Volume: 122 No. 12, December 6, 2024
PM REJECTS TRUMP
DE P ORTATION P LAN
US president-elect proposed Bahamas accept
their migrants
By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has firmly rejected the proposal from US President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team for The Bahamas to accept deported foreign migrants whose home countries refuse to take them back.
Who will emerge best of the best?
A report by NBC News included The Bahamas on a list of countries with Turks and Caicos, Panama and Grenada. It remains unclear whether the deported migrants would be permitted to legally stay, work, and live in the countries they are sent to.
PINDER CONDE MNS FNM SENATOR FOR ACCUSING PL P OF CORRUP TION
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS
Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEY General
Ryan Pinder yesterday condemned FNM Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis for accusing the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) of corruption, calling her remarks inappropriate and a distortion of history.
Senator Barnett-Ellis made the comments during yesterday’s Senate debate on the Local Government Bill, accusing successive PLP administrations of a “long-standing integrity problem” while calling for a zero-tolerance approach to corruption.
“Bahamian pride is real,”
DAY one of the seventh Best-of-the-Best Regatta got off to a thrilling start yesterday at Montagu Beach. The races kicked off in the B Class, C Class and E Class to jumpstart four days of exciting competition on the water. The A Class race was postponed until today because the wind conditions were not ideal for racing.See PAGE TWO and SPORTS for more.
Minnis: Independent Commission of Investigation Bill ‘a waste of time’
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has criticised the Davis administration’s proposed Independent Commission of Investigation Bill 2022, calling it a “waste of time” and advocating for better enforcement of existing laws rather than introducing new ones.
Dr Minnie spoke as the government also dismissed
calls for a Commission of Inquiry, suggesting that the proposed legislation is sufficient to deal with current allegations of corruption.
“In terms of new laws being implemented, and it’s in a scale of zero to 10, we score nine,” Dr Minnis said. “We love to introduce new laws, but we don’t believe in enforcing them. As far as their law that they’re
PINTARD SAYS KNOWLES HAS HIS SUPP ORT TO LEAD P OLICE
By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
OPPOSITION Leader Michael Pintard confirmed his support for Assistant Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles in letter received by Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis. Mr Pintard said the Opposition stands ready to work with Ms Knowles and her top team in the best interest of the country. He told The Tribune his team had an opportunity to consult with persons who have in the past worked
F N M DENIES CLAIM MACE THROW WAS P LANNED
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Free National Movement (FNM) yesterday accused the Davis administration of distorting the events that unfolded in Parliament on Wednesday, rejecting claims that its actions were a “planned and coordinated assault”. In a statement, the FNM criticised the prime minister for “talking absolute nonsense” and dismissed accusations of violence, insisting that “the tape tells the tale.”
Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr
Best of the Best Regatta gets under way
DAY one of the seventh Best-of-the-Best Regatta got off to a thrilling start yesterday at Montagu Beach. See SPORTS for more.
Photos: Chappell Whyms Jr
Minnis: Independent Commission of Investigation Bill ‘a waste of time’
bringing in, that’s a perfect example of the rat asked to watch the cheese, or the cat asking the cat to babysit the rat. It’s a waste of time. If you don’t enforce, it’s a waste of time. All you need to do is enforce what we have, enforce the existing laws that we have. And we wouldn’t be at the point that we are today.”
Dr Minnis’ comments
followed discussions by National Security Minister Wayne Munroe in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis previously revealed plans to introduce new legislation to strengthen oversight of law enforcement agencies.
This legislation comes after a US federal indictment highlighted serious corruption allegations involving Bahamian law enforcement officers and government officials.
The indictment, filed by the US District Court for the Southern District of
New York, claims that drug traffickers have smuggled tons of cocaine through The Bahamas since 2021 with the support of corrupt Bahamian government officials, including members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force
(RBPF).
Police Chief Superintendent Elvis Curtis and Defence Force Chief Petty Officer Darren Roker were arrested in Florida on charges of conspiracy to import cocaine, firearm
possession, and firearms conspiracy. They will face trial in federal courts in New York. Additionally, retired officer Sergeant Prince Albert Symonette was named in the indictment and has also been discharged.
Communications director Latrae Rahming defended the government’s legislation yesterday, saying the bill would improve accountability and oversight of law enforcement and public officials. The bill seeks to establish an autonomous body to investigate serious allegations such as excessive force, corruption, and breaches of trust. It would allow for evidence gathering, witness summoning, and the recommendation of criminal charges where necessary.
“The Davis administration introduced an important piece of legislation aimed at enhancing oversight and ensuring greater accountability in our law enforcement structures. This is a critical step in our ongoing commitment to transparency and good governance,” Mr
Rahming said during the weekly press briefing held at the Office of The Prime Minister.
Dr Minnis, along with Free National Movement (FNM) leader Michael Pintard and chairman Dr Duane Sands, has urged the government to establish a Commission of Inquiry into the Royal Bahamas Police Force amid ongoing controversy.
However, Mr Rahming addressed calls for a Commission of Inquiry, saying: “The Prime Minister and by extension the administration believed that the bill being proposed is sufficient enough to launch an independent inquiry. We hope that [the opposition] will support this as a mechanism for that investigation. This bill is currently out for public consultation.”
He said Attorney General is expected to provide further details about the bill during a media session next Monday.
“When I was Prime Minister, there was an indictment coming down, and I was informed. This time, an indictment came down and they said they were not informed. So, I’m saying if they were not informed, then either the Americans did not trust them, or they’re not telling us the truth because I was informed, or they themselves are part of the investigation that’s going on. And if it’s not them, it’s immediate family members or close friends, and therefore, you couldn’t tell them. These are possibilities.”
The case adds to growing concerns over the leadership of Bahamian law enforcement. Earlier this year, leaked voice notes involving a senior police officer and gang members prompted an FBI-assisted investigation, leading to the placement of the head of the Criminal Investigation Division, Michael Johnson, on garden leave.
Dr Minnis also raised concerns about trust between the current administration and international partners, particularly the United States.
FNM denies claim Mace throw was planned
The chaos began when FNM MP Shanendon Cartwright hurled the Speaker’s mace out of a window following a heated exchange.
The dispute arose after House Speaker Patricia Deveaux refused to confirm whether FNM Leader Michael Pintard could speak on a US indictment alleging corruption, sparking anger among opposition members.
The disruption led to police storming the chamber, forcibly removing opposition MPs and clashing with an unruly crowd outside.
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) members swiftly condemned Mr Cartwright’s actions, describing them as political grandstanding that lacked the historical significance of Sir Lynden Pindling’s iconic protest.
“I would have hoped that at a moment when
our country’s reputation is under fire, that all of us could move forward together, and put country first,” Prime Minister Philip Davis said in a national address Wednesday evening.
“Unfortunately, the Members of the Opposition chose to put on a show instead.”
Speaker Deveaux called the incident a “dark day” for Bahamian politics, alleging she was assaulted
Pinder condemns FNM senator for accusing PLP of corruption
she said. “We are proud of these 700 islands and cays and the people who occupy them. We have constantly strived to be better. We have fought to protect our good name. We do not take it lightly when governments engage in corruption.
“The PLP cannot run from their history – they have always had an integrity problem. They were voted out for their corrupt behaviour in 1992, 2007, and 2017. God willing, they will be voted out again whenever the next election is called because our country cannot survive another term of what we are given by their administration.”
Her remarks came in the
wake of a recent US federal indictment alleging that Bahamian government officials, including highranking members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, facilitated drug trafficking operations. Prosecutors claim traffickers have smuggled tons of cocaine through The Bahamas into the United States since 2021.
Yesterday, Mrs BarnettEllis described corruption as a pervasive issue undermining trust, stifling development, and perpetuating inequality, citing its manifestations in bribery, embezzlement, favouritism, and fraud across both public and private sectors. Mr Pinder, however, strongly objected to her
assertions about PLP administrations.
“For her to bring this type of allegation and dither within this place is beyond her – she knows better,” Mr Pinder said. “And just because she is trying to prove a point to her failed leader in that other place to try and peddle some constituency doesn’t allow her to come in here and talk about the most established political party in the history of this country.
“The political party that brought this country to independence, Mr Chairman. The political party that created national insurance. For her to sit there and talk about us like that is misguided, and it should be withdrawn, Mr Chairman.”
Pintard: Davis has failed to deliver for GB and is running out of time
BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
FNM leader Michael Pintard said the Davis administration has failed to deliver on the hotel and airport in Grand Bahama and is running out of time.
He said the PLP, which came to office in 2021, has “overpromised and underdelivered” to Bahamians.
“Yesterday, once again we sent a message to this government that they are running out of time,” Mr Pintard told supporters gathered at the FNM headquarters in Grand Bahama on Thursday evening.
“A number of you came from Grand Bahama to help deliver the message.”
Mr Pintard said the government promised it would sell the hotel, but there has been no sale to date.
“If my math serves me right, that’s about two years. This government has been in power since 2021. They had a lot more time than we did and they are no closer to closing the deal on the hotel,” he stressed.
He said Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper has failed to deliver. “He flew in as the saviour of Grand Bahama, and he felt confident that things could happen, but he failed.” On the airport, Mr Pintard noted that the Davis administration has also failed to deliver on its promise to develop a worldclass airport in Grand Bahama. “We are wondering which site they will place the airport?” he said. The FNM leader said the
Grand Bahama business community and straw vendors are concerned about when the airport and hotel will be sold.
He said Mr Davis, the MP for Cat Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador, has also given notices on more than one occasion about when one of the deals would be sealed.
“The Bahamian people are now saying in a very loud voice throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, enough is enough,” Mr Pintard said.
and feared for her life.
She also claimed the incident resulted in the Deputy Speaker suffering a blow to the head and a police officer sustaining serious leg injuries.
However, the FNM refuted her version of events, saying: “At no time was the Speaker of the House of Assembly’s life in danger, as she dramatically and inexplicably claimed.”
“At no time did any
Opposition member lay hands on a government member—it was the recklessly thrown arm of a police officer that landed the North Eleuthera Member of Parliament in hospital. We wish him a speedy recovery.”
The FNM also accused police of using excessive force during the confrontation, claiming opposition members endured “overly aggressive actions” and were dragged from the
House “by any means necessary.”
“We have the scars, ripped clothing and bruises to prove it,” the party added.
The FNM claimed it has been repeatedly denied the opportunity to address the indictment, adding:
“The people are fed up, outraged and offended.”
“The world now knows the Opposition will not sit idly by and allow the people’s voice to be silenced.”
FORMER PRIME MINISTER DR HUBERT MINNIS
FNM leader Michael Pintard speaks to supporters at a rally in Grand Bahama last night. Photo: Denise Maycock/Freeport Reporter
Former House Speakers express concerns over Wednesday’s chaos
By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
TWO former House Speakers have expressed concern over Wednesday’s chaotic scenes in Parliament, which saw Opposition members forcibly removed, describing the incident as a symptom of deeper systemic issues within The Bahamas’ parliamentary system.
Former Speakers Italia Johnson and Halson Moultrie spoke to The Tribune after Wednesday’s event which saw St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright hurling the ceremonial mace out of a window.
The act led to police forcibly removing Opposition members.
