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Volume: 119 No.21, December 20, 2021

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All contracts with Beaches and Parks are scrapped in response to ‘control failures’

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority will terminate all current contracts after external investigators found numerous lapses in its functioning and internal controls.

McKell Bonaby, chairman of the authority, suggested on Friday that as many as 1,400 contractors will be affected by this.

During a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, Press Secretary Clint Watson said the contracts will be terminated in a legal manner so that contractors who have a valid contract will be paid.

“However,” he said, “they will now be paid in a way that fully complies with

all existing laws, regulations and best financial and accounting practice.

“Given that there is no information on file relating to the ‘Know Your Customer’ requirements, every contractor will be required to attend in person at a venue to be announced shortly and provide the basic KYC documentation for the maintenance of proper internal records of the authority.

“They will have to produce a document or documents to prove their identity (such as a passport, driver’s licence or NIB card), they will have to confirm their bank details, and they will have to be tax and NIB compliant, as the law requires,” Mr Watson said.

SEE PAGE FIVE

WHEN WILL CONTRACTORS GET MONEY THEY’RE DUE?

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Michael Pintard said the Davis administration should be clearer about when contractors who had agreements with the Bahamas Parks and Public Beaches Authority will be paid monies owed to them.

The entity is cancelling all contracts after an operational review raised numerous concerns about internal controls.

Officials say contractors

who can comply with Know Your Customer rules will be paid.

Nonetheless, Mr Pintard said yesterday: “The government needs to be explicit. What is the timetable that they are going to follow to pay the Bahamians who have worked, some of them who have not been paid since July for the work that they have done maintaining parks and other facilities. It is absolutely important during this difficult period when many families are hurting SEE PAGE FIVE

D’ONYA BELLA WALKER, the four-year-old who died while staying with relatives in New Providence on November 5, was laid to rest in Grand Bahama on Saturday. See PAGE THREE for the full story.

PINTARD - WHO HAVE OFFICER’S SON VICTIM YOU GIVEN WORK TO? OF ARAWAK STABBING

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard said the Davis administration has breached the reporting requirements of the Public

Procurement Act. The law, passed earlier this year, requires the government to publish details of approved contracts and procurement activities within 60 days of the award of the contract.

SEE PAGE THREE

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE teenage son of a police officer died after he was stabbed during an altercation at Arawak Cay on Saturday night.

The incident has renewed

safety concerns in the area and prompted some workers to chide police for not being more visible despite a police station being on site.

A male suspect has been arrested and is assisting police with their SEE PAGE SEVEN

COVID CASES CONTINUE TO RAMP UP INSIGHT

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

IT is possible that an uptick in COVID-19 cases is associated with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and travel, according to local infectious disease expert Dr Nikkiah Forbes.

On December 16, the Ministry of Health confirmed 39 new cases of the virus; 37 were confirmed on December 17 and 41 new

DR NIKKIAH FORBES cases were confirmed on December 18, bringing the nation’s total to 23,112.

Just a few days earlier, cases were in the lower double digits. On December 15 only 24 new cases were recorded while 21 were recorded the day prior.

The ministry’s December 12 dashboard saw only 19 newly confirmed cases while only 15 were recorded on December 10.

Asked if this increase is indication of another surge, Dr Forbes, director

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FOUR

PRISONER FIGHTING FOR HIS FREEDOM

SEE PAGE NINE

PAGE 2, Monday, December 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

MAN IN HOSPITAL AFTER PARKING LOT SHOOTING A GRAND Bahama man was treated in hospital after he was shot yesterday.

Police said they received a report about the incident after 1am, which occurred at a business on Peach Tree Street, Freeport.

Officers were told that a man had requested a ride home with three of his friends, and as he

was about to get into the vehicle, which was in the parking lot of the business, he was approached by a dark male dressed in dark clothing.

The suspect had a gun and is reported to have fired several rounds in the victim’s direction.

The gunman then got into a white coloured Acura

and sped off in an unknown direction.

The victim was grazed on his right shoulder and right fingers. He was taken to Rand Memorial Hospital, however his injuries are listed as not serious and he was later discharged.

An investigation is continuing.

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THE TRIBUNE

48,000 extra doses arrive

SOME of the newly arrived doses being placed in storage.

THE Bahamas received 48,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines under a collaboration between the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the governments of Canada and Colombia.

The vaccines, facilitated through the PAHO Revolving Fund, arrived at the Lynden Pindling International Airport on Wednesday.

The Bahamas has low numbers of reported COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. PAHO/WHO has provided support to the country in the design and implementation of vaccination programmes, training health care workers to administer COVID-19 vaccines, ensuring the cold chain and other technical aspects necessary for an effective campaign.

The donation is part of a collaboration between PAHO/WHO

and the government of Canada to provide additional COVID19 vaccines to populations in situations of vulnerability in the Americas. This effort has also benefited from financial support by the Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (APC – Colombia), through its Fund for International Cooperation and Assistance (FOCAI).

Dr Eldonna Boisson, the PAHO/WHO representative for The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands, said: “With this donation, The Bahamas expects to continue expanding vaccination coverage, which to date is more than 40 percent of the eligible population.”

Emina Tudakovic, High Commissioner of Canada to The Bahamas and Jamaica, said: “Canada and The Bahamas have a longstanding partnership and friendship, and we are very pleased

to have contributed towards this donation of 48,000 vaccines via PAHO/WHO. Canada is committed to supporting equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines and trust that these vaccines will contribute to the strong public health response of The Bahamas.”

Vaccine donations are procured through the PAHO Revolving Fund, which facilitates access to additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine in countries and territories of the Americas.

Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health advised that the AstraZeneca doses will be made available to the public starting today at all vaccination sites.

The vaccines will be given as first, second, extended primary or booster shots.

People who want to get vaccinated can register at vax.gov.bs or walk in at any of the vaccination centres.

COVID CASES CONTINUE TO RAMP UP

from page one

of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme, replied: “It’s difficult to say that right now. So what we know is that there has been an increase in the number of cases we’ve been monitoring in the last week or so and there could be things accounting for it.

“Thanksgiving and holiday travel at the end of November two or three weeks ago.”

She also said: “We have to be very mindful of it because we’re going into the holiday period and in the holiday season people do tend to gather and there are parties and other social events and so we have to be mindful of what’s happening with these cases especially in light of the fact (that) Omicron has been identified in many places.”

Asked if it is likely the

rise in cases has from the Thanksgiving weekend, Dr Forbes responded: “It is possible. So there could be an uptick of cases associated with that holiday weekend and travel.”

She reminded the public that there are things people can do to mitigate risks, such as getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, and keeping a distance of six feet when around people who are not in your household.

“We’re not in another surge yet but some of the indicators that we may be getting into a surge is when you see a sustained increase in the number of cases overtime. . .So this has just really started to happen and so it could be an uptick related to something, like about I would say two to three weeks ago. About three weeks ago was the Black Friday/Thanksgiving weekend. It could be associated with that, but there’s

something we all have to do. There’s something we can do to get these cases back under control and that is to follow public health precautions.”

Yesterday at a press conference, Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard spoke about the increase in cases.

One issue he raised was people travelling into the country.

“I think we are past the indicators stage,” he said.

“Our neighbours to the north, from where we get the vast majority of our tourists, they are overrun right now. The numbers are continuing to climb in the US in general, certainly the eastern seaboard, and those persons are coming to us every single day in incredible numbers. So when you ask about triggers, the fact that is happening in the US and there’s movement, Bahamians as well

as tourists back and forth, should already have triggered the government to have adjusted its policy in terms of requirements for people coming back into the country.

“The second thing is that since our numbers are creeping up, the government should be more strident in terms of running a vaccination programme.

They would’ve studied what we did and they were critical of it and I think they would’ve found among our colleagues some of us have ideas of our own how it should’ve been done months ago. We are here willing to work with the government in order for the government to step up its campaign.”

He recalled a question asked in the House of Assembly recently, regarding whether all government ministers are vaccinated.

“I believe people have a right to choose if they want

to be vaccinated or not be vaccinated, but if you are chief spokesperson for the government, which is the Cabinet, at a minimum you should be able to say to the public whether or not we are vaccinated.

Are all of us vaccinated… because if they are not vaccinated chances are the level of intensity and the amount of resources they are prepared to allocate chances are going will be less than what it is for us to fight this battle,” Mr Pintard argued.

“I’ll give you an example, COVID ambassadors have been removed from the airports. In Grand Bahama certainly, persons are out in the elements for the most part. Every time you land and you speak with them, they tell you we’re in a very rough position. What is the reason why we’ve stopped checking? Now there may be a sensible and rational reason that I don’t quite

understand, but I’d like to hear the explanation. So what I’m saying is those measures that we thought could be even a secondary check on whether somebody has evaded authorities at the point where they’re boarding a flight. You have a secondary way of checking. Why eliminate it? Why remove it? So we’re very much concerned.”

He said the government should step up its approach to the situation.

“I don’t get the sense and from what I observe the population doesn’t get the sense that we are, you know, in the midst of a crisis. People are dying on a regular basis and the government has to, I think, step up what they’re doing,” he said.

He added: “We would love to be a part of the briefings with the medical professionals so we can get the information consistently in real time.”

PARLIAMENTARIANS URGED TO MAINTAIN HIGHEST STANDARDS MEMBERS of Parliament were urged to uphold the highest standards in the delivery of their duties during a three-day postelection seminar held at SuperClubs Breezes.

The seminar was held from December 15-17 and was hosted by the government and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

During his address to the parliamentarians, most of them new to holding office, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, QC, encouraged them to always follow the proper protocols when speaking on behalf of their constituents, meet regularly with constituents to ensure their needs are being addressed, and speak with one voice as team members of the governing party.

“The Westminster system was established to guide the procedures of Parliament,” Mr Davis said. “It was not a system we created, however, it is the one we follow.

It is a system that we can be proud of because it is determined to uphold our

democracy. We are here to represent those constituents in whose name we are in Parliament.

“Our representation must be truly reflective of the needs and wants expressed by them. Therefore, we must spend time with them, but not be enslaved by them.”

Speaking on the general procedures of Parliament, Mr Davis said that being honourable should always be the order of the day.

“We are all deserving of honour and should always exercise being honourable with each other. We can do better, and today should resolve to do better,” he said. He also urged parliamentarians to regularly attend Parliament, and to be properly prepared to attend the sessions.

“We all suffer when we don’t conduct ourselves properly in Parliament.

We must also remember that we work as a team.

We represent caucuses and political parties, not individuals and as such, parties must speak with one voice. These courtesies

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and protocols have evolved because they work.”

House of Assembly Speaker Patricia Deveaux commended the government for passing a resolution to appoint a committee to address some of the issues regarding Parliament, including the treatment of the Office of the Speaker.

President of the Senate Lashell Adderley expressed appreciation to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association for conducting the seminars as they will equip parliamentarians with knowledge of democratic governance and proper parliamentary procedures to restore faith in the political process.

Also delivering brief remarks was leader of the Official Opposition Michael Pintard who focused on capacity building.

“I am pleased to see that the CPA included the adoption of best practices in conducting Parliament and access to resources for Parliament, among other matters,” Mr Pintard said.

“It is wonderful to see that we are meeting to discuss empowerment.

Clearly, the Parliament of The Bahamas needs its own resources,” he said. “Successive administrations have not gone far enough.

We also need to discuss gender equality and address the inequity of female representation in Parliament.

I am also happy to see that the issue of disability will also be addressed. I look forward to the dialogue.”

Representative for the CPA Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP, delivered brief remarks and said he was looking forward to spirited and insightful discussions during the seminar.

Minister of State for the Public Service Pia GloverRolle said that she was pleased to participate in the seminar and looked forward to learning in order to properly represent the needs of the people.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 20, 2021, PAGE 5

All contracts with Beaches and Parks are scrapped in response to ‘control failures’ from page one Mr Bonaby said some 300 general service workers will fill the void after current contracts are cancelled.

He said by mid-January the authority expects to “rightsize the ship,” allowing those workers to return to their usual duties.

