and she’s looking for ward to a favourable result on election day.

“Campaign is going pretty good. It’s going to be a tough one,” she said. “You have three persons running for president. But as the new person running for president, hopefully the membership will elect me to bring about the change. “Having served in just about every category in the organisation, I want the membership to have the confidence in me to know that I am for change and I want the BAAA to get to another level from where it is on.”

Her aim is to enable the BAAA to develop a culture of liability and trustworthiness for their members as they put their confidence in the executive

team elected to serve for the next four years.

“We also want to safe guard the workshops that coaches should have been well engaged in the ses sions by 2023.

“The coaches need to learn about harassments, exploitations and abuse,” she said.

“So all coaches will have to go through this safeguarding workshop to ensure that their athletes are safe and that they pro vide a safe environment for them.

“We don’t just want for our coaches, but our athletes as well on their nutrition and all these good things because coaches can’t do everything.”

She said the athlete has to do their part in terms of eating and sleeping to secure their athletic schol arships to college.

46. Keron Burrows of the Barracuda was fourth with 34 and Ta-naj of the Free port Aquatics came in fifth with 29.

Girls 13-14

Alanna Murray of the Black Marlins Swim Club topped the field with 50.

She was followed by Lauren Bridgewater of the Barracuda with 41, Elina Fiaux of the Lyford Cay Club with 36 and Mako’s Taliyhah Bowe with 27 and Rayven Ward with 24.

Boys 13-14 Donald Saunders of the Lightning Aquatics emerged as the winner with 34.

Orion Moss of the Black Marlins Swim Club had 29 as the runner-up.

Michael Fox of Alpha Aquatic was third with 28, Te Moncur III of the Barra cuda had 27 and team-mate Michael Miller ended up fifth with 24.

Girls 15-and-over

Barracuda’s Rhanishka Gibbs took the top spot with 50.

Her nearest rival was Jade Deane of the Freeport Aquatic with 40.

Alpha Aquatic’s Bianca Johnson had 29 for third and Leylah Knowles had 25 for fourth. Barracuda’s Grace Farrington got fifth with 24.

Boys 15-and-over Back Marlins Swim Club’s Joshua Murray posted a total of 49 for the top spot.

The Barracuda’s Hodari Prince was the runner-up with 41 and John Barr got third with 36.

Black Marlins’ Thomas Bower was fourth with 35, one more than Tristan Fer guson of Mako Aquatic with 34.

Next up on the federa tion’s calendar will be the Mako Aquatic Club’s swim meet in Grand Bahama today and Saturday before the Lightning Aquatic Club will host their swim meet on Saturday, November 26 at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex.

FROM PAGE 16

they face Mount Marty University JV tonight at 7pm.

Rolantae Knowles had his first double double of the season for the Butte Community College Roadrunners.

The sophomore guard finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and shot a perfect 14-14 from the free

OLE MISS

FROM PAGE 16

Hokies,

Five of the eight teams in the field were partici pants in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

All eight games of the Pink Flamingo Champion ship will be broadcast on FloHoops.

“We are going to look at those two games as a tour nament,” McPhee-McCuin said.

“We would like to win that championship. Yes, this is a business trip, but it is a life experience, too. [It will] give our players an experience that maybe they won’t ever get again.”

Ole Miss is off to a 4-0 start this season.

“I think we are starting to get a bravado about our selves,” McPhee-McCuin said following their most recent win 92-46 over Southern Mississippi.

“I think we are extremely confident on the defen sive end. We just have to mature. This group is still figuring out who they want to be.”

The Pink Flamingo event is a part of the expansion of Baha Mar Hoops.

In its second edition, 20 men’s and women’s teams will compete over the Thanksgiving holiday at Baha Mar.

Between November 18-27, the schedule of events includes 24 games played across three events - the Baha Mar Hoops, Nassau and Pink Flamingo Championships.

The Rebels have improved each year under

Oswald Meadows fin ished with eight points, six rebounds and three assists.

Knowles is averaging a team high 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories.

Meadows is averaging 9.4 points and five rebounds per game.

The Roadrunners are 1-4 on the season and will face Diablo Valley on Novem ber 22.