“The Speaker should be getting independent legal advice as head of the legislative branch,” Mr Moultrie said yesterday, “But instead, the Attorney General, who advises the executive branch, is seen advising the Speaker, which should never happen. This dynamic makes it nearly impossible for the Speaker to effectively balance the interests of both sides of the House.”
Reflecting on his tenure, Mr Moultrie reiterated calls for parliamentary reforms to empower the Speaker and strengthen the legislature’s independence from
the executive branch.
In 2021, he resigned from the Free National Movement (FNM), describing the legislature’s subservience to the executive as “untenable”.
Meanwhile, Ms Johnson said Wednesday’s events reflect governance failures that prioritise political parties over national interests.
“The parliament itself is a unique body of governance. If you clearly think it through, the government will always win because of their numbers. But why should there be any effort to stifle the Opposition? Preventing the Opposition from making its contribution diminishes the institution.”
Pintard says Knowles has his support to lead police
in leadership positions in The Ministry of National Security, The Royal Bahamas Police Force as well as those who know Ms Knowles outside of her professional responsibilities.
“She was characterised for the better part as a capable, responsible, professional individual with significant experience within different strategic areas of law enforcement. She is regarded as a decent human being and the most suitable choice, given these unique circumstances.
“It is also significant to inform that there is a trend of thought, that W/ ACP Knowles enjoys the confidence of our Foreign Law Enforcement Colleagues which is of absolute significance, given our current climate in Law Enforcement.”
“We believe that Ms Knowles can succeed in setting a new direction for the RBPF. If she practices ‘inclusion’ thereby reinforcing and bridging the support of the rank and file of the police force and other uniformed fellow branches of the service.”
To ensure the success of the incoming Commissioner, Mr Pintard said her agency must be adequately resourced by the Ministry of National
Security and granted constitutionally guaranteed independence.
He added it is essential for her to have a strong and skilled team of deputies to support her in developing a strategic plan in collaboration with other stakeholders.
“It is fortunate that among the senior core top team remaining, there are several quality men and women among that top team capable of serving in that senior capacity.”
Office of the Prime Minister communications director Latrae Rahming said her appointment has less to do with her gender than to do with her qualifications.
He said the prime minister asked who was the best person to lead the police force at this time and it just so happened that it was a woman.
“I think that her extensive career at CID and investigation ability demonstrate our ability to take on the tough challenge she has developed the reputation as being a no-nonsense person of the force,” he said.
Mr Rahming also confirmed Deputy Commissioner Leamond Deleveaux has served his full time in the force and will go on retirement leave on December 10.
Asked about the fate of senior officers in
leadership roles, the communications director added the prime minister has spoken to his intention to make further changes throughout the police force but has not communicated those changes to him.
Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander resigned days after delivering a national address outlining his proposals aimed to target the failures and breaches in the police force.
Ms Knowles, 53, has served in the police force for 33 years. She has also held positions in the Southern Division, Criminal Investigations Department, Family Island Districts of Exuma and Eleuthera, the National Crime Prevention Office, and the Human Resources Department, in addition to serving as Commandant of the Police Reserves.
Her experience includes leading the Sexual Offences Squad and the Trafficking in Persons Squad, successfully investigating the first human trafficking case in the country.
From 2017 to 2020, she served as the director of the National Crime Prevention Office. She had also worked as the press liaison officer, communicating with the media and the public on behalf of the police force.
Ms Johnson also raised concerns about the lack of public trust in governance. “We are building a nation, and in order to build a nation, you must build the people. And in order to build the people, you must educate the people so the people will know their rights,” she said.
While neither former Speaker directly criticised current House Speaker Patricia Deveaux, both Mr Moultrie and Ms Johnson alluded to broader concerns about the Speaker’s role in maintaining fairness and parliamentary decorum.
Mr Moultrie said the perceived bias of the Speaker creates unnecessary conflict, while Ms Johnson called for
an approach that values dialogue over suppression.
Mr Moultrie acknowledged that while the Opposition’s actions on Wednesday were extreme, they were rooted in feelings of unfair treatment.
“Incidents like this will continue to happen as long as the Speaker is perceived to be serving the majority party instead of acting as an independent arbiter,” he said, adding that Wednesday’s escalation demonstrates the urgent need for parliamentary reform.
Ms Johnson framed the events as a reflection of broader governance failures. She criticised what she described as the
prioritisation of political parties over national interests, stating: “Above the party is a nation called the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, to which its citizens should expect it to function—not for politicians, but for the people.” Ms Johnson warned that sidelining dissent weakens democracy and damages The Bahamas’ international credibility.
“When I present my passport anywhere in the world, I don’t want it to be looked upon with questioning credibility. The people must be confident they are the beneficiaries of the flag and the Constitution, and right now, that’s not happening,” she said.
RBPF CONFIR MS DISCHA RGE OF SGT S YMONETTE AND DISMISSAL FOR CSP CUR TIS HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
POLICE have confirmed that Sergeant Prince Albert Symonette, one of 11 Bahamian men named in a high-profile US federal indictment, has been discharged from the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Outgoing Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander, in a statement yesterday, also disclosed that recommendations have been made for Chief Superintendent Elvis Curtis, another officer allegedly implicated in the
case, to be dismissed. Commissioner Fernander explained that the recommendation was made “because he has ceased to be an efficient police officer”.
“Hence, his dismissal is in the best interest of the public in accordance with Regulation 42 (1) Part V of the Police Service Commission Regulation.” The US indictment accuses Bahamian officials, including members of law enforcement, of facilitating drug trafficking operations. Prosecutors allege that traffickers used The Bahamas as a transit point for smuggling large quantities of cocaine into the United States with the help of Bahamian officials. The indictment list charges against several Bahamians, including Riccardo Adolphus Davis, William Simeon, Theodore Nathaniel Adderley, Joshua Scavella, Davon Rolle, Darren Ferguson, Domonick Delancey, Donald Ferguson II.
Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis told Parliament on Wednesday that the government would fully cooperate with any formal interdiction requests related to Bahamians named in the indictment.
Defence lawyer accuses WSC manager of ‘shucking, jiving and B S ing’ in examination
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net
A DEFENCE lawyer yesterday accused Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) general manager Robert Deal of “shucking, jiving, and BSing” during cross-examination in the criminal trial of Long Island MP Adrian Gibson and others.
Geoffrey Farquharson’s comment came as Damian Gomez, KC continued cross-examining the witness about his involvement in the WSC’s tank painting project.
Mr Deal previously claimed that he was not directly in the project but had signed documents relating to it, namely the job jacket.
When asked if the job jacket was prepared three weeks after the contract was signed, Mr Deal acknowledged that this appeared to be the case.
Mr Gomez then questioned whether this was standard procedure.
Mr Deal explained that officials preferred to receive the job jacket either before the contracts were signed or as soon as possible afterwards.
“Once a contract is issued, normally a contractor has to provide some initial documentation to the corporation because very soon after, we give a request for the mobilisation of payments,” he added.
When asked if the job jacket could have been issued earlier, Mr Deal agreed that it would have been better.
He had previously testified that he initially removed two tanks from the project proposal as they were unsuitable for painting.
Mr Gomez referred to Mr Deal’s responsibility for producing weekly and monthly reports and asked whether his reports included the five tanks.
However, Mr Deal said he was not reporting on
the tanks but rather “on the reports from the engineering planning and department”.
When asked if the department’s reports were related to the five tanks, Mr Deal confirmed that details were included in the weekly and monthly reports.
Mr Gomez asked the witness if, based on the reports submitted to him, he had realised at some point that the project’s job jacket, which included details on four tanks, were inaccurately reported.
To which Mr Deal responded: “When they prepared the job jacket and it’s critical to note they indicated that it’s phase one and my understanding is they had a view as to why they called it phase one and there would be some future phase.” Mr Farquharson, one of the defence attorneys, raised a strong objection to Mr Deal’s testimony, accusing him of being dilatory.
“He’s in here talking foolishness when they’re trying to ensure that everyone in this court knows what is was that happened,” the attorney argued. “The procedure was the board made a recommendation, then authorised a series of contracts, a job jacket was prepared so that the contractors could be paid and he amended what the board said with not authority.”
However, Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell
Frazier rejected the objection, insisting the witness had been answering the questions.
“Because Mr Farquharson comes in and out, that may be a disadvantage for him,” she said. “He does not know what has been asked, what has been answered and the position as to what are the facts.” Nonetheless, Mr Gomez did not relent, suggesting that the WSC’s engineering department had made an error on the job jacket. However, Mr Deal disagreed, saying they had received instructions from the board.
“They prepared a phase one job jacket and they were proceeding with that,” he added.
The trial, which is focused on allegations of misconduct and failure to declare interests in government contracts, continues with Mr Gibson, former WSC GM Elwood Donaldson Jr, and others facing charges related to their roles in awarding contracts during Mr Gibson’s tenure.
The defence team includes Mr Gomez, Mr Farquharson, Murrio Ducille KC, Ian Cargill, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve, and Raphael Moxey. The Crown’s legal team includes Ms Frazier, Karine MacVean, and others.
Senior Justice CherylGrant Thompson is the presiding judge over the case.
ADRIAN GIBSON
PM rejects Trump deportation plan
An
Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) statement yesterday said the matter was presented to the Bahamian government and was reviewed.
“The Bahamas simply does not have the resources to accommodate such a request. The Prime Minister priorities remain focused on addressing the concerns of The Bahamian people,” the statement read.
“Since the Prime Minister’s rejection of this proposal, there has been
no further engagement or discussions with the Trump transition team or any other entity regarding this matter. The Government of The Bahamas remains committed in its position.”
OPM communications director Latrae Rahming said this is not a contentious issue between the government of The Bahamas and the Trump administration.
“The government of The Bahamas see the US as our valued partners,” he said. “The prime minister and by extension the administration look forward to working along
with the incoming Trump administration.”
“The Bahamas position on migration has been consistent, both in the FNM and the PLP. Our position is The Bahamas do not have the resources to deal or accommodate with large migration flows.”
Similarly, Turks and Caicos Immigration Minister Arlington Musgrove stated his government will not accept deportees from the United States or any other nation who are not citizens of Turks and Caicos.
He emphasised that
Funeral Service For
Alice Eleanor Thompson, 72
of Eaton Avenue, Cable Beach, New Providence, Bahamas will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, 11:00am at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Boyd Road. Offciating will be assisted by. Interment will follow in Lakeview Gardens, Gladstone Road.
She was predeceased by her parents Mr. James B. Thompson and Mrs. Milliscent Thompson; sister Agnes Thompson; brothers Tyrone Thompson and George Rolle.