K Christie and Co Chartered Accountants conducted the operational review of the BPPBA. The firm said it did not perform an audit of the authority; the experts merely conducted a review requested by the Ministry of Finance, one that does not fit the requirements of an audit as outlined by International Standards on Auditing or International Standards on Review Engagements.

The probe found the authority went tens of millions of dollars over budget despite there not being any “real needs on the ground” for this overspend; found inconsistencies in signatures on contracts; and VAT returns were not filed, among other lapses.

“We did not identify the exact need for extra budgetary allocations and there is speculation that it was fuelled more by the demand and requests for economic stimulation than by any real needs on the ground,” the report said.

From July 2019 to June 2020, the authority received a budget of $19.1m but spent $25.9m in the end, an overspend of $6.8m.

From July 2020 to June 2021, the authority spent $28.8m, $13.7m more than budgeted.

The authority was on pace to similarly overspend its budget in the latter portion of this year, having spent $9.3m from June to October 31 after receiving a budget of $15.2m.

Investigators said contracts showed inconsistencies in the signature of former executive chairman

Shanendon Cartwright, Member of Parliament for St Barnabas.

“All contracts were signed by executive chairman Shanendon Cartwright, MP and board secretary Marisol Morley.

Three different signatures purporting to be that of the executive chairman were affixed to contracts. The authority could not produce a specimen signature or A/B signatory list to confirm the proper signature that should have been affixed to contracts,” the report said.

Investigators also found the authority signed and dated some contracts ahead of the vendor/witness signing and that some contracts were missing from the PDF files they reviewed.

Not only were some contracts not witnessed, but the authority also does not require official Know Your Customer (KYC) identification from vendors.

“These forms of ID are standard information and at a minimum establish that the authority is dealing with the proper person,” investigators said. “Multiple contracts have been issued to individuals using different company names. These individuals have anywhere from one to ten contracts; for example, contracts have been issued to 3M Printing, 3M Car Rental and Oscar Thurston, who are one and the same.”

Mr Watson added: “Multiple contracts have been issued to individuals using different company names.

These individuals have anywhere from one to ten contracts, some of them totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“At the height of the pandemic when the whole country was locked down and Bahamians were not allowed to visit parks or beaches, the authority awarded contracts and increased expenditure on contracts to clean those

MCKELL Bonaby during the Parliament swearing-in ceremony.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff parks and beaches that Investigators said: When some people were were closed.

“Killarney constituency fined for selling coconuts “Contracts were awarded received the largest portion on the side of the road, to sweep roads at a time — 12 percent or $373,100 one road sweeper was paid when people weren’t — of total contracts $17,000 to sweep roads just allowed to be on the roads. awarded and the constitu- three times a month using When some people were ency received the lowest at electronic electric sweeper. fined for selling coconuts one percent or $43,600. We This particular contract on the side of the road, noted that Killarney has six paid the contractor $775 one road sweeper was paid park and ten beach desig- per mile. Again, given that $17,000 to sweep roads just nations and Englerston has the country was in full lockthree times a month using four park designations.” down, it is unclear whether electronic electric sweeper.

Mr Watson also said: the contractor was allowed This particular contract “Multiple contracts have out of their home twice a paid the contractor $775 been issued to individuals month in order to fulfil the per mile. Again, given that using different company contract. the country was in full lock- names. These individuals The board, auditors said, down, it is unclear whether have anywhere from one to met only once during the the contractor was allowed ten contracts, some of them 15-month period under out of his home twice a totalling hundreds of thou- review. month in order to fulfil the sands of dollars.

“We noted no contract”.

“At the height of the documented corporate govInvestigators found that pandemic when the whole ernance policy of the board board meetings were not country was locked down in place,” their report said. held, monthly reporting was and Bahamians were not “We noted no monthly not done, bank reconcili- allowed to visit parks or reporting by the managations were not done and beaches. The authority ing director to the board of VAT returns were not filed. awarded contracts and the condition of BPPBA, Furthermore, a review increased expenditure on including financial perof contracts awarded per contracts to clean those formance budgets, etc. A constituency found that parks and beaches that monthly expense report is the Killarney constituency were closed. sent to the finance officer at — represented by former “Contracts were awarded the Ministry of Finance, as Prime Minister Dr Hubert to sweep roads at a time required of all departments.

Minnis — received most of when people weren’t “Because of these defithe contracts. allowed to be on the roads. ciencies, we are unable to

say whether the board was fully aware and seized of the financial implications of its decisions.”

Investigators also found an Accounts Department that is woefully underresourced to fulfil its functions.

The report said: “The entire Accounts Department consists of one senior accountant, who while diligent at the post does not hold professional qualifications. The size and complexity of the authority’s average annual expenditure require a highly skilled accounting department with expertise in financial control and compliance to ensure proper financial management.

“A financial controller, assistant financial controller and accounts payable clerk are basic and essential positions for a corporation handling several hundred contracts and a multi-million-dollar budget.

Additional staff with strong accounting background are required to adequately staff and maintain good standards for accurate monitoring and reporting, etc.”

Investigators wrote: “This operational review revealed a combination of material weaknesses and significant deficiencies that created an environment to facilitate such overruns.

“The material weaknesses stemmed principally from the board’s failure to exercise oversight by meeting regularly and requiring reports that would enable it to monitor the budget versus actual performance of the authority. Additionally, the procedures within the Accounts and Inspection Department lack checks and balances that can militate against errors, improper behaviour, and other risks.

Deficiencies were reflected in the authority’s inability to reduce risks and incorrect information.”

WHEN WILL CONTRACTORS GET MONEY THEY’RE DUE? from page one

for the government to be absolutely clear on when they intend to pay these Bahamians.”

Mr Pintard did not give an overall view of the report, which was conducted by K Christie and Co Chartered Accountants and made public on Friday.

“In January the government has promised to lay

the final report,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

“We are studying the report we received shortly after the members of the media received it. If you were to refer to Mr Cartwright’s comments in the House of Assembly, I thought he laid out a compelling case to explain some of the items that were already mentioned in the press briefing of the government. Once we have had a chance to

study it, we intend line by line to offer a response to what has been contended in the report but by those persons speaking at the press conference as well.”

St Barnabas MP Shanendon Cartwright was Executive Chairman of the authority during the period of the review.

In a short statement yesterday, he said: “I note the contents of the distributed report. On assuming office

as Executive Chairman of the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority in August of 2017, and throughout my tenure, established procedures were followed. Notably the report indicates that ‘most contracts adhered to the documentation requirements of the authority.’ I look forward to the completion of the government’s assessment on this matter at which point I will respond accordingly.”

PAGE 6, Monday, December 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

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Accusation and counter-accusation over contracts IT would seem any suggestion of bipartisanship in politics is long gone.

On Friday, the current administration terminated all current contracts from the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority – and plenty of blame was pointed at the previous administration for how that authority operated.

In return, the FNM have accused the current administration of breaking the rules of the Public Procurement Act by not publishing details of approved contracts and procurement activities within 60 days of the contract’s award.

For the PLP’s part, the current administration points to a report on the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority that noted an overspend of tens of millions of dollars and with inconsistencies over the signatures of former executive chairman Shanendon Cartwright.

Some contracts were missing, and forms of identification had not been required.

The FNM has been muted in response, saying it will go through the report line by line before giving a response – but wanting to know when those who had contracts will get paid for the work they did.

In return, FNM leader Michael Pintard is raising his own questions about the contract details for the opening of Parliament and for swearing-in activities. He asked: “How many hotels submitted bids? How much did these activities cost? The public would like to know the cost, the bidding method and the winning bidder for the new Ragged Island airport. The public would like to know the selection method for the decorations in downtown Nassau, and how many bids were received, who won the bid and what was the price.”

This tit-for-tat politics is about as far away from any spirit of unity that might have been suggested.

The public would indeed like to know

how its money is being used – by all sides. And we want to know that the appropriate checks and processes are being followed when that money is used.

The bickering over this party did this wrong while in office, while that party is doing something else wrong now it is in office doesn’t seem to get us anywhere.

Transparency is exactly what is needed – in all things, at all levels in government, and also on the campaign trail.

How close are we to getting that transparency? Looking at this to and fro, a long way off indeed.

COVID rising

The latest COVID figures are showing another rise in cases. The numbers on December 16, 17 and 18 were 39, 37 and 41 new cases respectively. That’s sharply up from just a few days earlier.

With travel increasing and the country seeing both returning Bahamians and tourists arriving for the Christmas period, it is perhaps unsurprising that we are seeing an increase in cases too.

The omicron variant that has been spreading rapidly across Europe and the US is more than likely here now too.

It spreads more easily – and though it appears to have milder symptoms, we should not take it lightly.

The ending of the health visa for returning Bahamians has removed one check on travellers, while FNM leader Michael Pintar asked why COVID ambassadors have been removed from the airport.

Even with those measures, though, the extent to which the US is experiencing a new wave at present was always going to be felt on these shores.

So take care, follow the safety steps of wearing a mask, using sanitiser and keeping your distance, and stay healthy for the holidays.

Freeport’s airport EDITOR, The Tribune.

NOW that the GB Port Authority and Hutchinson Wampoa have conveniently extricated themselves from the loss-making joint ownership of the Grand Bahama Airport, it falls upon the government to undertake the massive task of rebuilding. The independent consultants that the government hired some weeks ago called for a Public-Private Partnership to be most practical solution.

The estimate for the infrastructure alone, without the operating costs were some $200m.

Although the Minnis administration hinted that there was “considerable interest by a number of parties” I would surmise that was more political speak than reality, but I would be delighted to be proved wrong.

The stark reality is that the current facility is so enormously embarrassing, that arriving on Grand Bahama is a cringe-making experience.

It’s bad enough for residents (who no doubt have some knowledge of its history), but our tourists must wonder in which third world country they have landed.

The tiny Immigration Hall is sad enough, but it’s the Customs hall that is the biggest disaster.

The bags are unloaded from the side of the building and placed by the baggage handlers behind a yellow line a few feet from the Customs benches.

With the forty or so passengers from the Bahamasair flight I was on, the scene is one of chaos as everyone trips over each other to grab their bags and jostle in line for the Customs officials.

With a large number of residents claiming exemptions or paying duty, the Customs officers (3) are overwhelmed.

Surely visitors should be given preference rather than be part of this painful 45-minute experience.

When you finally make it to the exit, it’s a 25-yard walk to the road to hook up with any form of transportation.

Good luck if it’s raining - there is no cover. Should a 100-seat plane, or even bigger arrive, then this awful scenario is simply amplified tenfold.

A tourist couple next to me grappling with this mayhem were shaking their heads in disbelief.

How in 2021 (two years after hurricane Dorian) in

the country’s second largest city, can this be considered even vaguely acceptable.

There are Family Island airports that have far better facilities than this train wreck.

In the early 1970s Freeport’s Immigration and Customs halls were far superior to what we have today.

There is considerable anger at the GBPA and global giant Hutchinson Wampoa to take two years to build this pathetic temporary facility before dumping it on the Bahamian taxpayer.

The new administration has much work to do, but one can only hope that the airport is given urgent priority.

Before a ‘master plan’ becomes a reality, it would make sense to quickly expand the existing space fourfold at the very least.

As we approach the recovery of our tourism industry, this airport is a shocking first impression for visitors to our beautiful island, not to mention a monumental frustration for all those that live here.

Prime Minister Davis, this cannot be ignored.

CHRIS PAINE Freeport, Grand Bahama, December 16, 2021.

How income tax works EDITOR, The Tribune.

A LETTER appearing in your column of Friday the 17th of December, written by a Kim Sawyer, displays a common misunderstanding of the nature of the Bahamian economy.

This misunderstanding then forms the premise of the writer’s assertion that we are somehow uniquely unsuited to a progressive income tax, which every country in our wider region, from the USA and Canada to Barbados, Trinidad and Antigua manages to make work.

Local economist James Smith made similar assertions in a story in your business section recently.

While Mr. Smith’s ill-conceived views can perhaps be understood (though not excused) in the context of who employs him, it is unfortunate when such views take root among ordinary Bahamians.