McPhee-McCuin’s tenure and after a season that pro duced the programme’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 15 years.

Ole Miss concluded the season 23-9, 10-8 in the SEC to earn an at-large bid and the no.7 seed in the Wichita Region where they lost to South Dakota.

She led Ole Miss to its first top 25 ranking since 2007.

The season was high lighted by a 13-game win streak, the third longest win streak in programme history.

It also included wins over three ranked opponents in conference postseason play.

The Rebels also found themselves slotted in the national polls with its first AP Poll appearance since 2007, when Ole Miss came in ranked at No. 24 on Jan uary 24.

Alabama Crim son Tide, Missouri Tigers, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

PAUL GREENE

‘Golden Girls’ inducted into National Sports Hall of Fame

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

It was a memorable night on Wednesday for the athletes, who shared centre stage with ‘Golden Girls’ Savatheda Fynes-Coke, Chandra Sturrup, Pauline DavisThompson, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and Eldece Clarke as they were inducted into the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Cul ture’s 2022 National Sports Hall of Fame.

It was the 17th induc tion ceremony since the initial class was enshrined in 1989. After a break, the second induction took place in 2003 and have been held every consecutive year with

this year’s ceremony staged at Baha Mar. Governor General Cornelius Smith performed the act.

While the ‘Golden Girls’ went in as a group of five women who put the Bahamas on the map with back-to-back gold medals at the World Champion ships in Seville, Spain in 1999 and the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia in 2000, they were joined by 14 individual athletes, two of whom are deceased.

Each of the induct ees, including champion boxers Ray Minus Jr and Stevie ‘the Heat’ Lari more, boxer and executive extraordinaire Wellington Miller, squash player Ivern Davis, softballers Sydney ‘Bobby Baylor’ Fernander

Swim meet held in honour of the late coach Sue Coleby

MAKO Aquatics Club’s Harold Simmons broke the only record on Saturday as the Bahamas Aquatics hosted its eighth annual CG Atlantic Medical Invi tational at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex.

At the one-day meet that was held in honour of the late coach Sue Coleby, Sim mons clocked one minute and 17.02 seconds to estab lish the new record in the 100 backstroke in the boys’ 8-10 age group division.

Simmons was also named the high point winner in his age group with 52 points, beating out Liam Lewis of the Barracuda Swim Club, who accumulated 42 for second. Mako’s Blair Thompson and Adrian Dean got third and fourth with 31 and 29 respectively. Christon Joseph of the Blue Waves rounded out the top five with 25.

The high point winners in the other age groups are as follows:

Girls 8-and-under

The Barracuda Swim Club got a 1-2 punch from Emma Wallace, the winner with 41 and Delnia Ham ilton, the runner-up with 37. Jaleah Knowles of the Freeport Aquatic Club was third with 30 and the Blue

Waves got fourth and fifth from Kirsten Rolle with 27 and Cailyn Dean with 22.

Boys 8-and-under Fraser Manzies of the Alpha Aquatics was the winner with 36. The Barra cuda got second and third from Cole Albury with 33 and Stafford Sweeting with 32. Lyall Menzies of Alpha Aquatics was fourth with 28 and Dakota Bastian of the Blue Waves completed the top five with 21.

Girls 9-10

It was another sweep of the top two spots for the Barracuda with Alissa Ferguson taking first place with 54, followed by Noel Pratt with 38. Taylen Nicholls got third for Mako Aquatic with 31, while the Barracuda’s Veranique Strachan was fourth with 29 and Dasha Griffin got fifth with 28.

Girls 11-12

The Barracuda Swim Club clinched the top four spots, led by Lelah Lewis with 54. Saleste Gibson trailed with 48, Madison Gilbert had 39 and Mady son Julien had 36. Samirah Donaldson completed the top five with 27.

Boys 11-12

It was another 1-2 finish for the Barracuda as David

Albury and Greene lead Chipola to no.6 ranking

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DEYTON Albury and Paul Greene have led Chipola to a no.6 national ranking while the Bahamian contingent at Northeast Community College continues to put up major numbers in their sophomore campaign.