Left to cherish her memory are her sons: Percy Smith Jr. and Lamont Anton Smith; daughter: Alicea Smith Jennings; brother: Wayde Lightbourne; grandchildren Chardaie Jennings and Charmon Jennings Jr., Lamont Jr., Taliyah, and Limiya Smith, Onesha, Arianna, Faith and Tamaury Smith and Arianna Jennings; great-granddaughter: Savanna Munroe; daughters-inlaw: Iena Smith and Takia Edgecombe Smith; son-in-law: Charmon Jennings Sr; nieces and nephews: Sheryl, Deborah, Tanya, Marvin, Leonardo, Dominic, Nakita, Lisa, Symone, Wilson, Raquel, Roscoe, Philip, and many more; grand-nieces and grand-nephews: Vanencha, Vanteria, Voneisha, Valexia, Angel-Dior, Tyrell, Tyran, Terra Sr. Darren Jr. Kevey, Trae, Brittney, Rychee, Jade, Diamonde, Renaldo, Leon, D’Angelo, Gabrion, Spencer, Tiara, Shakier, Kevin, Mario, Taskarieii; great-grand-nieces and great-grand-nephews: Talicia, Aaliyah, Antoinique, Takayla, Terron Jr. Tyesha, Tyrone, Terronise, Semaji, T’Hara, Samara, Edrin, yom, Shilon, Londyn, Leveah, Jouree, Dior; sisters-in-law: Alice Thompson and Mary Lightbourne; special friends and extended family: The family of the late Corrine Ferguson, the Johnson family, the Ministry of Education family, St. Joseph Church family, the Smith’s Motel family, Elaine and Sonia Thompson and family, Dorothy, Donna, Bridgette, Marlene and family, the Chippingham community, Ms. Denise, Ms. Renae, and Ms. Rosemary, Angela Williamson, Anika Darville, Latoya Kirkwood Paul, Marlin and Vincent McKenzie, Larica Armbrister, Henry Sands, Christine and Genva Bridgewater, Melissa Maynard, Euloise Hart and family, Karen Johnson and family, Constance Rolle and family, Dr. Davis Simmons and family and the Medicine Centre Staff. Alice’s unwavering love, generosity, and vibrant spirit will forever remain in the hearts of all.
Viewing will be held in the Serenity Suite at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd. on Robinson and Soldier Roads on (TODAY) Friday from am to pm and on Saturday at the church from am until service time.
Turks and Caicos will not engage in programmes that forcibly relocate individuals against their will or the country’s wishes.
“Turks and Caicos, like all nations, has the sovereign right to determine who may reside within its borders. The unilateral imposition of third-country deportation policies, such
as those reportedly under consideration by the incoming Trump administration, is fundamentally at odds with international norms and legal standards.”
“We are deeply concerned about any suggestion of displacing individuals to countries with which they have no connection. Such policies disregard the cultural, social, and economic implications for receiving countries and the humanitarian impact on the individuals affected.” He added Turks and Caicos is already facing significant challenges managing irregular migration and the accompanying strain on resources.
Funeral Service For
Dwight Mizer Moncur, 54
of the Western District, New Providence, Bahamas will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, 10:00am at Church of God of Prophecy, East Street. Offciating will be Hulan Hanna assisted by other Ministers of the Gospel. Interment will follow in the Woodlawn Gardens, Soldier Road. He was predeceased by his father: Deweese Moncur; parents-in-law: Neville and Henrietta Hart and Jaban and Dorothy Bastian; adopted parents: Cleveland and Matilda Stuart; brother-in-law: Ron Miller; sisters-in-law: Curlene Grant, Patsy Hart and Angeline Hart. Those remaining to celebrate his life, times and legacy are his widow: Rowena Moncur; daughter: Dwynaye Moncur; mother: Erma L. Moncur; sisters: Keva Miller, Meagan Smith and Sheniqua Glinton; brother: Cardinal Moncur; adopted siblings: Ricardo (Carla) Stuart, W. Renae McKay, Eulease StuartJohnson, Christine (Bishop Chadwick) James, Linburgh (Laura) Stuart and Terrel Stuart; mother-in law: Kay Evans; sisters-in-law: Nathalie Bain, Eldora Beneby, Annavee Simms and Dr. Karen Bassey; brothers-in-law: Supt. Kendal Smith, Drameco Glinton, Wilson Bain, Mark Grant Sr., Felton Beneby, Maurice Simms and Daniel Bassey; adopted siblings-In-law: Dr. Ailsa Coakley (Maryland), Everita and Bryahn Ivery (Washington, D.C.), John (Debbie) Ferguson, Jeroboam (Roseann) Bastian, Norwood (Ruby) Dean (Miami, Florida), Sonia Williamson; godchildren: D’Nealson Bain, Soraya Halkitis, Takario McKenzie, Ennis Rahming, Julian Smith and Peneil Stuart; nieces: Taeja and Tiffany Miller, Shoron (Rashaun) Rolle (Staniel Cay, Exuma), Kenva Smith (Houston, Texas), Carnika (De’Margio) Major, Talisha Moncur and Rashonda Frieson (Atlanta, Georgia), Kiana (Preston) Ashman (Savannah, Georgia), Drameca Mackey, Full Commander RBDF Samantha Hart, Claudine Bain, Mia Bain, Dr. Wilnaye Bain-Strachan, Marlene Baugh, Markel Grant, Felicia and Felicity Beneby, Marisiana and Monaye Simms, Charmile Hart, and Sasha Beneby; nephews: Theo Clarke, Javaughan Longley, Kendal Jr. and Keyshawn Smith, Able Seaman DeCordré, Malik and Tyler Glinton, Ron Miller II, Dominique, Denardo and D’Nealson Bain, Richard Baugh, Mark Jr. and Markus Grant, Deron Strachan, Captain Felton Beneby Jr., Daniel II and Kendrick Bassey; grand-nieces: Jazelle Longley, Faith Riley Rolle, Jasmine, Serenity and Kadence Bain; grand-nephews: DeCordré Glinton II, Amari Major, Ron Miller III, Patuel Jr. and Kori Hart, Nev’vyn, Dominque Jr. and Denardo Jr. Bain; aunts: Eleanor Douglas, Adelaide Woodside, Eloise Storr, Sandra Roker, Carol Gilbert, Edna Pratt, Betty Duncombe, Yvonne (Craig) Woods, Yourlander “Thora” Sweeting and Sheila Johnson; uncles: Elkanah Gilbert, Dudley Teddy Symonette, Rudolph Douglas, Hermis Pratt, Bruceman (Leona) Sweeting; cousins: Artemus (Sherry) Gilbert, Ural (Sheyanne) Pratt, Delone Symonette, Ricardo (Shanika) Douglas, Robert (Theresa) and Stephen (Dellarese) Moncur, Nathaniel, Judy, Vernel, Elvira, Randon, Anthon, Kippkeno (Carnel), Jerome (Esther) and Dulcie Gilbert, Martina (Jovan) Bosfeld, Pertrinka Charlton, Markintell (Janka) Pratt, Carolyn Douglas, Antoinette (Kent) Deveaux, Chewuakii, Kendrix (Vanessa)and Trevino Symonette, Yolanda Thompson, Demetria, Carson and Shakera Storr, Bernadette (Father Whitfeld) Hutcheson, Ambrosine (Neil) Poitier, Patrice (Chavan) Robinson, Darren, Larry, Valentino (Paula) and Krizia Woodside, Eddie and Debbie Mortimer, Lenora Moncur, Monique Adderley, Ramon Moncur, Linzell Collie, Patrice Rolle, and Coolidge Rolle, Claudette (John) Barrette, Anna (Rodney) Lloyd, Judy Hamilton, Judith Sutherland, Marcia Moncur; and a host of other relatives and friends including: Ruth, Caticah and Monicah Cloud and family, Loretta Mackey and family, Anita Dorsette and family, Jonathan Miller, Barbara Wright and family, Dr. Darbrielle Hunt-Burrows and family, Esther Storr and family, Leslie Moncur, Bishop Hulan and Valerie Hanna, Apostle Rick and Pastor Gay Dean, the families of Clarence and Charlean Cox, Dannielle Brathwaite, Kevin and Wanza Munroe, Desmond and Suzanne Conlifffe, Dwight and Dr. Vonetta Bonamy, Vanessa Thompson and family Lorenzo and Fumilayo Carroll, Hinsey and Jewel McKenzie, Bob Miller, Anthony and Dorothy Curtis, Carl and Vashti Glinton, Roscoe and Twyla Perpall, Philip and Thelma McKenzie, Christopher and Eunice John, Walter and Gail, Glen and Joycelyn Minus, Church of God of Prophecy, New Destiny Baptist Church, Family of Faith Ministries International, Golden Gates World Outreach Ministry, Serville Avenue, South Beach, Cordia Street and Coral Harbour Communities, Bahamas Air Navigation Services Authority (BANSA), Barracuda Swim Club, Black Marlin Swim Club, Desmond Greenslade and the entire Moncur Heritage family, Devil’s Point and The Cove, Cat Island Communities, Descendants of Lizzie Major, Cleveland Bain, Gwendolyn Gibson, Sheva Dean, Sarah Seymour, Sarah Hepburn, Armenta Hepburn and Florida Hepburn and other relatives and friends.
The family sincerely apologizes if your name was inadvertly omitted. We acknowledge and value your friendship and thank you for your prayerful support during our time of bereavement.
Viewing will be held in the Serenity Suite at Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium Ltd. on Robinson and Soldier Roads on (TODAY) Friday from 10:00am to 5:00pm and on Saturday at the church from 8:30 am until service time.
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER LATRAE RAHMING
The Tribune Limited
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Trump proposal a sign of what’s to come?
IS the news that the Trump transition team has proposed that The Bahamas serves as a home for the migrants the US wishes to kick out a sign of things to come?
Thankfully, our government gave the proposal short shrift.
The government confirmed that The Bahamas had been approached over the plan – which would see migrants being deported from the US that were not accepted by their home nations, only to be foisted on other nations where they have no connection. Ours was one such nation on the list being contacted by the president-elect’s team.
Grenada, Panama and the Turks and Caicos Islands were similarly approached, it is understood.
The Office of the Prime Minister here swiftly sent out a note to say that the proposal had been “reviewed and firmly rejected”.
We have, apparently, heard no more since. So far, at least.
In Panama, the Foreign Ministry there said it had received no such proposal, officially or unofficially.
Meanwhile, the Turks and Caicos said no, Mr Trump, we’re not interested. Immigration Minister Arlington Musgrove there said the country had the sovereign right to determine who lived within its borders – and the islands were not interested in what Mr Trump had to offer.
We can presume, however, that this won’t go away.
Mr Trump has put dealing with immigration as one of the pillars of his platform. He may well not take no for an answer. Not easily, at least.
This is one of the first signs of some of the turbulence that we might come to expect under the incoming administration.
Mr Trump, famously, prides himself on the art of the deal. We must see what deal he puts on the table next.
‘Shanta’s law is coming to town’
A note from a reader followed the news that the FNM is giving its support to Shanta Knowles to become chief of police.
It is now likely a formality that the rest of the process will go ahead and she will be the first woman to be named Police Commissioner.
The note had a festive feel, saying “She’s making a list, she’s checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty and nice, Shanta’s law is comin’ to town”.
There certainly is a list awaiting Ms Knowles when she takes up her new role.
There is the investigation into the voice notes that were leaked purporting to reveal a discussion between a senior officer, a lawyer and two criminals, the latter two of which have since been killed.
There is the aftermath of the US indictment which has seen two Bahamian police officers named among 11 Bahamians in total. One of those officers has since been discharged from the force, while the officer in custody in the US has a discharge recommendation against his name.