Firstly, an income tax has nothing to do with the wealthy expatriate community, which Ms. Sawyer wrongly suggests forms part of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and somehow boosts it.

Secondly, there is no rule preventing government, upon introducing it, setting personal income tax so as to affect only those on high salaries, of say, $100,000 and up – a category that includes very many Bahamians, but not the majority.

GDP is the aggregate of economic activity generated within the local economy - hence “domestic”. A billionaire living in an out island will have made his billions elsewhere and his income (and that of

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net the companies that made him rich) is factored into the GDP of that country, not The Bahamas.

And since expatriate residents are generally prohibited from working in the Bahamas, their personal income neither impacts our GDP nor would be taxable here. Rather, they pay taxes back home on it.

So (despite what ignorant politicians sometimes claim), The Bahamas’ high GDP does not reflect the presence here of foreign billionaires.

Rather, it reflects exclusively the wealth that is generated locally, mostly by our success in mass tourism.

Money from the frontline, bottom end worker in tourism then trickles up through the domestic economy, enriching those at the top (merchants, professionals, etc.). That is how the Bahamian economy works.

To suggest that this wealth at the top should then not be taxed, but that the wage-earner’s consumption (which created it) should be taxed instead, is simply perverse – both economically and socially.

But that is exactly the tax system that we have at present.

The so-called ‘Joe Blow average Bahamian’ to whom Ms. Sawyer refers, is, by virtue of his captive consumption, the ultimate generator of the wealth that is reaped by insurance companies, private healthcare providers, automobile dealerships, food retail giants,

hardware outlets, telecoms providers and all the other local companies whose annual profits you can easily track courtesy of BISX. Yet, unlike their American or Caribbean counterparts, these wealthy companies pay zero tax on their profits, while the same Joe Blow who enriches them is hammered with consumption tax.

In the 9 months ending in September 2021, Colina Holdings, the parent company of CFAL, of which James Smith is the Chairman, posted net profits of more than 13 million dollars. Yet it paid not one penny in tax on it. Moreover, as a proportion of gross revenues, it would have paid far less than a chicken shack in the inner city in such regressive charges as business license and annual registry fees.

That is the ugly and backward reality that Mr Smith feels it necessary to defend our right to retain.

Likewise, those of us in highly paid professions, who benefit from an essentially captive market and consequently often earn far more than our counterparts in so-called “developed” countries, are also spared taxes on personal income, which is passed off onto our consumers. Is that fair?

So the answer to the letter’s eponymous question, ‘who can afford an income tax?’ is simple: I certainly can - as can Mr Smith and his employer. But the poor consumer cannot afford to keep subsidising us.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, December 19, 2021

Dignitaries and COVD rules EDITOR, The Tribune.

IS THERE a hidden new protocol for COVID, which is only for our so-called dignitaries and spouses?

Seems so, as Minister after Minister refuse to comply with the the COVID protocol, that requires the wearing of a mask in public… evidence the News channels and interviews with the refuseniks. Journalists do not interview them, if they do not wear masks. You are usually closer than 4ft let alone 6ft. They are putting

you in danger.

Now we see the spouses have been granted divine exemption.

Why can’t our officials and spouses, comply and show an example? The health protocol requires the wearing of masks, when you are in a public area... in a crowd, a reception, then advised.

Why can’t Nassau Cruise Ports instruct their cruise passengers that the Law – health requirement requires the wearing of masks. Few visitors do.

From the US Colleges and Universities, have

been hit by the new variant and, oh lord, we have two US College, US Football squads in town this weekend.

Omicron is far more infectious than Delta, so we have to be 1000% compliant – wear masks, wash hands, distance….folk when friends visit, even if they are vaccinated, best advice wear masks….caution is far better than being infected.

JESSICA MURPHY Nassau, December 16, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 20, 2021, PAGE 7

Officer’s son victim of Arawak stabbing from page one investigation. Police said the victim is a teenager, however his exact age was not released up to press time.

In a tweet yesterday, Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle said a team of officers visited their colleague Cpl McPhee to give support after his son was fatally stabbed at the Fish Fry. He said he also extended his condolences to the officer on behalf of the police force.

According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, officers were called to the scene of a stabbing after 11pm.

“On the arrival of the first responding officers, they found a male suffering from stab wounds to the chest,” a police crime report noted. “The victim was transported to the hospital via Emergency Medical Services where he later succumbed to his injuries.”

The Tribune canvassed the popular dining and hang out spot yesterday.

One worker in the area gave this newspaper an account of what he saw on Saturday night.

He said he saw a verbal altercation progress into a physical fight that turned into a street brawl with a group of men.

“They (ended up)... in the street and after that that’s when I saw like four guys was sticking up on him. He was able to get loose but… he started to bleed. I guess he try to run away because the police was going after, I guess the person who was fighting with him. He try run in the parking lot. So police run after the boys them.

“They picked up the

BREAKING NEWS: MAN SHOT DEAD LAST night, police said they were on the scene of a homicide on East Avenue, Millers Heights, where a man was shot. More information on that killing was not released up to press time. person who got stabbed.

They carried him in the police station. The ambulance came like 20 minutes later and they got the guy,” the worker said.

There is a police station at Arawak Cay, however the worker said he feels the officers there are “slack”.

“I feel like they should have more persons checking the young people because it’s getting really ridiculous… it’s actually (a) tourist area.

“Last night we had people eating… they just say ‘wow is this a fight.’

After a while, there’s a next fight and all the children was running this way and they got scared and they start running towards the entrance.”

He added: “I just feel the police on Fish Fry really like slack. They fighting right on the police station.

Why y’all not patrolling?”

Tamara Armbrister, of KOK Hut, agreed there should be more security at the venue.

“It’s (a regular) thing every Saturday or Sunday.

They always is end up having a fight out here,” she said.

She said there have been fights “once or twice” at her establishment.

“Majority on this side are females. So police, they

16 NEW QUEEN’S COUNSEL APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCED PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has announced 16 new Queen’s Counsel appointments, which include Attorney General Ryan Pinder and former Senate President Sharon Wilson.

In a statement released on Friday, Mr Davis said he advised Governor General Sir Cornelius A Smith that the following individuals have been appointed as Queen’s Counsel at The Bahamas Bar: Mr Pinder; Constance McDonald; Mrs Wilson; Murio D Ducille; Oscar Johnson; Meta Hughes; Gayle Lockhart Charles;

Franklyn Williams and Philip McKenzie.

Other appointments to Queen’s Counsel are Robert Adams; Raynard Rigby, Obie Ferguson; Lief Farquharson; Timothy A Eneas; Carlson H Shurland; and Khalil Parker.

“This honour, the highest in the legal profession, is bestowed in recognition of their long years of esteemed counsel and service in the administration of justice in our country,” Mr Davis, QC, said.

“As valued colleagues and distinguished learned friends, I offer them my warmest congratulations!”

ELDERLY US MAN ‘TOOK HEMP FOR HIS MANIC DEPRESSION’

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AN elderly American man pleaded guilty to two drug related charges in a Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

John Brown, 72, was arraigned on one charge of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to supply and one charge of possession of dangerous drugs.

According to information presented to the court, on December 16, 2021 in New Providence, Mr Brown, without proper authority, was in possession of

dangerous drugs, namely cocaine and Indian hemp.

According to the particulars, Brown admitted to acquiring the drugs in Nassau from an unknown person.

His attorney told Magistrate Samuel McKinney that his client was a father of three and a grandfather as well. He added that Mr Brown suffers from manic depression — which the marijuana was for — and added that the defendant is a war veteran and also suffers from PTSD. The magistrate fined Brown $750 for the cocaine possession and $250 for the marijuana.

TEEN ACCUSED OF MURDER BID A 17-YEAR-OLD boy was charged in the Magistrate’s court on Friday with attempted murder in Abaco.

The accused, accompanied by his father, appeared Friday morning before Magistrate Ancella Evans on two counts of attempted murder.

He was not required to enter a plea to the charges.

The matter is expected to proceed by way of a voluntary bill of indictment.

The teen was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until March, 17, 2022, for the hearing at 10am.

THE SCENE at Arawak Cay yesterday. come you know, but it isn’t frequent. They’ll come Saturday and Sunday. You’ll see police out here, but on weekdays they ain’t coming and it’s Christmas time and

Photo: Racardo Thomas/Tribune Staff

boys (are) robbing here.

“Me personally I don’t take the chance. Either my nephews come out here when I’m closing up or my boyfriend comes out here.

Where we have cameras, you have to put cameras (at) your place.”

When contacted about these concerns and asked if police planned to beef up

their presence at Arawak Cay, Assistant Superintendent Audley Peters said, “The complement of officers there are sufficient. It simply was an unfortunate situation that happened where youngsters got involved in an argument and didn’t resolve it in an amicable manner.

“We have sufficient or adequate officers stationed at that location.”

Asked if there will be more officers dispatched there if vendors agitate for this, ASP Peters said, “There will be a meeting among stakeholders and if we think that is necessary, then we’ll simply add additional (officers), but to say that is necessary, we don’t see that being the case at the moment.”

Police are appealing to members of the public who may have information that can assist with this investigation and other criminal matters to contact the Criminal Investigations Department at 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers at 328TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.

THE STORIES BEHIND THE NEWS

MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

THE HANDLING of the application to open the Christmas Carnival - ultimately rejected - has been in the spotlight.

Is Beaches and Parks Authority report a scandal or a distraction?

By MALCOLM STRACHAN

THE GOVERNMENT’s press secretary, Clint Watson.

IN the middle of swirling questions about the government’s handling of the Christmas Carnival fiasco, what does the current administration do?

Make accusations about the former administration, of course.

Press secretary Clint Watson took to his podium on Friday to announce the government is going to terminate all current contracts issued by the Beaches and Park Authority.

He said an audit had found numerous problems and irregularities.

Now this may well be true, but it has the air of a distraction from questions about the carnival mess.

Worse, it also perhaps even reinforces some of the problems when it comes to the ease of doing business in this country.

Every single contract with the authority is going to be terminated – all of them, whether it’s waste collection, land clearance, perhaps even cleaning offices or operating security. Imagine being a contractor and being unsure if your contract is going to be held up on the government side.

Some of those contractors will have had expenses for equipment or hiring of staff, and suddenly they’re told the contract is cancelled.

One of the complaints, says Mr Watson, is that there is no information being held by the government that meets the “Know Your Customer” requirements, and every contractor will now have to come in person to a venue yet to be announced to prove their identity with a passport or some other form of ID and confirm their bank details and tax and NIB compliance.

We presume some of those contractors will be major businesses – and have our doubts whether the government really lacks information on those.

The ones this will hit will be the independent contractor – the small operators who can afford the loss

the least. All this the week before Christmas.

And why do these businesses have to provide this information now anyway? If these contracts are being cancelled, why do they have to provide information relating to a contract that is no longer there? The contract process should begin again now, with the contracts the government wishes to proceed with being opened to tender and the “Know Your Customer” information being provided for the new contract. So are the old contracts really being cancelled? Or is this a lot of noise designed to distract from something else?

Having everyone show up at one location on a specific date is making people jump through hoops for the sake of the government – why can’t they call by government offices with the information at a time that suits them over a set time period? Or simply make appointments with the contractors to bring in their information and sort it out?

It seems far more likely that the government has misplaced this information than it having never been available from every single contractor taken on, so why punish them?

Another thing – why is this being thrown down with all the sound and thunder of the press secretary’s office rather than being tabled in Parliament

by Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis.

If it was tabled in Parliament, there would be a right for the Opposition to respond and to question the Prime Minister on the action.

Let there be no misunderstanding over this – if there were improper procedures by the past administration, they should absolutely be called to account. We want a properly functioning government that abides by the rules and regulations that it sets.

However, this feels like a distraction. This feels like the government is trying to change the conversation from its own problems with the carnival saga, about

which there remain many questions.

We still need to know the extent of the PLP’s involvement with the carnival itself, why it handled applications for approval, and how those applications were handled. We would like to see what was approved in terms of work permits and Customs allowances – and that’s all before we get to the reasoning for the refusal of the carnival on health grounds and why the National Security Minister was minded to query whether an event being rejected by his colleagues in the Ministry of Health even needed that approval in the first place.