Chipola improved to 6-0 in NJCAA Division I with an 85-57 win over South Georgia Tech Tuesday night. Albury finished with 15 points.

Greene has moved into the starting lineup in his first year with the pro gramme and is averaging 8.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while Albury is averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game.

“Our fans were great and there was a lot of energy in the gym,” said Chipola head coach Donnie Tyndall. “It was a nice turnout for a midweek game.”

Chipola will host the Milton H Johnson Classic this weekend when they will face Andrew College and Georgia Highlands over the weekend.

Chipola advanced to the national tournament with a 73-64 win over Indian River State College Saturday night to win the FCSAA State Title.

Chipola has captured the State Championship and advanced to the NJCAA Final Four in the last two seasons.

Emmanuel Alexandre, Colin Storr and Jaden Stra chan led Northeast to an even 2-2 record after their

dominant 105-78 win over Morningside University JV. Alexandre was the lead ing scorer for the third time in four games with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, Colin Storr had a double double with 21 points and 11 rebounds

while Jaden Strachan had 12 points and six rebounds off the bench in just 12 minutes. Bryan Rolle had a season high six rebounds off the bench and Saheed Sanusi dished three assists.

Alexandre is averaging 22 points, 7.3 rebounds and three assists per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range.

Tuesday night marked Storr’s second double double in three games. He is averaging 16.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game on 76 percent shooting from the field.

Strachan has been a key contributor off the bench with 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. They look to get above .500 when

and Everette ‘Abe’ John son, martial artist Charles Franklyn Adderley, volley ballers Raymond ‘Rhymes’ Wilson and Dr Patricia ‘Patti’ Symonette, body builder Maxine Darville, basketballers Perry Thomp son, Fred ‘Slab’ Laing, the late John Terry Wildgoose and bowler Monique Leary, were introduced with an historic review of their past by Kendal Wright, the host of a sports talk show.

In his response on behalf of the entire group, Wilson took a spiritual perspective from Psalms chapter eight and verse which asked the question: What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that

SPORTS NOTES

BOXING FIVE-MEMBER TEAM TRAVELLING

THE

Federation president Vincent Strachan confirmed that the team had to be trimmed down because of the lack of funding and the fact that there were issues with one or two of the boxers that he will address on his return home next week.

Set to travel are Clar ence Hepburn, Keano Cox, Keanu Greene, Elijah Smith, Anai Powell and Carl Hield.

National coach Valen tino Knowles will no longer travel as Jermaine Gibson will step up to take on that role, assisted by Strachan, who is a certified coach, ref eree and judge.

Disappointed in the fact that they once again had to reduce the team, Strachan said “no obstacles or set back will prevent us from moving forward.

“There are deliberate efforts to stifle me and my administration. God is with us. We will not be moved.”

Coach Yo and Ole Miss in Baha Mar Hoops

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas will be an active venue for NCAA basketball this month and that list of programmes will include Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s Ole Miss women’s programme.

Ole Miss will partici pate in the eight-team field at Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Champi onship at the Baha Mar Convention Centre.

Ole Miss is scheduled to face the Dayton Flyers at 8pm on November 21 and the Utah Utes at 7pm

on November 23. “242 we are on the way! This has been a dream come true! To be able to bring my team to The Baha mas here at Ole Miss!” McPhee-McCuin posted to Instagram.

“Come out and sup port your own and her Lady Rebels for two really good games! I can’t wait to be back home and show my programme what our beautiful coun try is about!”

The remainder of the Pink Flamingo field includes the Kentucky Wildcats, Virginia Tech

Singh won with 51 and Will Farrington was second with

47. Black Marlins’ Alexan der Murray was third with

Bahamas Boxing Federation has had to reduce its national team to a five-member squad that will travel to compete in the Sugar Bert Boxing Cham pionship in Kissimmee, Florida, this weekend.

DEYTON ALBURY

BAHAMAS Aquatics hosted its eighth annual CG Atlantic Medical Invitational, held in honour of the late swimming coach Sue Coleby, at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex on Saturday.

GOLDEN GIRLS, from left to right, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, Chandra Sturrup, Pauline DavisThompson, Eldece Clarke and Savatheda Fynes-Coke.