That aftermath will also include the investigation that will need to come on this side of the water – including any arrests in response to any US request for extradition.
All of that before we even get to a murder rate that remains too high, and seemingly out of control.
We wish Ms Knowles well. She will be in our prayers. We will be happy to offer support in the fight against both crime and corruption. For all our sakes, we hope she is a success.
Remembering Adriel and Vernencha on Femicide Awareness Day
EDITOR, The Tribune.
EQUALITY Bahamas is hosting its annual series of events during the Global 16 Days campaign, this year with a focus on rage and (anti-)resilience. We know that rage is a valid emotion that demands action and can be channeled into activism. We know that resilience should not be an expectation of individuals, but a benefit of community and government systems. These facts direct us to change the narratives of rage and resilience, to recognise our interdependence, and to understand State obligations and how we can hold it accountable. Today, Femicide Awareness Day, we remember the rape and murder of 12-yearold Adriel Moxey and the rape and murder of 72-yearold Vernencha Butler which dominated national headlines and social media for less than one week. While the public outcry is now not even a murmur, Equality Bahamas reminds the Government of The Bahamas that it is culpable in these and other cases of femicide. Girls should be able to walk home from school, and elderly women should be able to enjoy the comfort of their own homes, without
fear of violation. “Protection of women and girls” is a term and a tool of patriarchal origin that we must reject as we demand the creation of a world where women and girls do not need to be protected (by men) from men, but enjoy lives of freedom, safety, and equality.
“Gender discriminatory law is a form of structural gender-based violence. The law sets a standard which directly influences societal beliefs and individual behavior. By choosing not to criminalize marital rape, by refusing to pass the gender-based violence bill, by delaying amendments to legislation to address gender inequality in nationality rights, the Government of The Bahamas is one of the greater perpetrators and perpetuators of genderbased violence,” said Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas.
Equality Bahamas continues to call on the government to end genderbased violence and the gender- and sex-based killing of women and girls. It must end its complicity in gender-based violence by amending all discriminatory laws, working to address gender stereotyping, and
Black Wednesday momentum?
EDITOR, The Tribune.
implementing recommendations made by international human rights mechanisms.
During the Global 16 Days Campaign, Equality Bahamas renews its demands that the Government of The Bahamas update and pass the gender-based violence bill, criminalise marital rape by removing “who is not his spouse” from the definition of rape in Article 3 of the Sexual Offenses Act, record and publicly report on the gender-based killing fo women and girls as femicide, and fully comply with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and provide information on the Convention to the public.
Equality Bahamas invites the public to attend its remaining events during the Global 16 Days Campaign: a day of printmaking on Saturday (drop-in) from 10am to 5pm, a writing workshop with Staceyann Chin on Monday at 6pm, and a book-making workshop with Sonia Farmer, all at Poinciana Paper Press at 12 Parkgate Road. Details and registration: lu.ma/16days24. EQUALITY BAHAMAS December 5, 2024.
I CHUCK LE D to myself after reading House Speaker Patricia Deveaux claiming to have been in fear for her life as Free National Movement St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright threw the mace out of the window of the House of Assembly. Madame Speaker was being overly dramatic. It is unfortunate that the deputy speaker and a police officer were both hurt. I am hoping that Cartwright and the FNM will offer apologies to the individuals in question. But I don’t believe for one second that Cartwright meant to physically harm anyone. For Cartwright and the FNM, this incident has given the opposition much needed traction. December 4, 2024 might go down in Bahamian history as Black Wednesday. That there were FNM protesters outside of Parliament suggests to this writer that the entire ordeal was pre-planned by FNM L eader Michael Pintard and the Opposition hierarchy. The FNM was in fire need of a political shot in the arm in order to do away with the narrative that its leadership is weak and irrelevant. The FNM badly needed to send an unequivocal message to the Bahamian people that it is a viable alternative to the governing P L P, not L incoln Bain’s Coalition of Independents. The mace incident was well timed and strategic. The FNM knows all too well the partisan inclinations of Deveaux. They were well aware that she was not about to let Pintard address the House
of Assembly on the US indictment of the 11 Bahamians, despite being a duly elected member of Parliament.
This isn’t a matter similar to the antics of Cassius Stuart and Omar Smith of the defunct Bahamas Democratic Movement in 2002 when Hubert Ingraham was Prime Minister. The two handcuffed themselves to the mace in an attempt to gain political clout. The BDM never gained traction. It is my belief that Black Wednesday is eerily similar to an event that occurred 59 and a half years ago in the same “honorable” chamber. On April 27, 1965, the then Opposition Progressive L iberal Party L eader Sir Lynden O Pindling threw the mace out the window of Parliament, shocking governing United Bahamian Party MPs and House Speaker Robert Symonette. Sir Milo B Butler would get in on the action by tossing the hour glass outside Parliament. Butler along with A D Hanna were both physically removed from the lower chamber. Undoubtedly, the FNM was emulating what Sir Lynden and the P L P did in 1965. While Cartwright is being applauded by FNMs, P L Ps are criticising his political antics. I read a Facebook post by P L P Cabinet Minister Clay Sweeting belittling the St Barnabas MP by stating that there will never be another Sir Lynden. It was obviously a subtle swipe at his Parliamentary
colleague. I don’t think Cartwright was attempting to be another Pindling. Yet it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the Central and South E leuthera MP is oblivious of the fact that Pindling was not the one who came up with the idea of tossing the Speaker’s mace out of the House of Assembly. A year or so prior to his death in August 2000, Sir Lynden told his biographer, Dr Michael Craton, that it was either FNM founder Sir Cecil WallaceWhitfield or L oftus Roker who came up with the idea of throwing the mace out the window of the House of Assembly. He wasn’t certain who exactly it was. But he was certain that it was Sir Cecil who acted as the go-between P L P MPs and P L P protestors assembled outside of Parliament on that fateful day on April 27, 1965. At the time, Sir Cecil was P L P chairman. About a year and a half later, on January 10, 1967, the P L P would finally achieve majority rule after riding high on the momentum Black Tuesday gave to the party. Pindling knew that the P L P needed to do something significant to arouse the attention of the Bahamian people. I am guessing that Pintard and the FNM were thinking along the very same lines as the father of the nation. Are we witnessing a similar scenario? Will the FNM and Pintard be able to build up on the momentum Black Wednesday has given to the party? Time will tell.
KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama December 4, 2024.
Have a cool, fun, interesting, amazing photo? Have it featured here in The Tribune’s picture of the day! Email your high quality image to pictureoftheday@tribunemedia.net
START of the first race of the weekend from Montagu, Thursday Dec. 5th, 2024.
Photo: Ron Lightbourn
Glover-Rolle says bi-weekly pay to begin early 2025 - BPSU chief baffled
By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net
AFTER Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle announced plans to introduce bi-weekly pay early next year, Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) president Kimsley Ferguson said he was baffled by the comments, arguing that union leaders had previously been informed the government was not presently pursuing this change.
Mrs Glover-Rolle’s update on the bi-weekly pay initiative came yesterday on the sidelines of the National Tripartite Council’s annual event.
Her comments follow Prime Minister Philip Davis’s announcement in June that bi-weekly salaries would be introduced as part
of a series of public sector reforms. However, the announcement was poorly received by some public servants, who criticised it as an “ill-thought-out plan”. Explaining the initiative yesterday, Mrs Glover-Rolle said bi-weekly pay would help align the public service with the private sector.
She said the shift would provide public servants with greater “liquidity” by increasing their cash flow through more frequent payments. When asked when biweekly payments might begin, Mrs Glover-Rolle said: “We anticipate that early in 2025 we will start to see a pilot or a rollout of that bi-weekly. We’re still in consultation, still in the phase of practical implementation of our system, and we are hoping that can
be on board early in 2025.”
In response, Mr Ferguson told The Tribune he was confused, explaining that Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) president Belinda Wilson recently received a letter from Financial Secretary Simon Wilson indicating that biweekly payments were not currently being pursued.
“Prior to any application of a bi-weekly-based cycle, the government agreed in a communication from the Financial Secretary that they would meet first with the various stakeholders,” Mr Ferguson said.
“It baffles me to wonder how Mrs Glover-Rolle could go on the media and say stuff like that,” he added.
Attempts by The Tribune to obtain the letter from Mrs Wilson were unsuccessful by press time.
Work on White Paper on Bahamian labour law underway
By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter
jrussell@tribunemedia.net
LABOUR and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said work is underway on a white paper aimed at reforming labour legislation in The Bahamas, with plans to present it to Cabinet for approval.
Officials are aiming to introduce new labour legislation in Parliament next year, marking a significant step in modernising the sector.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Mrs Glover-Rolle shared that the first draft of the consultative white paper on labour reform has been completed, with work now focused on preparing the second draft.
The white paper seeks to address ambiguities and eliminate outdated laws governing the labour market. “A lot of the recommendations that have been made are very progressive, which means
Bimini man accused of multiple robberies, and possession of drugs
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A BIMINI man had his burglary charges transferred to the Supreme Court yesterday after being accused of a series of robberies on the island over the summer.
Gavargo Saunders, 33, had his voluntary bill of indictment (VBI) served by Senior Magistrate Algernon Allen Jr. for two counts of burglary.
Saunders is accused of breaking into the residence
of Henry Tellez in Bimini Bay on June 20, as well as the home of Paulita EllisLyden in Bimini Bay Villas on July 15.
He was arrested on July 16 after allegedly being found in possession of a knife, along with marijuana and cocaine, on King’s Highway, North Bimini.
Police also accused Saunders of resisting arrest and assaulting PC 4277 Young and SGT 3705 Thompson during the incident.
After signing his VBI and a notice of alibi, which
lists the witnesses he plans to call in his defense, Saunders was informed that his case would be transferred to Senior Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson for arraignment.
He is scheduled to appear before Justice GrantThompson on February 21, 2025.
The defendant, appearing in court with his ankles cuffed, claimed he had already been granted bail and was simply waiting for the installation of his monitoring device.
MAN CHARGED WITH STEALING AND UNLAWFUL ENTRY
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was granted bail yesterday after he was accused of illegally entering a person’s home in Kool Acres and stealing cash on Sunday.
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
SIX teenage boys were remanded to Simpson Penn after they were accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint at RM Bailey park last week.
Senior magistrate
Senior Magistrate Algernon Allen Jr arraigned Dominique Kelly, 37, on unlawful entry and stealing. The defendant allegedly entered a residence without permission and stole $350 in cash on December 1.
Algernon Allen Jr arraigned six males between the ages of 13 and 15, whose names are being withheld due to them being minors, on charges of armed robbery. The defendants’ guardians were present. The boys are accused of allegedly robbing Joyann Curtis of her iPhone 12
Kelly pleaded not guilty to all charges. With no objection to his bail from the prosecutor, it was set at $4,000 with one or two sureties.
Kelly’s trial is set to begin on April 1, 2025. V Lafluer represented the accused.
worth $300 while armed with a black handgun while she was driving in a car at the park at 8.45pm on November 28.