Instead of answering those questions, instead we have this new matter brought to the podium and announced by the press secretary – not the Prime Minister or even the substantive minister whose department it is.

Is it a distraction? Well, it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck…

It is absolutely right for the government to be held to account for overspending, for incorrect procedures and for processes that have not been conducted correctly.

Mr Watson said the Beaches and Parks Authority report was “so jaw-dropping that we decided to immediately release the full report, so that the Bahamian people can see for themselves how their money has been spent”.

That desire for transparency is excellent – and we hope the same zeal for clarity is brought to the handling of the carnival.

If this matter is indeed so important, it cannot be seen to be used as a distraction from something else – and the way to do that is to be thoroughly transparent about the other matter as well.

Be absolutely clear and resolve the other matter, then we’ll know this one isn’t being used as an opportunity to change the conversation.

That way, we’ll know they mean business.

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

INSIGHT

MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021 PAGE 9

No cage too small

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

THERE’S a stark difference between being captured and imprisoned and being born into captivity. The major difference is in the mindset of the prisoner. A man once free and then locked up oscillates between anger and depression, drowning in the loss of the freedom he once enjoyed. Someone born into it, however, simply cannot appreciate this loss with the same level of desperation and comprehension. Slaves may never have known what freedom felt like but they knew they longed for it. The same can be said for a caged bird.

One that soared among the clouds one day and is then placed in a small enclosure without escape is bound to have a more disturbing experience than one born and raised under the shackles of confinement.

Bearing that in mind, it is easy to imagine the greatest difficulty prisoners must face is this inherent sense of loss of their individual liberty. The Greek statue for justice is an international symbol for lawful equity and it can typically be seen in courthouses, legal offices and law schools throughout the world. In each depiction, Lady Justice holds an unsheathed sword in one hand as she uplifts a balanced scale in the other.

More recent delineations, most familiar to this generation, also depict her wearing a blindfold. While the sword represents a transparent and respectful enforcement of the law, the blindfold and scale represent the impartiality of the justice administered; one that weighs the evidence equally and is not influenced by fame, gender, race, politics or wealth.

More than five years ago, along with several other assailants, my patient was arrested on two counts of murder and attempted robbery. He describes it as the most horrible and harrowing experience of his life and he’s been fighting to clear his name ever since.

The stress has affected him profoundly both mentally and physically. He’s lost weight, suffers from anxiety and has difficulty sleeping. On the night in question, he was at home resting when he received a call from an acquaintance asking for a ride. After the sudden death of his childhood best friend years prior, he was rarely seen hanging out with anyone apart from his girlfriend and close family members.

But this acquaintance was a friend of his deceased best friend so he betrayed his intuition and obliged his request. He picked him up and then a few other men and dropped them to their destination without asking any questions. He said goodnight and went back home unaware those same men would engage in armed robbery and kill two people during the commission of their crime. It wasn’t until three days later, one day after the bodies were discovered, that he was arrested and charged as an accomplice.

The day he was arrested, still in his early 20s, he was taken to prison and strip-searched.

Immediately following that, a fight between two rival gangs broke out and the entire area descended into absolute chaos. A swarm of officers ran into the cell block brandishing weapons and spraying mace to curtail the uproar. Prisoners could be heard screaming and cursing with a maddening pitch that he’d never experienced. He immediately became paranoid and went into survival mode.

The first night was a surreal experience because once they slammed the bars behind him the reality of his situation sank in. It took

him hours to fall asleep and for a short while, he dreamt that he was at home in bed but quickly awoke and realised the horror of his new reality. It was the last time he dreamt while incarcerated.

His mother secured a lawyer on his behalf but he was denied bail. He barely ate for two to three weeks because the food made him vomit violently.

By this time, he was moved from central intake to the remand centre and shared a closet-sized cell with three other men. Unfortunately, the toilet wasn’t working so he had to vomit, urinate and defecate into a bucket with them watching. But it wasn’t until he was moved to the security block and had to share a cell with six other men that he truly understood the hardships of his predicament. He had to be with them for 23 hours a day and his only reprieve was the one hour daily allotted for him to shower and exercise but even that was cut down to 30 or 45 minutes depending on the officer in charge.

My patient’s biggest health issue occurred one day when he arose from sitting for hours on a hard surface and felt a sharp shooting pain to the back of his hip that radiated down his thigh and to his leg. The pain became more agonising as the days wore on and his symptoms progressed to include distal leg, foot and ankle swelling. The pain became so unbearable he had difficulty walking and medical attention was sought. His lower extremity pain was diagnosed to be from a pinched nerve in his back. A course of oral anti-inflammatories, stretching and muscle relaxers fortunately resolved his symptoms.

On a daily basis he was asked to join a gang or to take drugs and he refused each time. He kept his head down, learned his environment and stayed humble.

He read his bible daily and life eventually became more tolerable. He admits that it’s easy to break down and do things to fit in and survive but his family and his religion saved him.

Both his father and grandmother are now deceased so he often thought about his mother and he had to train his mind to live outside of the prison walls. He learned over the years to overcome any suicidal ideations or the inclination to be swallowed by his depression by recognising there is no cage too small that can break you if you remember that “this too shall pass”.

Paradoxically, I’d imagine the family and loved ones of the victims of this crime feel exactly the opposite.

They understandably have a more negative contraposition and are eagerly looking forward to the conviction of every person involved in this crime, no matter how minor the role played.

That then begs the question, how responsible are we for the actions of others in the eyes of the law?

Words written years ago into constitutional law have little regard for a mother whose only son is locked up for a crime he claims he had no part of. How his situation may have been altered if he were either white, rich or politically connected is open to debate.

Funny enough, my patient doesn’t blame the penal system for his predicament. What troubles him is the immediate presumption of guilt and the difficulty and the length of time required to fight your case and regain your freedom. He spent nearly three years in prison and is currently out with an ankle monitor waiting for his case to be re-tried.

Being out of prison is not the same as being free.

This man will never be the man he was before he was arrested even if he beats the charges against him. He is forever changed by the experience in both good and bad ways. He’s less trusting of people but at the same time more appreciative of his loved ones.

He’s also had mixed experiences with how people have treated him. But he chooses to ignore the negativity and the message he hopes people can take from his story is that life can shift in an instant and in those moments, you get to truly see who you can trust and depend on in your time of need.

Birds that have been injured then rehabilitated at animal welfare facilities

never hesitate to leave when finally released.

They quickly fly high into the air and migrate thousands of miles, wings stretched to capacity, gliding and like my patient, happy to return to a life of normalcy, unbroken by the small disconcerting cage that once restricted their freedom.

• Nicknamed “The Prince of Podiatry”, Dr Kenneth D Kemp is the founder and medical director of Bahamas Foot and Ankle located in Caves Village, Western New Providence. He served as the Deputy chairman for the Health Council for five years and he currently sits on the board of directors for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in his role as co-vice-chairman.

PAGE 10 MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

INSIGHT

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

MAKING GRAND BAHAMA’S STORY AVAILABLE FOR ALL TO READ

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Groves family is continuing its philanthropic legacy in The Bahamas with the soft launch of a new digital Grand Bahama Museum – the first in the Caribbean region.

The site - www.grandbahamamuseum.org - is spearheaded by Margaret Groves - the wife of Graham Groves, whose father was the late Wallace Groves, the founder/developer of Freeport.

The Grand Bahama Museum provides the world access to explore and experience Bahamian history and culture through a digital format.

The Museum’s archives conserve and protect the Groves’ family collection of photographs, film, artefacts, magazines, books, and documents that record the development of the island of Grand Bahama.

The mission is to present the history of Grand Bahama Island, and the Bahamas in general, by documenting and digitally preserving the history and heritage of the Bahamian people in a sustainable way for future generations.

The centrepiece of the museum - “Touch My Picture – Hear My Story and Lives Lived” - contains original written and recorded personal remembrances and interviews that give voice to those who lived the history preserved in the museum’s large archive of photographs and documents.

“This has been a tenyear project,” said Mrs Groves. She found many original documents and displays saved from the first museum created at the Garden of Groves in the

THE GRAND Bahama Museum is the first digital museum in the Caribbean region.

1980s by her late mother-inlaw Georgette Groves.

The original museum was destroyed over the years by multiple hurricanes.

Following the devastation of the island by Hurricane Dorian in 2019, Mrs Groves was even more convinced about developing and creating the Grand Bahama Museum in the digital domain.

Getting funding for a ground facility was extremely difficult, she said.

“I had looked for funding and assistance through various avenues from the Antiquities Museums and the (Grand Bahama) Port Authority etc., and I reached out to various organisations for assistance, and it just became more and more difficult to find funding for this type of onthe-ground facility. I am an interior designer, and displays cost over $200 per foot,” she explained.

Wanting to reach a wider audience was another reason for taking a virtual approach.

“The reality of GB is that tourism is way down,” said Mrs Groves, who found that most museums in international cities have a digital presence.

“We crafted it so it can be on an iPad, iPhone and computer. And what that means is that our reach is even further; we are spreading the culture of GB and The Bahamas in general worldwide, and that is a very big plus for our visitors and potential visitors,” she noted.

At one time, Mrs Groves had considered putting the museum at the library in Freeport.

“I spoke to (the late) Sir Jack at one point. And so, when I considered all the documents we had to archive, it was going to be a challenge unless I went to someplace like Florida International University (FIU) that was very interested in all the documents because Freeport...is considered the largest planned community development

by Housing and Urban

Development (HUD) in the United States.”

The Department of Architecture in the US, she said, was also very interested in the documents and the development of GB. However, Mrs Groves knew that if this happened, it would move the documents out of the realm of accessibility for Bahamians.

It was not something she wanted to happen.

“I felt very strongly that the museum needed to be as accessible to Bahamians as well as tourists. And therefore, the digital realm allowed us to do that,” she stated.

Through the site, persons would have access to documents of the Groves family dating as far back as the 1800s and the late 1700s, in some cases.

“The museum concept was always to continue our philanthropic effort, she said. It has been (entirely) funded by myself and my husband. All efforts that have gone into it have been

through mostly my work, and some wonderful individuals helped write and did research.”

According to Mrs Groves, the family has always had a philanthropic attitude. The original museum created by Georgette had been staffed by members of the GB American Women’s Club, and all fees collected went towards scholarships to Bahamian students.

In 1997, when the Grand Bahama Port Authority purchased the Garden of the Groves from the Groves family, the decision was made to place the funds from the sale, along with an endowment from Wallace Groves’ estate, into The Georgette and Wallace Groves Foundation. The Foundation’s mission was to grant four-year scholarships to qualified Grand Bahamian students. In 2018, The Groves’ Family Foundation, Inc, a Florida non-profit, was created and funded with original funds

and legacy. To date, the Foundation has endowed over $1m in scholarships to Grand Bahamian students.

Mrs Groves said the digital museum will never stop growing.

There will be continuous development of the site, including plans to implement access points for downloading for teacher materials, and students.

Some sections are also still being developed, such as one about Bush Medicine. “That is not quite up and running yet,” said Mrs Groves.

Folklore music and the philatelic history of The Bahamas are also two areas that will also be implemented soon. “This is another big one that I am very excited about because postage stamps tell a story,” she said.

Mrs Groves believes “the creation of the first digital museum in the Caribbean is another way that the Groves family continues to support The Bahamas.”

THE HISTORY of stamps in The Bahamas - or philately - is one area to be explored soon by the museum.

EMAIL: insight@tribunemedia.net

INSIGHT

THE ORGANIZATION of American States building in Washington DC.

Reform the OAS or oversee its irrelevance OUR world exists today in troubled circumstances, governed by outmoded charters and laws that are no longer fit for purpose and do not respond to human needs.

When most of these charters were signed 70 or more years ago, more than 70 countries were not independent and had no say in their formulation.

Therefore, the conditions of underdevelopment, poverty and disease that today plague nations around the globe were not considered; if anything, they were regarded as the natural condition of colonized people that would be addressed by their predictable death. Life was cheap.

The Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS) is one such governing document. It was signed in 1948 but brought into force on December 13, 1951 – 70 years ago. The leaders, of the 14 countries that signed the charter, were mostly autocrats who were more concerned with avoiding being overthrown by military coup d’état’s than they were about the will of their own people. They were especially concerned that, notwithstanding any actions they took to repress dissent among their own people, no other country should have any right to criticise.

Only one present day CARICOM country – Haiti - was a member of the organisation at that time.

The leaders were also concerned with settling disputes between themselves peacefully and in acting collectively against external aggression against any of them. Not all of them succeeded in pursuing peaceful dispute settlements with neighbours. Military skirmishes, sabre rattling and other acts of aggression continued.

Significantly, while the 70th anniversary - on December 13 - of the charter coming into force should have been an occasion for celebration, the date came and went with no commemoration by the OAS. The charter has been amended only four times and then only in response to urgent political crises.

Yet, it cries out for reform.

The CARICOM member countries of the OAS place great value on the major cornerstones of the charter, particularly: the effective exercise of representative democracy, non-aggression, the pacific settlements of disputes, the multi dimensionality of security, the recognition that economic cooperation is essential to the common welfare and prosperity of our peoples, and the proclamation of the fundamental rights of the individual without

World View

By SIR RONALD SANDERS distinction as to race, nationality, creed or sex.

However, knowing many of these principles, particularly as they refer to development, are recognised more by omission than commission, CARICOM countries have, at various times, urged the Charter be rejuvenated, making it relevant to the present challenges that confront the Americas.

It is not sufficient for the charter to recognise the indispensability of economic cooperation without commitment to ensuring economic development. It is not enough for the charter to proclaim fundamental rights of the individual without distinction as to race; and yet be silent on positive action to end racism which still lurks in the shadows of some governance systems and, sometimes, displays itself even in the bright daylight of their flawed justice machinery. Nowhere in the charter is it inscribed that member states should implement machinery to eradicate the scourge of racism from the Americas.

Is it adequate that the charter declares, as a principle, that education of peoples should be directed toward justice, freedom and peace without acknowledging these will not be served while inequities of access to education continue to exist across the hemisphere?

In today’s interconnected world where borders are no barriers to disease and no walls against climate change, is it right that the charter should declare “Development is the primary responsibility of each country”, when today small states are ravaged by the effects of CO2 emissions from other countries that retard and erode their development with impunity?

Is it right that, against the reality of the loss and damage inflicted by climate change and global warming, that all the charter says is “member states should refrain from practising policies and adopting actions or measures that have serious adverse effects on the development of other member states”, and yet not provide for adequate compensation or measures that would cause offending countries to cease and desist?

When the charter entered into force, it suited the requirements of the leaders

of the 14 countries that directed its authorship. But 1951 conditions and preoccupations of those leaders should not continue to prevail in 2021 circumstances for 33 countries. I say 33 because Cuba and Venezuela that were among the original signatories have withdrawn from the organisation, although there is a fiction that Cuba is still a member, and that Venezuela is represented by a nominee of an “Interim” President who is recognised by fewer than 50 countries globally (and then only barely).

If the members of the OAS want the organisation to be relevant to the lives of their people, to their economic advancement, and to their social improvement, they have to make its framework fit for purpose.

Governments should consider the establishment of a Group of Wise Persons, reflective of the regional membership, to analyze the charter and to make recommendations on how it should be reformed. The alternative is to limp along – mostly to be paralysed – in the illusion that yesterday’s charter is still fit for purpose in our hemisphere of today.

There is a Biblical proscription against pouring new wine into old wine skins, for surely, the old wine skins will burst, and the new wine will spill, wasting the years and effort devoted to its production.

By seeking to retain a 70-year-old document, written at a very different time by representatives of only 14 countries, and to apply its outmoded approaches to 33 countries in modern day realities, the OAS members are pursuing an effort that can no longer be sustained.

After 70 years, the governments of the OAS member states should recognise it is time for a comprehensive study to recommend its reform, renewal and relevance.

• Responses and previous commentaries: www. sirronaldsanders.com.

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own)

MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021 PAGE 11

PAGE 12, Monday, December 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

MORE THAN 140 DEAD AS TYPHOON RIPS THROUGH PHILIPPINES

A WOMAN sits beside homes damaged by Typhoon Rai in Talisay, Cebu province, central Philippines on Saturday.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES Associated Press THE death toll in the strongest typhoon to batter the Philippines this year has reached at least 146, and the governor of an island province especially hard-hit

by Typhoon Rai said there may be even greater devastation that has yet to be reported.

Gov Arthur Yap of Bohol province in the central Philippines said 72 people

died there, ten others were missing and 13 injured, and suggested the fatalities may still considerably increase because only 33 of 48 mayors were able to report back to him due to downed communications.

Officials were trying to confirm a sizable number of deaths caused by landslides and extensive flooding elsewhere.

In statements posted on Facebook, Yap ordered mayors in his province of more than 1.2 million people to invoke their emergency powers to secure food packs for

Photo: Jay Labra/AP

large numbers of people along with drinking water. Both have been urgently sought in several hard-hit towns.

After joining a military aerial survey of typhoon-ravaged towns, Yap said “it is very clear that the damage sustained by Bohol is great and all-encompassing”.

He said the initial inspection did not cover four towns where the typhoon blew in as it rampaged through central island provinces on Thursday and Friday. The government said about 780,000 people

were affected, including more than 300,000 residents who had to evacuate their homes.

At least 64 other typhoon deaths were reported by the disaster-response agency, the national police and local officials. Most were hit by falling trees and collapsed walls, drowned in flash floods or were buried in landslides. Officials on Dinagat Islands, one of the southeastern provinces first pounded by the typhoon, separately reported ten deaths just from a few towns, bringing the overall fatalities so far to 146.

Fauci: Omicron variant ‘raging around the world’ WILMINGTON, Delaware Associated Press

THE COVID-19 omicron variant is “just raging around the world”, the White House’s top medical adviser said yesterday as President Joe Biden prepares to issue “a stark

warning of what the winter will look like” for unvaccinated Americans.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, said that “the real problem” for the US hospital system is that “we have so many people in this country who are eligible

to be vaccinated who have not yet been vaccinated”.

The prospect of a winter chilled by a wave of coronavirus infections is a severe reversal from the optimism projected by Biden some ten months ago, when he suggested at a CNN town hall that the country would

Memorial Service for Joan Kathy Pearce, 77 of San Souci, Nassau, The Bahamas, will be held at Global Village Methodist Church, Queen’s College Auditorium, Village Road, Nassau (TODAY), Monday, 20th December, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. Rev. James Neilly will officiate.

Joan Kathy Pearce, known by most as Kathy, but also known to be called “Ma Pearce” or “Mrs. Pearce” was the oldest of eight siblings. She was born on July 5th, 1944. She met Godfrey Pearce as a teenager and they married in 1965.

Kathy and Godfrey had two children, Troy and Gia. After the death of her father, she left school to help take care of her seven siblings. She started working at d’Albenas at only fifteen years old, and stayed for fifty-five years. She loved her job and the relationships she had with her peers and customers. She found joy in helping those in need and did a lot for various organizations and senior citizen homes. Kathy was even awarded an Honourary Doctorate in Humane Letters.

She was always known to give of herself but never asked of anything in return. She enjoyed being called “Mum” by many.

Preceding her in death is her father and mother, Vesper and Sylvia Russell, her brothers Ken and Andy Russell, and her sister Jeannie Durrant-Harding. She was also predeceased by her beloved Grand-mother, Lillian Roberts, with whom she shared a very close bond.

Kathy Pearce is survived by her son, Troy Pearce (Samantha); daughter, Gia Greene (Sean); grandsons, Justin (Sharon) and Nicholas Pearce, Joshua Greene; grand-daughter, Alexis Roderick (Joshua); great grand-children, Sebastian Pearce, Jude, Sofia, and Ivy Roderick; sisters, Joyce Green, Mercay Houghton, Agatha Bethel-Harding, Mona Russell, and Lindy Munnings (honourary sister); nephews, Colin Green, Christopher Houghton, and Gavin Bethel; nieces, Melanie Steinlechner, Quinn and Kara Russell; and her grand-nieces and grand-nephews; and numerous cousins.

In addition to her blood relatives Kathy is survived by her chosen family; a list of close friends that would be far too many to mention.

The family would like to thank the doctors and staff at Doctor’s Hospital, especially Dr. Wadhwa and Dr. Gaitor, the doctors and staff at Princess Margaret Hospital, especially Dr. Sultani and Dr. Rowe, and the nurses that took such great care of her at home.

Arrangements by Kemp’s Funeral Home Limited.

essentially be back to normal by this Christmas.

Biden has been careful not to overpromise, yet confidence in the country has been battered by an unrelenting wave of COVID-19 mutations and variations that have left many Americans emotionally exhausted, dispirited and worried about infections.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tried to defend the president’s earlier promise in a separate interview.

“The idea about hoping and having an aspiration to be independent of the virus after a period of time is understandable and reasonable,” Fauci said. “But the one thing that we know from, now, almost two years’ experience with this virus is that it is really very unpredictable.”

With the threat that rising infections could worsen the supply chain challenges facing the United States and fuel inflation, Gov Jared Polis, D-Colo, said Biden should stop talking about vaccination as two shots and a booster and instead call it “three doses” that are needed to maximise protection.

Polis pivoted to inflation that is running at a nearly four-decade high, saying Biden in his remarks on Tuesday about the omicron variant needed to show the country how he is addressing the rising cost of goods.

“We can do very concrete things that actually reduce the costs for Americans,” Polis said on NBC, noting

that Colorado is cutting vehicle registration fees and making it free to register a new business.

The administration is expecting a series of breakthrough infections with the surge of holiday travelers.

Fauci said most people who have been vaccinated and gotten a booster should be fine if they take precautions such as wearing masks in crowded settings including airports. Biden plans to speak on Tuesday on the status of the fight against COVID-19 and discuss government help for communities in need of assistance, White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted.

She also said he will be “issuing a stark warning of what the winter will look like for Americans that choose to remain unvaccinated”.

Fauci was asked on CNN whether he expected a record numbers of cases — and what about hospitalisations and deaths.

“Yes, well, unfortunately, I think that that is going to happen,” he said.

Fauci told NBC the president would again urge people to get the booster shot, highlight increased availability of testing, discuss “surge teams” for besieged hospitals and explain how important it is to provide vaccines for the rest of the world.

“The one thing that’s very clear, and there’s no doubt about this, is its extraordinary capability of spreading, its transmissibility capability. It is just, you know, raging through the world, really,” Fauci said.

“And if you look even here in the United States, you have some regions that start off with a few percent of the isolates that are positive, now going up to 30 percent, 40 percent, and some places 50 percent.”

Psaki’s announcement on Saturday on Twitter came after Vice President Kamala Harris said in a Los Angeles Times interview that the Biden administration “didn’t see delta coming. I think most scientists did not — upon whose advice and direction we have relied — didn’t see delta coming.” She added: “We didn’t see omicron coming. And that’s the nature of what this, this awful virus has been, which as it turns out, has mutations and variants.”

The vice president’s words raised doubts as to the administration’s strategy for addressing the pandemic. Biden had effectively declared independence from the virus at a White House celebration on July Fourth to mark progress with vaccinations inside the United States, yet the global nature of the pandemic meant that the disease could evolve as others around the world waited for immunization.

Fauci told NBC he saw the variants coming and he thought Harris’ statement “was taken a bit out of context”, adding he believed she was referring to “the extraordinary number of mutations... particularly with omicron. No one had expected it that much but we were well-prepared and expected that we were going to see variants.”

RAPPER DRAKEO THE RULER FATALLY STABBED LOS ANGELES Associated Press

A WEST COAST rapper known as Drakeo the Ruler was fatally stabbed in an altercation at a Los Angeles music festival where he and others were scheduled to perform.

A publicist for the rapper, Scott Jawson, confirmed his death yesterday to the New York Times and Rolling Stone. The artist’s real name was Darrell Caldwell.