The defendants will be remanded to the Simpson Penn Center for Boys until their voluntary bill of indictment is served on March 7, 2025.
that The Bahamas will be leading the way in labour regionally and in some instances globally, progressive, because the matters that are being addressed speak to improved conditions for workers, and that is the ultimate goal,” Mrs Glover-Rolle said on the sidelines of a National Tripartite Council (NTC) event yesterday. She expressed optimism about receiving Cabinet approval for the white paper and highlighted ongoing consultations with various stakeholders to ensure comprehensive input.
During the consultation process, the ministry received 255 recommendations from the NTC aimed at strengthening worker protections,
fostering business growth, and ensuring a fair and inclusive labour force. The consultations involved both trade unions and the government.
The NTC event, held yesterday at the National Training Agency, carried the theme “Meaningful Social Dialogue”. NTC chairman Sharon Martin, who was re-elected to the position, underscored the importance of stakeholders collaborating when making decisions that impact the nation’s labour policies. She noted that the council has previously collaborated with the government on the National Apprenticeship Programme and is now working together on living wages.
MURDER ACCUSED BELIEVED TO HAVE ABSCONDED
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN with a pending murder charge was said to have absconded yesterday as he failed to appear at his court hearing date.
Justice Gregory Hilton noted that Owen Williams, 23, failed to appear in his court.
The defendant was on
Supreme Court bail for his alleged involvement in the death of Richard Fowler in Fox Hill on February 12, 2019.
Last March, Williams was fined $1,250 by Magistrate Kendra Kelly after he admitted to failing to charge his monitoring device five times.
On June 3, a wanted poster was issued by the police when it was
found the defendant had absconded. Justice Hilton set Williams’ next case management date for September 11, 2025. Williams’s trial is tentatively sent to commence on July 6, 2026. Justice Hilton expressed hope the defendant will be arrested before his next court date.
NAMETAG WOB
Dangerous waters at Hole-in-the-Wall, and three boats’ misfortune
HOLE-in-the-Wall Light is a hauntingly lovely isolated spot, the only building for dozens of miles on the southeast tip of Great Abaco. The motor yacht René, owned by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr, head of General Motors, ran aground nearby – they don’t know where – with the Duke of Duchess of Windsor during World War II. The in turn owned the motor yacht Gemini, believed to be still afloat.
A very different kind of vessel, Onego Traveler was a European timber-carrier ship which lodged there in 2022, and appears destined to remain.
René was built in 1930 by Pusey and Jones, in Delaware. Her owner, Mr Sloan, purchased the 236ft fast floating palace for $1m. It was 34ft wide, 13.5ft deep,
By Eric Wiberg
and made 14 knots with twin 1,100 bhp diesel engines.
The yacht and Windsors were world famous: in midJanuary 1941 they stirred up diplomatic waters when the Windsors joined the Sloans aboard René at Cat Cay, Bimini.
Against instructions from London, the impetuous former king flew over to Miami to watch an air show.
Prime Minister Churchill wanted the Duke kept in the colony over which he was governor. Many in the
Britain’s ruling class, including the royal family he had abandoned, did not trust the Duke.
In December, the Windsors visited Andros with Axel Wenner-Gren, owner of Electrolux and much of Paradise Island, aboard his yacht Southern Cross the largest in the world. They are said to have only taken the fateful voyage on René because their plans for a long trip to the US were thwarted, again by powersthat-be in London. President
On March 27, 1941, the Windsors, without their host Mr Sloan, set off on a tour of the Out Islands with Sergeant Holder and Senior Out Island Commissioner John Hughes. They voyaged to Whale Cay in the Berry Islands, San Salvador, Inagua, Crooked Island, Long Island, Cat Island, and Hope Town Abaco.
On their way to Grand Bahama, however on April 3rd René ran aground in rough weather in the early hours. According to an eyewitness, the Duchess’ private secretary, Jean D Hardcastle-Taylor (who appears to conflate the route), they were woken at 4.30 am to the sounds of the ship’s hull and propellers gnashing against reefs. She wrote in a later tell-all memoir that “The ship had gone off its course and we had missed the Holein-the-Wall Light. I guess too many shipboard experts had jumbled the proper course”. The Nassau harbour pilot was aboard, and the Duke told her that “we were lodged on a treacherous soft coral reef about 50 feet from the visible outline of the shore, and the surf is too violent for any possible landing attempt.”
The captain, who “looked ill with anxiety”, ordered the royal party into a ship’s launch commanded by one of René’s officers, initiating another dubious voyage. Loaded to the gunwales with two sailors, two government officials, two royals, three dogs, a valet, safes, files, and jewel cases, but not too much fuel, the boat set off in the wrong direction, presumably west, where the nearest village was Sandy Point. During a voyage of five and a half hours during which “an elderly native in a small rowboat …gave us directions to reverse our course”, and admittedly lost, they then passed René again “waving to those on board”. The eight people and three dogs finally landed at Cherokee Sound, and were later that day joined by René, allegedly in a harbour there, though even shallow mailboats are known to have had to anchor off and row ashore at the time.
Later that year, the US Navy requisitioned René, a week after Pearl Harbour, and she became USS Beryl. After conversion to a pilot boat in Seattle in 1947 the Maryland Pilots Association purchased her. Put to use as a pilot boat off Cape Henry, Virginia, from 1949 to 1977 as Baltimore, the vessel was ultimately scrapped in Camden, New Jersey, in the 1980s.
The Duke returned to Nassau to complain that just because he played 18 holes of golf a day, people thought he wasn’t working, and aircraft flying over Government House at night notwithstanding the raison d’être of the colony during the war was to deliver warplanes to Europe and the Middle East and train Allied pilots.
Not to be put off, the Windsors soon set off from
Nassau to Miami aboard their private power yacht Gemini on April 17, 1941, and spent the weekend in Palm Beach at the Everglades Club. The wooden boat was used by their professional captain to take them to Florida and back and among the Bahamas during their tenure.
On one of their voyages, on June 27, 1943, their 83ft Coast Guard escort, USCG83421 was cut in half and sunk by a US Navy 110ft escorting the cruiser USS Cincinnati, with all 13 sailors recovered. Gemini was said to have been a gift, possibly from Arthur Vining-Davis, head of Alcoa, and was named for the Duchess’ star sign.
Roughly 55ft long, Gemini was built in 1941 by Electric Launch Company, or Elko, and is believed to still be afloat. It is said the Duke and Duchess drank from glasses etched with Gemini and they were seen arguing in the state room.
One sunrise in May of 1945 the couple fled the Bahamas in Gemini, quitting their third and final job weeks before the war concluded in Europe, and months before it ended in Japan. They carried Sydney Johnson, a Bahamian valet with them into self-imposed exile.
A stricken ship named Onego Traveler sought safety at Hole in the Wall Light in foul weather on Christmas Day 2022 while arriving from the North Atlantic into the Northeast Providence Channel with a full cargo. Built in the Netherlands in 2002, the ship was a geared bulk carrier capable of loading 9,000 tons. A
German firm in Cuxhaven managed it. Flagged to Antigua and Barbuda, she began taking on water in her ballast system and tried to intentionally ground her on a sandy beach in southeastern Abaco. When this failed, “she sank in shallow water, leaving the tops of her cranes and her wheelhouse exposed”.
By December 29. the ship was stuck, and all her dozen crew were taken off prior to her sinking. The ship was en route from Finland to New Orleans full of steel products and a water treatment chemical, Ferix (ferric sulfate) in bulk quantities. For engine fuel, she had heavy fuel oil and marine gas oil. The Bahamian government and environmental organisations stated that “fuel and ferix cargo have both been observed at the surface”.
Booms, a dive team to control leakage and a skimmer boat were sent. The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) initiated a meeting of the National Oil Spill Contingency Advisory Committee (NOSCAC). While visiting the nearby grave of Olaus Johansen, who was carried, dying past the light from where his ship OA Knudsen was sunk nearby by a German submarine, I spent some days in the vicinity of this casualty. The impression was of many assets committed to it, and yet the inevitable conclusion that a majority of this ship would remain. The Onego Traveler became another of countless vessels to fall victim to this critical turning point in navigating the North Atlantic.
YACHT Rene as the Baltimore pilot boat.
CARGO ship Onego Traveler, which sank in waters off Abaco on December 25, 2022.
THE WINDSORS’ yacht Gemini, based in The Bahamas in World War II.
Roosevelt created several opportunities to have the Duke join him and glean intelligence or gossip.
Where there is a will, there’s bound to be tears
WHY I decided to look at my will just before Christmas I have no idea. Well, actually, I do have one idea. It’s because after a decade, make that two decades, of putting off rewriting a seriously outdated version, I finally got around to re-addressing the subject but when the new version landed on my desk in a sealed envelope, supposedly containing all the changes I had agreed to and reviewed, I could not bring myself to break the seal and actually look at the pages. Stupid, I know. It’s not as if having a current will accelerates the need for it.
It’s just that, well, I’m not sure what. There’s just something so final about the idea of putting down in writing who gets when I am gone. Something so official about those long white ripply legal pages with the two thin vertical stripes on the left side and one on the right. Like they are trying to contain what’s in the middle, none of which makes any sense except if you are in the emotional state that looking at a will, your own will, arouses. Who would care about the stripes on a legal document? They never mattered before so why do they jump right out at you when you look at a will. That’s the whole point. It’s emotional, gut-wrenching, far more internally upsetting than you’d predict.
You’d think it would be simple.
I’m not rich. There isn’t a ton of jewelry or property in places whose names I cannot pronounce or dollars in foreign bank accounts to divide among loved ones. It wasn’t the big ticket items – one house that may or may not still be in the family. Some furniture. A car. Ordinary stuff. One little piece of property for a someday retirement cottage in a Family Island. Not a lot for friends of loved ones to fight over so what is the fuss? It’s not with them, the someday beneficiaries. It’s with me. Was I fair? Who helped me through a rough time or made the good times even better who I should
be remembering now? It’s about that one bracelet that meant something to me and I want it to mean something to someone else and not just be a bracelet. Which, of course, is asking a lot –to be able to see into the future and know that whoever gets that bracelet will know what I wanted it to mean to them. So while drafting the will meant looking forward, acknowledging that there will be a day when I won’t be here and others will be dealing with whatever I am writing now, it also meant looking back. How do I thank the woman who worked with me for so many years and who now struggles with debilitating arthritis? I stop by and see her every few months, but I know that is not enough. Do I leave her something or find money to give her now when she needs it every week? How do I handle old friendships without seeming like a geek with a soppy streak? Do some of the people I remember even
remember me?
See, that’s the real problem with drafting a will. It’s not about the future, not about the thought of dying. It’s about looking back, stirring memories, churning emotions, digging deep to touch the people who touched you, though they may not recall at all. It’s about walking life’s moments in reverse. It’s a last chance to get it right and maybe that is the crux of the problem with looking at the Will you drafted. There is no second chance at the last thing you ever do for the ones you love. And unlike a letter where you sign off with love and hugs, a will just comes to an end. The last sentence. A cold send-off. How sad.
BEST OF THE BEST WILL BRING OUT THE BEST OF THE BETS
This is the week of the Best of the Best Regatta and by the crowds on the first day, it will be an
historic event. With sailing finally being recognised as the national sport, there’s record enthusiasm for the competition in Montagu Bay. Abaco even sent down boats to compete.