He was 28.

Drakeo the Ruler was assaulted on Saturday

night at the Once Upon a Time in LA concert, which was expected to feature several artists, including Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Ice Cube. Organisers called off the festival after the stabbing.

A fight broke out behind the main stage shortly after 8.30pm, leaving one man severely injured by a suspect wielding an edged weapon, the California Highway Patrol said in a bare bones news release that did not name Caldwell. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he

later died.

LAPD spokesman Officer Luis Garcia told the Los Angeles Times that no arrests had been made as of Sunday.

Caldwell, who started releasing mixtapes in 2015 and this past February debuted his first album The Truth Hurts, has been called “the most original stylist on the West Coast” for his darkly comedic lyrics and deadpan delivery. His mixtape Thank You for Using GTL contains verses recorded at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles.

SPORTS PAGE 13

Buddy, Page 15

MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021

Swimmer Joanna Evans advances to two finals

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

J

oanna Evans continues to make Bahamian history in the pool at the FINA World Swimming Short Course Championships (25m).

The two-time Olympian reached the finals in both the 200m free and 400m free at the 15th edition of the event, hosted at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Evans finished seventh in yesterday’s 400m free final in 4:01.09 seconds, swimming out of lane seven. Li Bingjie of China took first

place in 3:55.83, Summer McIntosh of Canada was second in 3:57.87 and Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong rounded out the medal podium in 3:58.12.

Evans produced a time of 4:03.53 in the prelims to advance as the eighth fastest qualifier in her second appearance at the Short Course World Championships.

At the 2014 edition of the meet, Evans finished 31st overall in the 400m free in a time of 4:13.83.

The former Texas Longhorn swam to an eighth place finish in the 200m free earlier last Thursday.

She swam 1:54.93 in the final to follow up on

JOANNA Evans the 1:54.51 she swam in the heats to qualify and advance.

Evans became just the second Bahamian to advance to a final of the Short Course World Championships, following Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace and her bronze medal at the Dubai Championships in 2011.

Evans is also the Bahamian national record holder in both events with her times of 1:54.36 in the 200m free and 4:00.14 in the 400m free. She had an active fall season in the International Swimming League as a member of DC Trident when she lowered the aforementioned record.

Team Bahamas also includes Olympian Izaak Bastian (Florida State)

along with fellow NCAA student athletes Lilly Higgs (North Carolina) and Lamar Taylor (Henderson).

The quartet finished 12th overall in the mixed 4x50m free relay in a time of 1:36.43.

Individually, Bastian swam the 100m breaststroke and finished 30th overall in 59.61 - a new national short course record. He was also the first Bahamian to eclipse the one-minute barrier in the event.

Higgs swam the 50m breaststroke and finished 28th overall in 31.38. She also finished 26th overall in the 100m breaststroke in 1:07.87. Both times set new

Team Bahamas NACAC Age Group champions

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

God for the athletes’ performances.

“The team exceeded my expectations. They went into the competition motivated and competed exceptionally well,” said Hall, who was assisted by

Kenny Moxey Sr, Kenrid Munroe and Holly RileyWoodside from Andros.

“Our athletes recorded personal records in several of their events.”

Thomas’ victory came in the under-13 girls’ division

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

with 2,616 points, while Deveaux trailed her for the silver with 2,550 points.

Emily Alexandra Valverde Perez, of Costa Rica, got the bronze with 2,438.

SEE PAGE 18

SEE PAGE 14

AGE GROUP CHAMPIONS: Team Bahamas members proudly display their championship trophy with NACAC president Mike Sands, far right, after being crowned the overall champions of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships over the weekend in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. with 9,207. In the under-13 boys’ division, the Bahamas was fourth with 5,364.

Grand Bahamian Clarita Hall, who replaced Kino Demeritte as the manager after he couldn’t travel at the last minute, thanked

TEAM ISAACS WINS DON’T BLINK HOME RUN DERBY IN PARADISE THE 2021 Don’t Blink Home Run Derby in Paradise featured new team and individual champions as the event overcame inclement weather concerns and made a successful return to the shores of The Bahamas.

Kansas City Royals prospect MJ Melendez was crowned the Don’t Blink Home Run Derby King after he defeated defending champion Lewis Brinson and home favourite Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr in the finals at the Atlantis resort.

Melendez, the No.4 prospect in the Royals organisation, hit seven home runs on just 10 swings in the final round.

“I was coming down here to have some fun, to be able to hang out with some of the best players in professional baseball, just to learn, to get to know some people that I haven’t quite met yet and it’s been an amazing experience,” he said.

“Really the goal was to have a good time, not just to win but to have a good time, but since I’m here in The Bahamas, why not do my best.”

Melendez dominated at the plate last season and his 41 homers led all of minor league baseball. He hit .285 and 28 home runs with the Northwest Arkansas

O

n the strength of a gold medal from Keyezra Thomas, a silver from Keely Deveaux and a pair of bronze from Jamiah Nabbie and Kenny Moxey Jr, the Bahamas emerged as the overall champions of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships.

The Bahamas accumulated a total of 26,787 points over the two days of competition in Managua, Nicaragua, on Friday and Saturday. Nicaragua was the closest to the Bahamas in second with 25,125 points. Costa Rica came in third with 25,097.

A total of eight countries participated with Aruba fourth with 21,178, British Virgin Islands fifth with 13,840, El Salvador sixth with 10,017, US Virgin Islands seventh with 5,422 and Honduras bringing up the rear with 2,499.

The Bahamas won the under-13 girls’ pentathlon or a combination of five events on the track and the field with 5,166 points, got second in the under-15 heptathlon or seven events with 7,050 and second in the boys’ under-15 division

Bahamian national short course meet records.

Taylor finished 41st overall in the 50m freestyle in 22.38.

Bastian and Taylor will be the final members of Team Bahamas to compete when they swim in today’s prelims. Bastian competes in the 50m breaststroke while Taylor takes on the field in the 100m free.

The meet concludes December 21 and includes the world’s best ‘short course’ swimmers to compete across six days and 44 events. Over 900 swimmers are participating in the swim meet and an additional 197 in various events of the aquatics festival.

Middle Tennessee tops Toledo 31-24 to begin bowl season

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THE Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders out-classed the Toledo Rockets in a dramatic fourthquarter comeback to hoist the 2021 Bahamas Bowl college football championship trophy at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on Friday.

After being interrupted by rain before the half, the Blue Raiders came back from a 17-14 deficit to overpower the Rockets on 17 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to clinch a 31-24 victory.

Offensive most valuable playerfreshman quarterback Nick Vattiato came through with 23-of35 passes for 270 yards and two scores.

Senior linebacker DQ Thomas was named the defensive MVP after he finished with a team-high eight tackles, 1.5 tackle for loss and a pass broken up.

Presenting the awards to Vattiato and Thomas were I. Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister

MIDDLE Tennessee Blue Raiders head coach Rick Stockstill hoists the Bahamas Bowl college football championship trophy at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on Friday.

Photo: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff

and Keith Bell, minister of labour and immigration.

Vattiato and Thomas’ joint MVP honours helped Middle Tennessee to avenge their 45-31 Bahamas Bowl defeat to Western Michigan in 2015. Toledo, on the other hand, fell to Florida International 35-32 in 2018.

Blue Raiders’ head coach Rick Stockstill, after receiving the Prime Minister’s Cup from Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, congratulated Toledo, who dropped to 7-6. But he said he was very proud of his Blue Raiders’ performance. “The toughness, the

SEE PAGE 16

PAGE 14, Monday, December 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas -- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation Chester Cooper throws the first pitch at the ‘Don’t Blink Home Run Derby,’ on Saturday. Cooper is pictured with Bahamian professional baseball players Lucius Fox Jr, of the Baltimore Orioles and Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr, of the Miami Marlins.

(BIS Photos/ Kemuel Stubbs)

Team Fox

CHISHOLM

FRANCO

SAUNDERS

CASAS

LEWIS

MELENDEZ

KNOWLES

BADDOO

MOSS

CARSON

COLLIE

JACKSON

HANNA

WILSON

KNOWLES

WYLIE

ROLLE

VEEN

STUBBS

COMBS

TEAM ISAACS WINS DON’T BLINK HOME RUN DERBY OVERALL TITLE FROM PAGE 13 Naturals and advanced to the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers where he became a teammate of Lucius Fox and added 13 home runs on a .293 average.

Many pundits expect him to make his Major League debut this season.

Previous winners of the event include Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays and Lewis Brinson.

“I definitely hope to continue that trend, for years to come hopefully everyone that follows has that same exact path,” Melendez said of the big league success of past derby winners.

“I told Lu [Lucius Fox] it doesn’t matter how many days it is, what events you have, I’m here.

All you’ve got to do is call.

I love The Bahamas and those guys have put on a really great event.”

The main event of the week got off to a late start and the event suffered another rain delay midway through the first round. When competition resumed, the remainder of the participants in the first round had their swings shortened from 15 to eight in the interest of time.

Event organisers Todd Isaacs Jr and Lucius Fox fielded opposing teams composed of local and visiting players from various levels of baseball including independent leagues, the minor leagues and the MLB. Team Isaacs won the overall team title.

Isaacs’ included several first time local participants including the most recent members of the last international signing and MLB draft class. BJ Murray (Chicago Cubs), Kristin Munroe (Los Angeles Angels), Andre Arthur (Miami Marlins), Adari Grant (St. Louis Cardinals) and Steven Adderley (Miami Marlins) all made their derby debut.

The team also included minor leaguers Everette Cooper (Houston Cougars), Trent Deveaux (Los Angeles Angels) and Davonn Mackey (Oakland Athletics). The 2019 Don’t Blink champion, Lewis Brinson, highlighted the international group for Team Isaacs that also included Will Benson (Cleveland Guardians), Dom Smith (New York Mets), Richie Palacios (Cleveland Guardians), Josh Palacios (Toronto Blue Jays), Christian Koss (Colorado Rockies), Nick Gordon (Minnesota Twins), and Mason Wynn (St. Louis Cardinals).

“It was fun, we had a good time,” Brinson said.

“I didn’t think we were going to be able to get it in, great event as usual and we’re going to be back next year.”

The local prospects for Team Fox was headlined

by Chisholm, the first overall pick in the draft.

Other local Team Fox prospects included Warren Saunders (New York Mets), Ian Lewis (Miami Marlins), D’Shawn Knowles (Los Angeles Angels), Keithron Moss (Texas Rangers), DJ Collie (Webber University), Ellison Hanna (Hood College - Assistant Coach), D’Vaughn Knowles (New York Yankees), James Rolle (Baltimore Orioles) and Dax Stubbs (Baltimore Orioles) The international players from Team Fox were headlined by Melendez and also included Akil Baddoo (Detroit TIgers), Marcus Wilson (Seattle Mariners), Justin Wylie (New Jersey Jackals), Dalton Combs (New Jersey Jackals), Khalil Lee (New York Mets), After several years of involvement, the Atlantis resort came on board as the title sponsor as the event returned from a brief hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The first three editions were hosted at the Montagu foreshore as the unique concept continues to showcase the natural aesthetic of the Bahamas and the country’s young baseball talent.

“Our goal of the event is to always use this as a platform to highlight our Bahamian baseball players, our Bahamian athletes, and just show what the Bahamas consists of - our natural beauty and these beaches.

We have the best beaches in the world,” Isaacs said.

“Being a baseball player, you wanted to really bring the two elements together. The most exciting part of the game, the home run, and then the most beautiful part of us being from The Bahamas, the beaches.

“So we decided to do something extremely crazy. Set up a stage and hit balls into the water.”

Traditionally hosted in early January, the derby has grown in stature to be showcased prominently by several international media outlets, including the MLB Network, and features both minor and major league prospects from around the league.

In addition to the derby, this year’s event has expanded to include a week-long schedule of activities. The first was a new initiative, a Celebrity Softball game featuring local artists, athletes, and influencers playing alongside the visiting players at Paradise Harbour at the Atlantis resort.