On the water, anchor up starts will set the tone. Sloops will wear their finest sails, sailors will hike out going upwind and clamber across the pryboard on a tack. Grown men and a few strong women will give it their all. There will be all the standard shouts from
Pinder calls for all animals to be spayed or neutered unless owner has breeding licence
By KEILE CAMPBELL
Tribune
Staff Reporter
kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
ATTORNEY General
Ryan Pinder has called for all animals in The Bahamas to be spayed or neutered unless their owners hold a breeding licence.
skippers and crew, mostly yelling ‘starboard’ asserting rights even if they are on port, but while all eyes are on the spectacle of the majestic A Class wooden boats on the bay and their smaller counterparts, something else will be going on onshore. Some of the most massive betting in the nation’s history will take place as spectators scream and shout, willing the boat their money is on to go faster, faster, pass the boat
of the Bahamas Humane Society, echoed Mr Pinder’s concerns about backyard breeding and stressed the need for public education on animal welfare.
in front, then the next, find clean air and do it – make it first across the finish line. It’s just a shame that a $3 bill featuring native sloops is not in circulation. In fact, I’m wondering if there are any more out there or if the one I have been saving for years is a fraud. Please inbox me if you know of any. diane@dpa-media. com and more importantly, go watch the races. Bahamian sloops are a wonder to behold and that we should.
seriously,” she said. “The neglect comes from ignorance, and a big thing we need to tackle is education.”
Describing backyard breeding as “the single most important animal welfare issue in The Bahamas”, he called for stiff penalties for violations of the proposed law.
He said: “We must do better as a country on how
Speaking during the second reading of the Veterinary Medicine Bill, 2024, Senator Pinder hit out at the “reckless disregard for the overpopulation and breeding of animals in The Bahamas” saying it “must come to an end”.
we treat animals, how we express empathy, and the condemnation of animal abuse.”
The senator also pushed for the enforcement of existing breeding laws under the Animal Protection and Control Act, which mandates certification and inspections for breeding establishments.
He said stronger collaboration between the
Department of Agriculture and the police is necessary to ensure compliance.
Mr Pinder hailed the work of groups such as BAARK (Bahamas Alliance for Animal Rights and Kindness), saying: “Since 2011, BAARK has provided more than 33,000 free spays and neuters.”
Kim Aranha, chair of the Animal Protection and Control Board and chairman
“There’s a lot of education that needs to be done to have people understand what is required,” she said.
“People need to realise that their dog needs water and care, just like they do.”
Mrs Aranha also stressed the importance of spaying and neutering to curb the population of stray animals.
“We need to stop people letting their dogs wander and not having them fixed, and so we just have an abundant amount of puppies to deal with,” she said.
Speaking to The Tribune last week, Mrs Aranha pointed to areas where the Animal Protection and Control Act could be improved, particularly with law enforcement.
“I’d like us to see in the police department a unit that’s specially trained, that knows the animal laws, and that can help us when we need the police to enforce a law,” she said. She cited examples of unnecessary violence by police, adding, “I’ve seen videos of police shooting dogs that were tied. There was no risk of that dog hurting them.”
Mrs Aranha believes addressing overpopulation and neglect is as much a moral issue as it is a legal one.
“As a nation, we need to take [animal cruelty] more
Reinforcing the need for public accountability, she added, “We must educate people on their responsibility as pet owners.”
“As a New Year’s resolution, I’d like for us to really take animal cruelty and animal cases seriously,” she concluded.
One particularly disturbing case highlighted the urgency of these reforms. In October, a dog named Oaks was rescued in South Beach after being found chained amidst the remains of several other dogs, raising fears of organized animal torture.
Stephanie Kesten, BAARK’s animal traffic coordinator, described the scene, noting evidence of burned puppies and dogs, along with chains and collars but no animals attached.
This discovery has sparked renewed calls for stronger animal protection laws and rigorous enforcement to prevent such horrors.
Mrs Aranha also confirmed the Animal Protection and Control Board is still awaiting updates on several unresolved cruelty cases.
“We wanted to try and find out where we stood with all these different cases,” she said. “We’re sort of in limbo, I think, is probably the best way to describe it.”
CANCER SOCIETY OF THE BAHAMAS
Under the theme of “Lighting our Lives with Love,” many residents joined the Cancer Society at the Mall at Marathon (next to CIBC Bank) on Friday, November 29, to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree, each light honoring someone who has bravely battled cancer.
treatment in Nassau. Mr. Valentino Bethel served as the moderator for this year’s ceremony.
A heartwarming tradition, Love Lights A Tree raises donations for the Cancer Caring Centre, a ‘home away from home’ for Family Islanders undergoing cancer
Students from the Noo School of Arts started the ceremony with a beautiful rendition of “Mary, Did You Know?,” followed by a hopeful welcome message from Ariella McIntosh, a K5 student at Faithway Christian Academy. After a prayer from Lay Minister Neville Johnson, Dr Nicholas Fox, Vice President of the Cancer Society and eleven-year cancer survivor, welcomed the audience and thanked them for their support.
To add to the joyous occasion, students from the Noo School of Arts performed a musical selection, serenading the audience with the soothing sounds of saxophones that melted with each note. Miss Teen Bahamas International Ricki Curling introduced the keynote speaker, Bishop Jay Simms, who encouraged the audience to love one another and reminded them that they can achieve anything with God’s light and love.
Following the keynote address, Luval Bain Jr, a sixth-grader at Garvin Tynes Primary, lit up the Christmas tree, which will be displayed at the Mall at Marathon until January 31, 2025. Mrs Gina GonzalezRolle, President of the Love Lights A Tree Committee, delivered the vote of thanks, expressing her sincere gratitude for the love and support of the audience and the Love Lights A Tree Committee’s hard work and dedication.
The Aquinas College Marching Band closed the
ceremony grandly, performing a medley of Christmas hits and Bahamian classics. Throughout their performance, the audience, moving and grooving to their rhythmic beats and stellar choreography, cheered them on with resounding applause and words of encouragement.
With much appreciation, the Cancer Society thanks the Love Lights A Tree Committee and volunteers for organizing the ceremony and making it a tremendous success.
Furthermore, we thank everyone who participated in the ceremony, as their exceptional talent and inspirational words brought joy to the audience.
You can still donate on our website, at our office, or through a bank-to-bank transfer.
Bank Transfer Information
• Cancer Society of The Bahamas
• CIBC Caribbean International Bank
• Shirley Street Branch
• Chequing Account #: 52200112
• Branch Transit #: 24667010 or 09706
KIWANIS CLUB OF CABLE BEACH
On Saturday, November 30, the Youth Services Committee of the Kiwanis Club of Cable Beach executed a project on the Stapleton Gardens Park.
During this project, they served the Western Warriors Soccer Team a hearty breakfast for champions before their games that day.
The breakfast included grits, tuna salad and steamed sausage with juice and water, fruits and an assortment of pastries. A total of sixty persons were served, and the teams were grateful for the act
of kindness shown by the Kiwanis Club.
Continuing in the act of kindness, Youth Services orchestrated a second project of the day. This project entailed providing a Thanksgiving dinner to the young men at the Coleby House for Boys in Ridgeland Park. They were served a delectable meal consisting of peas and rice, baked ham and turkey, stuffing and baked macaroni with a choice of soda or Vita Malt. The administrators were grateful and expressed their gratitude to the club for the invaluable contribution they always offer to the home.
President Keishla assured the administrators of the Coleby house residents that they are always in our thoughts and prayers and our Youth Service Committee saw it fitting to prepare a post-Thanksgiving meal for them.
ABOVE and below, the Kiwanis Club of Cable Beach at work in Stapleton Gardens Park.
ABOVE and below, the Love Lights A Tree event on November 29.
THE KIWANIS Club of Cable Beach provided a Thanksgiving dinner at Coleby House for Boys.
SPORTS
Best-of-the-Best
By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter
Day one of the seventh Best-ofthe-Best Regatta got off to a thrilling start yesterday at Montagu Beach.
The races kicked off in the B Class, C Class and E Class to jumpstart four days of exciting competiton on the water. The A Class race was postponed until today because the wind conditions were not ideal for racing.
Sindy Gay, unit head of the Regatta Desk, was pleased with the competition and turnout on day one.
“Day one has been great so far. I am very pleased about the turnout and what has happened. The sailing has been awesome. Unfortunately, we were not able to get in our A Class because the wind died but I am so happy we got in E, C and B. The support from the people has been great and the site for Thursday has been wonderful,” she said.
Joss Knowles, last year’s Class E champion,
12
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
THE Liberty Flames, which will feature two Bahamian female athletes on their track and field team, will bring its men’s football team to compete in the Bahamas Bowl.
Representing Conference USA, the Flames, with an 8-3 win-loss record, will take on the 8-4 Buffalo Bulls, who will represent the Mid-American Conference.
Dubbed “Bowl games are better in the Bahamas,” fans can get to watch an historic game between the Flames and the Bulls at 11am on Saturday, January 4 at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
It will be carried live on ESPN2 and will simulcast on ESPN+, the leading sports streaming service and it will be the first time that the Bahamas Bowl will be played in January, and the first time the game has been played on a Saturday. This is only the second time the bowl has featured two teams with eight or more wins. The other game was in 2017 when the MAC’s Ohio Bobcats (8-4) routed the UAB Blazers (8-4) out of Conference USA. The Blazers came back for the 2022 edition of the HomeTown Lenders’ Bahamas Bowl and they won 24-20 over the Miami RedHawks from the MAC.
Coming into next month’s game, Buffalo won eight games for the first time since 2019 and finished tied for third in the MAC with a 6-2 conference record. Pete Lembo became the first Bulls head coach to win eight games in his debut season. Buffalo won the 2019 Bahamas Bowl, beating Charlotte 31-9. Liberty, on the other hand, will play in its sixth consecutive bowl game, reaching the postseason every year since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2019. The Flames are
PAGE 15
THE SPORTS CALENDAR December
BAHAMAS FEEDING
TEE-OFF FOR HUNGER
THE Bahamas Feeding Network is scheduled to host its 3rd annual Tee-off For Hunger on December 9 with Fidelity as its title sponsor. The tournament is scheduled to begin at 12:30pm at the Ocean Club Golf Course, Paradise Island. All interested players must register at: https://app.eventcaddy.com/ events/tee-off-for-hunger-2024/ register.
TRIATHLON ELECTION OF OFFICERS
THE Bahamas Triathlon Association has announced that its annual general meeting and election of officers is scheduled to be held at 7pm
on Thursday, December 12, at The Bahamas Olympic Association headquarters on Solider Road. Elections will also be live on Zoom, where members who are able to attend can view and vote. Nominations are due by midnight on Monday, December 8. The nomination forms can be found on our website https://www.bahamastriathlon.org/documents. The nominees
SEE PAGE 14
FOR many Bahamian athletes studying abroad, the Christmas break is a muchanticipated time to reunite with family, enjoy the island life, and relax. However, with all the festive events, family gatherings and delicious Bahamian treats, maintaining fitness during this period can be challenging. The key is finding balance - staying committed to your athletic goals while also enjoying the holiday season. Challenges of the
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas didn’t waste any time in taking advantage of the US Virgin Islands.
In their second straight game in the Caribbean Baseball Cup tournament for under-15 players last night at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium, The Bahamas stopped the USVI 11-1.
In the only other game played on day two of the tournament that will run through Sunday, Cuba routed Sint Maarten 13-1 in an abbreviated affair as well.
Bahamas team manager Albert Cartwright pointed out that the team played up to their potential and a little bit more.
“The last few days, the guys got used to playing with each other, but they know each other from playing in the various academies, so they are friends,” he said.
“So coming together and putting them in the same clubhouse to compete just shows how far baseball has come and how much we can come together from the different leagues and academies under one roof and play for The Bahamas.”
Originally, five teams were scheduled to play in the tournament, but the Dominican Republic didn’t make the trip here.
With just four teams here for the tournament, The Bahamas improved its winloss record to 2-0 after they clobbered Sint Maarten 33-0 in their opening game on Wednesday. Cuba also
Montagu Bay.
Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS
Best-of-the-Best: Regatta gets underway in Montagu Bay
FROM PAGE 11
skippered Lady Kayla to a first-place finish in race one of Class E. The Birdrock sloop came in at second and the Captain Peg capped off race one in third.
The Whitty K narrowly claimed the victory in race one of the C Class.
The Bul Reg, skippered by last year’s Class A champion Leslie “Buzzy” Rolle, placed second overall on day one. The Xena sloop rounded out the top three in third place.
Rolle, who hails from Exuma, said there were some challenges on day one but he is expecting to do well the rest of the way.
“The wind was a little challenging. This morning
we did pretty well but we made a mistake at the windward mark on the last leg and that put us in a photo finish with the Whitty K. We expect to do well the rest of the way,” he said. The Lonesome Dove was the victor of the B Class race.
Chester Fox, commodore of the Bestof-the-Best Regatta, is expecting competition to pick up tomorrow with the wind speeds expected to increase.
“We have all of the top boats so what I expect going forward is clean competition straight through. We have our favourite boats that people think will win but they do not always win.
In both classes, the boats that people expected to do well did well so the trend may continue going forward as well as it may not.
“Some boats perform well in lighter winds and some perform better in heavier winds. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to come in a little bit better so we will have some different results,” he said.
The 2024 Best-of-theBest Regatta continues today with the E Class race at 8:30am. The C Class race continues at 10:30am followed by the B Class race at 12:30pm. The first A Class race starts at 3:30pm.
Entertainment featuring Bahamian artists KB and D-MAC kicks off at 8pm.
BAHAMAS ROUTS US VIRGIN ISLANDS 11-1 IN THE CARIBBEAN BASEBALL CUP
FROM PAGE 11
improved to 2-0 after winning their opener 12-0 over the US Virgin Islands.
In yesterday’s game, Amari Knowles from Grand Bahama pitched three strong shutout innings and was the winning pitcher before Mirko Gervasni came in relief to close the door.
Up to press time last night, the complete stats from the game was unavailable.
Cartwriight, looking at their performances, said they couldn’t ask for anything more from the Bahamian players.
“I expect what the guys are doing. I think our emphasis has always been for these guys to get in touch with the zone and strike and play defence,” he pointed out.
“Our ballpark kind of plays in our favour because it’s so big. It allows us to do various different things, but I’m excited.
“We showed the speed that we’re known for and we’ve been putting the bat on the ball.
“So I anticipate if we continue doing the same thing, we will continue having success.”
The big test in the tournament will come tonight at 7pm when the Bahamas faces Cuba in the much anticipated match-up to determine who will clinch the top spot going into the playoffs.
“For us, it’s just another game. We will go into it with the same mentality, which is to throw strikes, play defence and run the bases and make them make the routine plays and see how the game turns out,” Cartwright stated.
Sint Maarten and the US Virgin Islands will play the earlier game at
REGATTA TIME AGAIN: B, C and E Class boats compete in Montagu Bay yesterday on day one of the seventh Best-of-the-Best Regatta. The A Class race was postponed until today because the wind conditions were not ideal for racing.
THE UNDER-15 Caribbean Baseball Cup Tournament is set to begin starting today at 2pm at the Andre Rodgers National Baseball Stadium. The host country will play against Sint Maarten at 7:30pm in the featured game.
Photos by Patrick Hanna/BIS
Cavs improve to 13-1 at home after beating Nuggets 126-114
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 13-1 at home with a 126114 victory last night over the Denver Nuggets, who wasted a triple-double by Nikola Jokic.
The Cavs made a season-high 22 3-pointers and extended their streak of making at least 10 3s to a club record 28 games dating to last season. Cleveland outscored Denver 66-18 from behind the arc.
Jokic had 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists, giving him his 139th career triple-double — one more than Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Jokic only trails Oscar Robertson (181) and teammate Russell Westbrook (200) on the career list. Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 and Jamal Murray 19 for the Nuggets.
MAVERICKS 137,
WIZARDS 101
WASHINGTON (AP)
— Luka Doncic had 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds and Kyrie Irving added 25 points to lead Dallas to a victory over Washington, their 16th straight loss.
Washington tied a franchise record for consecutive defeats and fell to 2-18. It’s the second straight season the Wizards have had a 16-game skid.
Dallas made 11 of its first 16 shots from 3-point range
and finished 20 of 38 from beyond the arc for its sixth win in a row.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 16 for the Wizards, who were without Kyle Kuzma (left rib sprain) and Corey Kispert (left ankle sprain). It was the 78th tripledouble for Doncic, moving him into a tie for seventh on the career list with Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden. Next on the list is Dallas coach Jason Kidd at 107.
THUNDER 129, RAPTORS 92
TORONTO (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points, Jalen Williams had 20 and Oklahoma City routed Toronto for their sixth win in seven games. Isaiah Joe scored 16 points and Isaiah Hartenstein had 16 rebounds as the Western Conferenceleading Thunder improved to 8-3 on the road.
The Thunder had nine blocks and nine steals in the first half and finished with 11 blocks and 14 steals.
RJ Barrett had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Scottie Barnes added 12 points and 12 rebounds but the Raptors lost by their biggest margin this season, eclipsing a 30-point loss to Cleveland on opening night.
KNICKS 125, HORNETS 101
NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 15 of his 25 points during a
NUGGETS centre Nikola Jokic (15) shoots in front of Cavaliers centre Jarrett Allen (31) yesterday in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
third quarter in which he also blocked consecutive 3-point shots on opposite sides of the floor, helping New York pull away to beat Charlotte.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 16 rebounds in the Knicks’ fourth straight victory. Jalen Brunson scored 24 points, 19 in the first quarter.
Anunoby’s scoring broke open what was a one-point game early in the second half, and his back-to-back blocks late in the third had fans chanting “OG! OG!” after a 28-6 spurt gave New York a 93-70 advantage.
PELICANS 126, SUNS 124
NEW ORLEANS (AP)
— Brandon Ingram scored 29 points in his return from a five-game absence, Herb
Jones capped off his first game back from a shoulder injury by blocking Devin Booker’s last-second shot, and New Orleans snapped a nine-game losing streak with a victory over Phoenix.
CJ McCollum scored 25 points, but missed a free throw with 3 seconds left, allowing the Suns a final shot for the win or tie. When Booker, who had 28 points, received an inbound pass at the 3-point line, he rose for a shot and had the ball swatted away by Jones, who hadn’t played in 18 games.
Jones had one of this four steals with 2:02 left and made a left corner 3 about 13 seconds later to give New Orleans a 121117 lead. He finished with 12 points.
BULLS 139, SPURS 124
SAN ANTONIO (AP)
— Nikola Vucevic had a season-high 39 points, Ayo Dosunmu had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds and Chicago beat San Antonio with Victor Wembanyama sidelined with a back injury. Dosunmu had season highs in points, assists and rebounds in collecting the first triple-double of his four-year career.
Keldon Johnson had a season-high 28 points and Devin Vassell added 17 points for San Antonio, which lost for the third time in its last four games.
Wembanyama is day-today with a sore lower back he suffered in Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix.
GRIZZLIES 115, KINGS 110
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)
— Marcus Smart scored 18 points — the last two on clinching free throws with 2.9 seconds left — and Memphis beat Sacramento. Desmond Bane also had 18 points along with seven assists. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama scored 15 points each, with Aldama grabbing 10 rebounds as Memphis won its seventh straight at home.
DeMar DeRozen led the Kings with 26 points. Malik Monk had 23 points, De’Aaron Fox added 18 and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points. They have lost seven of nine.
LIONS TOP PACKERS 34-31 ON
FIELD GOAL, AND CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT
By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes, Jake Bates made a 35-yard field goal as time expired and the Detroit Lions clinched a playoff spot with a 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers last night. The NFC-best Lions (12-1) broke a franchise record with their 11th straight win — including two over the Packers (9-4) — to stay ahead of Minnesota (10-2) in the highly competitive NFC North.
Detroit coach Dan Campbell went for it on fourth down five times, including with 1 yard to go at the Green Bay 21 with 43 seconds left, and his gambles backfired only once.
David Montgomery ran for 7 yards, barely getting a handoff from Goff after the quarterback tripped and was falling toward the turf. That ensured the Lions could try a field goal without giving the Packers the ball back, and Bates hit his third-game winning kick this season.
Up next Packers: At NFC Westleading Seattle on Dec. 15.
Lions: Host AFC Eastleading Buffalo on Dec. 15.
Olympics leader Bach talks up working with President-elect Trump toward 2028 LA Games
By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer
GENEVA (AP) — Olympic leaders are “very confident and relaxed” about working with the incoming Trump administration ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach said yesterday.
U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump has talked up his own role helping get the games for LA in 2017, though a White House meeting during that campaign with an Olympic delegation including Bach was not a success.
Still, the two men could meet again as soon as Saturday in Paris, which hosted the 2024 Olympics that LA originally bid for.
Trump is travelling to the French capital for ceremonies this weekend to reopen Notre Dame Cathedral that was devastated by fire five years ago.
Bach also is invited to return to the Olympic host city where he has excellent relations with French President Emmanuel Macron, who formally opened the Summer Games on July 26.
President Trump should do the same duty at the LA Olympics opening ceremony on July 14, 2028 at
STAYING
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Though the LA Olympics are privately funded and organised, federal government guarantees and funding are needed for security, as well as providing visas to ensure athletes, coaches and officials from 206 national teams, plus a refugees team, can enter the U.S. to train and compete.
Bach said yesterday responsibility for “taking early contact with the incoming team” of the Trump administration is with organising committee officials in LA, and leaders of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
“We are very confident there with regard to the steps and efforts being undertaken,” Bach said at a news conference after an executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“We saw also that President-elect Trump repeatedly declared his support for the games, which we never had any doubt because he has declared this support from the very beginning.”
On Wednesday, Trump said he appointed Monica Crowley as his representative for “major U.S. hosted events,” including the LA
INTERNATIONAL Olympic
Olympics and the 2026 World Cup in men’s soccer.