Team Isaacs took a 17-15 win over Team Fox to conclude a fun-filled

night highlighted by home runs into the ocean.

The following morning, the group hosted their annual kids’ clinic, also at Paradise Harbour, for scores of aspiring student-athletes.

Clinic participants were drilled at various skill positions, including hitting, fielding, pitching and base running.

“Doing this for the kids, having guys from the major leagues and minor leagues that they watch on TV here present for them to see them, take pictures with them, ask them questions - it’s something we never had.

“It’s special,” Isaacs said.

“We’re just proud to make this event successful for them. It just showed the other kids behind me that it’s possible...hopefully I can make it to the big leagues and inspire the kids even more.”

Community outreach efforts like the kid’s camp remain a mandate of the group for the further development of the next generation of baseball players.

“I just want baseball to grow in the Bahamas.

Over the years they’ve been talking about the Dominican Republic and all these Latin American countries, but I know we have the talent. If I can do my part to help the young guys be better than us then I will do just that.

It’s never selfish when it comes to us, we just look forward to breaking down as many doors as possible,” Fox said.

“Our whole goal was just to inspire as many kids as possible. We decided to bring it back to help those kids and also to give the Bahamian people something to enjoy. We always encourage everyone to come out and workout with the pros, interact with them and learn as much as you can.

It will certainly be a funfilled experience. We just wanted to do something for the Bahamian people.

The kids are the future, we know that they’re the future, we take it upon ourselves to help them every chance we get.”

Following the camp, Chisholm hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for planned renovations of the Pinewood Gardens baseball fields in conjunction with representatives from his agency - RocNation Sports, International Elite Baseball Academy, Bahamas Baseball Association executives, and the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture.

Friday featured another new addition to the schedule, the inaugural Don’t Blink Golf Invitational at the Ocean Club Golf Course.

Team Isaacs

MURRAY

BRINSON

MUNROE

ROJAS

ARTHUR

BENSON

GRANT

SMITH

ADDERLEY

LEE

SEYMOUR

PALACIOS

YOUNG

JOSH PALACIOS

COOPER

KOSS

DEVEAUX

GORDON

MACKEY

WYNN

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 20, 2021, PAGE 15

HIELD SCORES 18 POINTS IN 4TH, KINGS BEAT SPURS 121-114 NBA POSTPONES 5 MORE GAMES

By MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — Chavano “Buddy Hield scored 18 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and made seven 3-pointers to help the Sacramento Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs 121-114 yesterday.

Tyrese Haliburton added 27 points and matched his career high with 11 assists, Damian Jones scored a career-high 23 points, and Harrison Barnes had 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Kings won for the second time in six games. Hield had only five points before making back-to-back 3s late in the third quarter. He opened the fourth quarter with a mid-range jumper and scored on a pair of driving layups, then made four 3s over the final five minutes.

Dejounte Murray had 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for San Antonio. The Spurs, coming off a 128-126

victory at Utah on Friday night, outrebounded the Kings but were outscored 27-11 in secondchance points.

The Kings fell behind early before Hield and Haliburton made consecutive 3s and Barnes converted a three-point play.

Barnes later connected on a corner 3 to make it 37-27.

San Antonio got within six late in the second quarter but struggled to contain Haliburton, who has taken over at point guard for Sacramento while De’Aaron Fox is in the NBA’s health and safety protocol. Haliburton had a double-double by halftime and shot 12 of 19 overall.

TIP-INS Spurs: Doug McDermott was held out because of a toothache.

Kings: Kings interim coach Alvin Gentry, Marvin Bagley III, Davion Mitchell Terence Davis and Alex Len are also in the NBA health and safety protocol with Fox. … Richaun Holmes (right eye) was also out.

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

SACRAMENTO Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) dribbles around San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell during the second half yesterday.

(AP Photo/Randall Benton)

Ayton and NBA-leading Suns rout Hornets 137-106 PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker had 16 points in his return to Phoenix’s lineup and the NBA-leading Suns set a season-scoring high in a 137-106 victory over the Charlotte Hornets last night.

After missing seven games because of a hamstring injury, Booker played 26 minutes, and sat out the fourth quarter with Phoenix well ahead. The Suns improved to 24-5, moving a half-game ahead of Golden State.

Phoenix had nine players score in double figures.

Javale McGee had 19 points in 16 minutes off the bench, and Mikal Bridges also scored 16 points.

Deandre Ayton had 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Landry Shamet also scored 15 points, Jae Crowder and Chris Paul had 14 each, Cam Johnson 12 and Cameron Payne 11.

Phoenix was 20 of 41 on 3-pointers and shot 56.8% overall.

Miles Bridges had 26 points for Charlotte, and former Sun Kelly Oubre Jr. had 16. LaMelo Ball had nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but was 2 of 12 from the field and 1 of 6 from behind the arc.

TIMBERWOLVES 111, MAVERICKS 105 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, D’Angelo Russell added 22 and Minnesota beat Dallas in a matchup between shorthanded teams dealing with recent COVID-19 issues.

Dallas, already without

star guard Luka Doncic, placed two players in the health and safety protocols the past two days. Minnesota added Josh Okogie to the protocols and Anthony Edwards and Taurean Prince each missed their second game while in the protocols.

The Mavericks then lost forward Kristaps Porzingis in the third quarter with right foot soreness. Porzingis finished with 13 points and three rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr had 28 points for Dallas.

PISTONS 100, HEAT 90 DETROIT (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 26 points and Detroit beat Miami to snap their losing streak at a franchise record-tying 14 games.

Hamidou Diallo had 15 points and seven rebounds for Detroit.

The Pistons improved to 5-24, winning for the first time since November 17 against Indiana. Max Strus led short-handed Miami with 24 points.

TRAIL BLAZERS 105, GRIZZLIES 100 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 32 points, Norman Powell added 28 and Portland beat Memphis to snap the Grizzlies’ five-game winning streak.

Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 37 points for Memphis. The Grizzlies lost for the second time in their last 12 games.

Powell scored 20 in the second half to give the Trail Blazers their second straight victory after they

PHOENIX Suns centre Deandre Ayton, left, shoots over Charlotte Hornets centre Mason Plumlee, right, during the second half last night in Phoenix.

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) snapped a seven-game a four-point play by Lil- The Grizzlies had a chance losing streak with a home lard with 4:02 left and to tie at 103 with 5.3 secvictory over Charlotte reclaimed the advantage, onds to go, but Desmond on Friday night. Portland 97-95, on a 3-pointer by Bane’s 3-pointer rimmed took the lead, 94-91, on Powell three minutes later. out.

THE NBA yesterday postponed a total of five games involving nine teams in response to rising coronavirus numbers, raising the number of contests that have been pushed back this season to seven.

Called off were three Sunday games: Cleveland at Atlanta, Denver at Brooklyn and New Orleans at Philadelphia. Also shelved were Orlando’s game at Toronto today and Washington’s game at Brooklyn on Tuesday.

The postponements came on the same day that Atlanta announced star guard Trae Young entered the league’s health and safety protocols and the Los Angeles Lakers said coach Frank Vogel also was added to the list.

Leaguewide, through Sunday afternoon, there were at least 68 players who have either been ruled out to play — or in the case of the postponed games, would have been ruled out — because they are in the protocols. That number has soared in recent days, with the NBA just one of many sports leagues worldwide dealing with a rapidly worsening issue.

US officials are expecting a wave of breakthrough infections among the vaccinated given the surge of holiday travellers and gatherings expected in the coming days. The NBA has said 97% of players are fully vaccinated and somewhere around 60% had received boosters as of last week. It was not clear how many of the current positive cases involve those who are ineligible for a booster shot or those who have chosen not to receive one.

Also not clear is how many of the NBA cases involve asymptomatic players. The NFL has revised its protocols so that only unvaccinated players and those experiencing possible symptoms of COVID19 will be tested. “It is what it is. Just trying to stay safe as possible and that’s all you can do,” Lakers guard Russell Westbrook said of the NBA’s rising numbers. Westbrook was briefly in the protocols late last week, before returning at least three negative coronavirus tests and being cleared to return to play without missing a game.

The Cavs had five players enter the protocols yesterday, the team said. All five — centre Jarrett Allen, forwards Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler and guards Denzel Valentine and RJ Nembhard — tested positive for COVID-19, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not release that specific detail.

MAGIC SNAP 7-GAME SKID, BEATING SHORT-HANDED NETS 100-93 NEW YORK (AP) — Robin Lopez had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Orlando Magic beat the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 100-93 on Saturday night to snap a seven-game losing streak.

Gary Harris added 17 points, Chuma Okeke had 15, and Franz Wagner 14 to help the Magic improve to 6-25.

Patty Mills led the Nets with 23 points. David Duke Jr had 18 points and 14 rebounds, Blake Griffin added 17 points, and Cam Thomas had 15. Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn dropped to 21-9. The Nets had won four in a row.

Brooklyn entered the game with 10 players in COVID-19 protocol, after returning star guard Kyrie Irving and MVP candidate Kevin Durant were placed into protocols Saturday.

The team announced about an hour before the game rookie forward Day’Ron Sharpe would join them, as well as De’Andre Bembry, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, LaMarcus Aldridge, James, Johnson, Paul Millsap, and James Harden. The Nets signed

James Ennis III and Shaquille Harrison prior to the game.

RAPTORS 119, WARRIORS 100 TORONTO (AP) — Fred VanVleet had 27 points and 12 assists, Scottie Barnes scored 21 points and Toronto beat the shorthanded Golden State.

Golden State was without Steph Curry (rest), Draymond Green (right hip), Andre Iguodala (right knee), Otto Porter Jr. (left foot) and Andrew Wiggins (left knee). The five returned to California after a victory Friday night in Boston rather than risking COVID-19 exposure, and a potential quarantine, in Canada.

Jonathan Kuminga scored 26 points for Golden State.

CELTICS 114, KNICKS 107 BOSTON (AP) — Josh Richardson scored a season-high 27 points, Jayson Tatum had 25 and Boston beat New York Knicks with each team missing six players because of COVID-19 protocols.

Jaylen Brown added 23 points for Boston. After

ORLANDO Magic guard Hassani Gravett (12) moves the ball around Brooklyn Nets guard Langston Galloway during the first half on Saturday in New York.

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) blowing a 15-point halftime lead, the Celtics won for just the second time in their last six games.

Evan Fournier, who played with Boston last season, led the Knicks, matching his season-high with 32 points. New York has lost five of six. Kemba Walker, who also played with Boston the last two seasons, started for the

Knicks and scored a season-high 29 points before fouling out.

THUNDER 104, CLIPPERS 103 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai GilgeousAlexander hit a 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Oklahoma City past Los Angeles.

On Wednesday night, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a

30-footer with 1.4 seconds to tie the game against New Orleans, but Devonte Graham drained a 60-foot heave as time expired for the winner.

Lu Dort scored 29 points after sitting out Oklahoma City’s previous game because of a sprained left ankle. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 points.

Luke Kennard scored a season-high 27 points for Los Angeles. Paul George sat out with a sprained right elbow.

WIZARDS 109, JAZZ 103 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Bradley Beal scored a season-high 37 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a late 3-pointer to help Washington beat Utah.

With Washington up 105-103, the Wizards’ Raul Neto won a jump ball with Mitchell, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds to play. Neto had 15 points and a career-high seven rebounds, and CaldwellPope finished with 13 points to help the Wizards snap a four-game losing streak.

Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points for Utah. The Jazz

lost on consecutive nights after winning eight straight.

ROCKETS 116, PISTONS 107 DETROIT (AP) — Christian Wood had 21 points and eight rebounds and Houston sent Detroit to its 14th straight loss.

The streak matches the longest single-season skid in Pistons history, including 14-game streaks in 1979-80 and 1993-94.

They had a 21-game streak spread between the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.

Saddiq Bey had 23 points for Detroit.

CAVALIERS 119, BUCKS 90 MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cedi Osman scored 23 points, Darius Garland had 22 points and Cleveland beat short-handed Milwaukee to extend its winning streak to six.

Garland made 10 of 13 shots to pace a Cavaliers offence that shot 50% from the floor and made 16 of 45 3-point attempts.