Trump will be invited as head of state by FIFA to present the trophy to the winning captain at the World Cup final. That game is on July 19, 2026 at MetLife Stadium near New York City.
“The World Cup and the Olympics, I was responsible for getting both of them, actually,” Trump told Bill Belichick on the “Let’s
Go!” podcast before the Nov. 5 election.
The U.S. will co-host soccer’s biggest event with Canada and Mexico, having beaten the rival bid of Morocco in a June 2018 vote in Moscow by FIFA member federations.
Trump has had a warmer relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who twice visited the White House in the first administration. They also
co-headlined at Davos, Switzerland, in January 2020 in an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. Yesterday, Trump’s video message to FIFA, expressing his “highest regards and respect to Gianni,” was broadcast at the soccer body’s draw ceremony in Miami for the 2025 Club World Cup. It was attended by Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner.
IOC says 5 billion followed Paris Olympics
The IOC said its commissioned research showed five billion people - 84 per cent of the potential global audience aged over four years old — followed the Paris Olympics.
“These Olympic Games met the expectations of the world,” Bach said.
The IOC’s “Audience and Insights” report used data gathered by research firms Nielsen, Ipsos and Publicis Sport & Entertainment, and said more than 55,000 people aged from 13 to 65 in 18 countries were surveyed. In France,
the report claimed 95 per cent of the potential audience watched on average 24 hours of coverage.
Among the athletes surveyed, 95% rated their Olympic experience as good or satisfactory.
Revenues rising
The IOC reported total revenue of $7.6 billion from the 2021-24 Olympic cycle that included the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and 2024 Paris Summer Games. For the 2025-28 period, covering the 2026 MilanCortina d’Ampezzo Winter Games and 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, the IOC already secured $7.3 billion and expects to beat the previous total, Bach said.
The IOC uses most of its income from broadcast and sponsor deals to make billion-dollar payments toward Olympic hosts’ costs, pay shares to sports’ governing bodies and national Olympic committees, plus training scholarships for hundreds of athletes in less wealthy countries.
Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
Scottie Scheffler has new putting grip, trails Cameron Young by 3
NASSAU, Bahamas
(AP) — Scottie Scheffler
brought a new putting grip to the Hero World Challenge and felt enough improvement to be satisfied with the result, a 5-under 67 that left him three shots behind Cameron Young yesterday.
Young was playing for the first time since the BMW Championship more than three months ago and found great success on and around the greens of Albany Golf Club, chipping beautifully and holing four birdie putts from 15 feet or longer for his 64. He led by two shots over Justin Thomas in his first competition since his daughter was born a few weeks ago.
Thomas ran off four straight birdies late in his round and was a fraction of an inch away with a fifth.
The big surprise was Scheffler, the No. 1 player in golf who looked as good as he has all year in compiling eight victories, including an Olympic gold medal. His iron play has no equal. His putting at times has kept him from winning more or winning bigger.
He decided to try to a “saw” putting grip from about 20 feet or closer — the putter rests between his right thumb and his fingers, with his left index finger pointed down the shaft.
“I’m always looking for ways to improve,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler last year began working with renowned putting instructor Phil Kenyon, and he says Kenyon mentioned the alternative putting grip back then.
“But it was really our first time working together and it’s something that’s different than what I’ve done in the past,” Scheffler said.
“This year I had thought about it from time to time, and it was something that we had just said let’s table that for the end of the season, take a look at it.
“Figured this is a good week to try stuff.”
He opened with a wedge to 2 feet and he missed a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-5 third. But he holed a birdie from about the same distance at the next par 5, No. 6, and holed a sliding 6-footer on the ninth to save par. His longest putt was his last hole, from 12 feet for a closing birdie. “I really enjoyed the way it felt,” he said. “I felt like I’m seeing some improvements in my stroke.”
Young, regarded as the best active player without a
CALENDAR FROM PAGE 11
will be sent out on Tuesday, December 9 to all BTA members via the WhatsApp group and posted on the website so you can decide on whom to vote at the AGM. If nominees want to add a résumé or any information about themselves to be sent out, you are more than welcome to. Please send nomination forms and information to secretary@ bahamastriathlon.org.
To vote at the AGM you must be a member of the BTA of the age of eighteen (18). This means that current membership must be paid to date (2024).
ANDROS HEAT ROAD RACE
THE Andros Heats has announced that its fifth annual road race will take
place on Saturday, December 14. The top three finishers will be awarded trophies. Fourth place finishers will be awarded medals. Interested persons are urged to contact coach Patty Rolle at 323-8801.
FAST TRACK WINTER CLASSIC
THE Fast Track Athletics Track Club announced that its Fast Track Winter Classic will be held on Saturday, December 14, starting at 10am at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex. The meet will take the form of an odd distance meet with track club competing in non-traditional events and field competitors contesting events from shorter or longer approaches. Tons of giveaways will be given out to the spectators. For more information, persons are urged to contact 727-6826
PGA Tour victory, is treating this holiday tournament as the start of a new season. He worked on getting stronger and got back to the basics in his powerful golf swing.
And on this day, he was dialed in with his short game.
He only struggled to save par twice and kept piling up birdies in his bogey-free round on an ideal day in the Bahamas.
“The wind wasn’t blowing much so it was relatively stress-free,” Young said.
Patrick Cantlay, along with Scheffler playing for the first time since the Presidents Cup, also was at 67 with Ludvig Aberg, Akshay Bhatia and Sahith Theegala.
Thomas also took this occasion to do a little experimenting against a 20-man field.
He has been using a 46-inch driver at home — a little more than an inch longer than his regular driver — in a bid to gain more speed.
On a day with little wind, on a golf course with some room off the tee, he decided to put it in play. “Just with
or Fast Track Management for more information.
TRACK BAAA ODD
DISTANCE MEET THE Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations has announced that its Odd Distance Track and Field Meet will be held on Saturday, December 14 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. The event will allow field competitors to compete in field events from shorter approaches and track events will be either shorter or longer than the traditional track events.
BAAA CHRISTMAS PARTY
THE Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations has announced that their Christmas Party in the backyard will take place on Friday, December 20. The event will take
it being a little bit longer, I just kind of have to get the club out in front of me and get on top of it a little bit more,” Thomas said.
“I drove the hell out of it on the back, so that was
place at Sealy’s Backyard in Sea Breeze Lane from 6pm. Prizes and surprises will be given out all night long.
NPVA VOLLEYBALL
THE New Providence Volleyball Association will continue its regular season action on Friday at the DW Davis Gymnasium this week.
Friday 7:30pm -Panthers vs Lady Techs (L) 9pm - Avengers vs Technicians (M)
Sunday 3:30pm - Lady Techs vs Set-sy Poppers (L() 5pm - Technicisns A vs Technicians B (M)
ROAD RACE
BBSF WALK/RUN
THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation is inviting the general public to participate in their Family Fun Run/Walk, scheduled for Saturday, January 11,
nice to try something different and have it go a little bit better on the back.”
Thomas said the longer driver gives him 2 or 3 mph in ball speed and 10 extra yards in the air. “It’s very
starting at 6am from the Charles W Saunders High School, Jean Street.
The walk will leave Jean Street and head north to Bernard Road, west on Bernard Road to Soldier Road, south on Soldier Road to Prince Charles Drive and east on Prince Charles Drive to Jean Street.
The run will leave Jean Street and head south to Prince Charles Drive, east to Fox Hill Road, north to Bernard Road and west to Jean Street. The categories include female and male 15-andunder, 20-and-under, 40-and-under, 60-and-under and over-60. There will also be a Pastors/Ministers/Deacons’ division. Trophies will be presented to the overall winner, while the top three finishers in each group will get medals. Interested persons can contact Ann Thompson at 425-3557 or
specific for courses, but gave it a try,” he said. Conditions were easy enough that only four players in field failed to break par, with Jason Day bringing up the rear with a 75.
email ann837609@gmail. com or Brent Stubbs at 42-67265 or email stbbobo@gmail.com. SOFTBALL BBSF SOFTBALL LEAGUE
THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation will hold its 2025 softball league, starting on Saturday, February 1 at the Charles W Saunders High School, Jean Street. The co-ed slow pitch league will allow each team up to a total of 15 players with the registration fee of $200. The deadline for team registration with rosters and team payment is Saturday, January 25, 2025. Interested persons can tournament director Thomas Sears at 424-2888 or email 242softball@gmail. com or Brent Stubbs at 4267265 or email stubbobs@ gmail.com
CAMERON YOUNG, of the United States, points to the 18th fairway during the first round yesterday.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, of the United States, watches his putt on the third green yesterday during the first round of the Hero World Challenge PGA Tour at the Albany Golf Club. (AP Photos/Fernando Llano)
TIGER Woods stretches during an interview during the first round of the Hero World Challenge PGA Tour at the Albany Golf Club.
SAHITH THEEGALA, of the United States, reacts after making a birdie on the 18th hole during the first round yesterday.
JUSTIN THOMAS, of the United States, tees off on the 4th hole during the first round.
JUSTIN THOMAS, of the United States, chips onto the third green during the first round.
BAHAMAS BOWL: LIBERTY AND BUFFALO SQUARE OFF ON JAN. 4 - BIG EVENT TO FEATURE TWO 8-WIN TEAMS
making their first trip to The Bahamas. Head coach
Jamey Chadwell is 21-4 in two seasons at Liberty and 52-10 as a head coach since 2020. The Bahamas Bowl has been played at Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, which was undergoing renovations last year in advance of the World Athletics Relays track and field competition.
That event, the only collegiate football game to be played in the Caribbean, was first placed in The Bahamas in 2014 when the Conference USA’s Western Kentucky Hilltoppers held on for a 49-48 win over the Central Michigan Chippewas of the MAC in what turned out to be the most exciting game of the season.
quarter outburst, includ-
ing a last-gasp, 75-yard, three-lateral pass play that resulted in a touchdown as time expired — a sequence that was named the top play of the 2014 bowl season by ESPN’s SportsCenter.
The teams will be playing for the prestigious Prime Minister’s Trophy, the symbol of the Bahamas Bowl championship. It is a unique creation that represents the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in several ways.
rosters, Liberty can pride itself of having two rising young female track athletes on their team.
Shania Adderley, best remembered for her role in helping The Bahamas’ mixed 4 x 400 metre relay team at the World Relays in Nassau to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games, is now a freshman sprinter from Tabernacle Baptist in Freeport.
CMU rallied from a 49-14 deficit with a 34-point fourth
The Bahamas Bowl, which was introduced to The Bahamas by Lea Miller, the CEO of Complete Sports Management, has been played every year with the exception of 2020 when it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, While neither teams participating this year has any Bahamian players on their
Although there was some controversy, Adderley did travel to the Olympics in Paris, France in JulyAugust, but didn’t compete on the relay team that didn’t advance out of the preliminaries.
She will be joined at Liberty by India Cartwright, a senior hurdler from St. John’s College who transferred from Oral Roberts University during the off-season. FROM PAGE 11
LIBERTY coach Jamey Chadwell waves after the team’s win over New Mexico State during the Conference USA championship NCAA college football game on December 1, 2023, in Lynchburg, Va. (Paige Dingler/The News & Advance via AP)