Jordan Nwora led Milwaukee with 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting. The Bucks were without any of their regular starters.

PAGE 16, Monday, December 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Saints frustrate Brady again, beat SB champions Bucs 9-0

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer

TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Cameron Jordan and the New Orleans defence gave Tom Brady fits again, shutting down Tampa Bay’s high-powered offence last night as the Saints put the Buccaneers’ division-title celebration plans on hold with a 9-0 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.

Despite playing without coach Sean Payton on the sideline, the Saints (7-7) beat the Bucs (10-4) for the seventh straight time during the regular season — fourth since Brady left New England for Tampa Bay in 2020.

The victory gave New Orleans a sweep of the season series between the NFC South rivals and boosted the Saints into playoff position with a

hold on the conference’s final wild card.

It also forced Tampa Bay to wait at least another week to clinch its first division crown since 2007.

The Bucs, who did win a playoff game at New Orleans last January en route to winning the Super Bowl, lead the division by three games with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

BAHAMAS Bowl trophies on display. INSET: Richard Giannini, executive director of the Bahamas Bowl.

Middle Tennessee tops Toledo 31-24 to begin bowl season FROM PAGE 13 guts, the competitiveness, the resilience, the mental toughness they showed today, was fun to watch,” Stockstill said of his Blue Raiders. “I told them at halftime that I believed in them and I believed they were made of the right stuff.

They were made of the right stuff. We had some opportunities that got away from us in the first half and the score could have been a little bit different.”

Freshman quarterback Dequan Finn completed 18-of-39 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 83 yards and a third score to lead Toledo. Junior Bryant Koback ran 18 times for 126 yards.

Said Rockets’ head coach Jason Candle: “In the third quarter there was a little bit of a lull. We didn’t make some of the tough plays, I thought, in the second half offensively.

“Too many penalties, selfinflicted, on both sides of the football. When that happens against a really good team… it caught up to us today.”

There were some memorable moments from the game, which was scoreless for the first 13 minutes and 30 seconds, the longest stretch to start one of the seven match-ups in Bahamas Bowl history.

Finn’s 90-yard touchdown pass to Matt Landers in the second quarter was the longest play in Bahamas Bowl history. It was also Toledo’s longest play of the year and a career-long rush for Finn.

Landers finished with 137 receiving yards, tied for the third-most in the game’s history.

Middle Tennessee set a new Bahamas Bowl record with eight pass breakups, led by three apiece from Quincy Riley and Teldrick Ross. The 13 combined punts are a new Bahamas Bowl record.

Previously, no team had punted more than five times in the game.

Today, both teams surpassed that mark - seven by Toledo and six by Middle Tennessee.

For the first time in Bahamas Bowl history, the team with more rushing yards lost the game.

The third quarter marked the third time a Bahamas Bowl quarter has been scoreless.

The 2021 game had an attendance of 13,596, the second-highest in Bahamas Bowl history.

For Stockstill, there was much jubilation for his team for all of the sacrifices they made in getting ready for this season from last August.

“I couldn’t care less about me, it’s never about me. It’s

MIDDLE Tennessee Blue Raiders players celebrate after defeating the Toledo Rockets to winthe Bahamas Bowl college football championship trophy at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Photos: Donavan McIntosh/Tribune Staff about these guys up here and the guys out on that field and in the locker room, because they bust their tail, they sacrifice…They keep answering the bell every time,” he said.

“The respect I have for this team, the respect that I have for them as players, as men, the appreciation and love I have for them, that’s what it’s all about. When they get that ring, it says Bahamas Bowl Champions.

They’ll have that the rest of their life. I don’t need a ring.

I let them have it, because they deserve it, and I’m happy for them.”

The victory was double sweet for Middle Tennessee, whose president Dr Sidney A McPhee is a Bahamian.

“He’s a bowl champion too. But I’m more proud of these guys here. The blood and guts that they put into this season, and the never give up, never quit attitude.

A lot of times people want to give up on you but they never give up,” he said.

“I keep repeating myself, but they’re made of the right stuff. They’re great men, they’re going to be successful in life. What they put out on the field, especially these last two weeks, the offence did enough to win, but that defence is relentless.”

On the flip side of the coin, Candle said it was a bitter pill to swallow, losing

another bowl game in the Bahamas.

“I think each game is individually different. Each game is. Obviously, we aren’t preparing to lose a bowl game.

“Obviously, there are things we didn’t do well today and that we probably did well in the other games, and vice-versa,” he said.

“Too many penalties today and too many mistakes and too many self-inflicted things, and we couldn’t overcome them.”

During half-time, Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin joined Bahamas Bowl executives Richard Giannini and Lea Miller-Tooley in presenting 20 Bahamian school teachers with $500 from the College Football Playoff Foundation, through its’ primary platform, Extra Yard for Teachers.

The teachers were invited to submit an essay about what they would do with a $500 grant for classroom supplies and support.

Among the list of dignitaries on hand for the game was Miss Bahamas Universe Chantel O’Brian, who is still celebrating her historic top 10 finish at the recent Miss Universe pageant in Eilat, Israel.

O’Brian assisted in all of the awards presentations as well.

Man City takes advantage of Chelsea, Liverpool slip-ups

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — Chelsea complained about having to play with a coronavirus-depleted squad in drawing at Wolverhampton.

Liverpool grumbled about the refereeing in being held

by Tottenham.

And Manchester City just strolled further in front at the top of the Premier League. The champions eased past Newcastle 4-0 on Sunday after brushing aside Leeds 7-0 in midweek.

Pep Guardiola’s side moved three points in front of Liverpool, which drew 2-2 at Tottenham after having defender Andrew Robertson sent off and being infuriated that opposing striker Harry Kane didn’t also see red.

“I have no problems with any referees — only you,” Jürgen Klopp bellowed to referee Paul Tierney after the final whistle.

Liverpool had already conceded for the final time —- Son Heung-min’s equaliser in the 74th minute — when Robertson was dismissed for a wild kick on Emerson Royal three minutes later.

But Robertson’s exit brought into sharper focus Kane staying on the pitch in the first half for a lunge on Robertson. Kane had already put Tottenham in front — after latching onto Tanguy Ndombele’s through ball — for only the striker’s second league goal of the season in his 15th game.

“We can give Robbo a red card, it’s not the smartest challenge of his life, but that (from Kane) is definitely a red card,” Klopp said. “People will say his leg is in the air, but it’s pure coincidence. Harry cannot judge that, if Robbo’s leg is on the ground it’s a broken leg.”

Liverpool did go in front, with Diogo Jota heading in the equaliser in the 35th and Robertson nodding in from close range in the 69th. But Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker missed an attempt to clear Harry Winks’ long ball, giving Son the opportunity to seize possession and slot into an empty net.

“It was an exciting game and we created many, many chances,” Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said. “We have to be a bit

MANCHESTER City’s Raheem Sterling scores his side’s fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match against Newcastle at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, yesterday.

(Owen Humphreys/PA via AP) disappointed with the draw.

We played against a really strong team, this team is amazing and they are working for many years.”

But Liverpool is losing ground on City in its bid to regain the trophy.

CITY RAMPANT An eighth straight league win for City was started by defender Ciaran Clark allowing Ruben Dias to head in the opener at Newcastle before Joao Cancelo struck powerfully.

Riyad Mahrez’s 50th league goal since joining City in 2018 came in the 63rd before Raheem Sterling tapped in a fourth in the 86th. It was City’s 34th league victory in 2021, surpassing the previous

calendar year record in England set by Liverpool in 1982. “I am aware still of the margin that we have to be a better team,” Guardiola said, “and we are working on that.”

It left Newcastle nextfrom-last approaching the midway point, highlighting the need for the new Saudi ownership to start strengthening the squad in the January transfer window.

CHELSEA FRUSTRATED Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was critical of the league for not postponing the trip to Wolverhampton that ended 0-0 on a weekend when six of the 10 games were called off due to coronavirus cases.

Chelsea was missing seven players with COVID-19 and Jorginho at Molineux was not risked after inconclusive test results.

“We were put in a huge risk of health and safety to the players, not just because of COVID but also physically,” Tuchel said. “I’m not sure if I’ll catch COVID. Hopefully I will not catch it.”

Chelsea fell to six points behind City.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 20, 2021, PAGE 17

Dolphins extend win streak to 6, rally past Jets 31-24

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Florida (AP) — DeVante Parker caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa with 3:37 left, Duke Johnson rushed for two scores and the Miami Dolphins extended their winning streak to six games by topping the New York Jets 31-24 yesterday.

Johnson — basically the go-to back for Miami as a last resort because of virusrelated issues throughout the week — finished with 107 yards on 22 carries for the Dolphins (7-7), who rallied from an early 10-0 deficit. It was the first two-rushing-TD game of Johnson’s NFL career and the first 100-yard game from a Miami rusher this season.

Defensive lineman Christian Wilkins caught a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter for Miami, juggling the ball before controlling it and then letting loose with a wild

celebration. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive lineman leaped into the stands, then did “the worm” in the end zone as teammates danced around him.

Brandin Echols had a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown midway through the fourth for the Jets. Zach Wilson and Braxton Berrios rushed for scores for New York; Wilson completed 13 of 23 passes for 170 yards for the Jets.

Tagovailoa completed 16 of 27 passes for 196 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Miami.

The Dolphins became the second team in NFL history to get to 7-7 after starting a season 1-7. The other team on that list — the Jets, in 1974.

The season was only 14 weeks back then, so that’s where the Jets’ turnaround ended and did so without a playoff berth.

Playoff talk is still a long way from real in Miami this season, but the Dolphins at least remain alive with

DOLPHINS head coach Brian Flores gestures during the first half against the New York Jets yesterday in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) games left to play against New Orleans, Tennessee and New England.

Berrios — back in the stadium where he, like Johnson, played his college football for Miami — opened the scoring by pinballing his way into the end zone from 2 yards out.

Tagovailoa was picked off on the next Miami drive, which the Jets turned into a field goal and a 10-0 lead.

Johnson scored from a yard out to get the Dolphins on the scoreboard, only to have it answered by Wilson doing the same to restore the Jets’ 10-point edge. But Johnson tied it early in the third to cap an eight-play, 76-yard drive, and Wilkins gave Miami a 24-17 lead just 33 seconds into the fourth quarter. Tagovailoa’s pick-6 throw cost Miami the lead, but then his pass

to Parker ended up as the eventual winner.

Jets safety Elijah Riley was taken off the field on a backboard after being injured during the third quarter, getting hurt in a collision with Jets teammate Kyle Phillips. Riley’s head was stabilized before he was removed from the field on a cart, and as players from both the Jets and Dolphins went to his side to offer a kind word he appeared to raise his right arm skyward.

INJURIES Jets: Riley’s injury came in the third quarter, though he was able to lift an arm and give a thumbs-up signal as the cart that was carrying him slowly made its way off the field. ... DL Quinnen Williams had a shoulder injury, announced in the third quarter.

Dolphins: S Jevon Holland, who spent some time during the week on the COVID-19 reserve list and then was activated in case he could play, was ruled out Sunday morning.

STADIUM TAKEOVER The Dolphins play their next two games on the road and aren’t back home until the season finale Jan. 9 against New England. That gives workers plenty of time to pull off the enormous task of setting up for — and then tearing down from — the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31. It’s a College Football Playoff semifinal this year between No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia.

THE SERIES Miami swept the Jets for the second consecutive season, the first time that has happened since 1996 and 1997. The Dolphins have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Jets; the last 8-1 run by Miami in the series was from 1982 through 1985, including a victory in the AFC championship game on Jan. 23, 1983.

UP NEXT Jets: Host Jacksonville on December 26.

Dolphins: Visit New Orleans on December 27.

Packers become 1st team into playoffs, win NFC North BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes — tying Brett Favre on Green Bay’s career list — and the Packers became the first team this season to clinch a division title, wrapping up the NFC North with a 31-30 win over Baltimore.

The Ravens missed another big 2-point conversion in the final minute.

With Lamar Jackson out with a sprained ankle, Tyler Huntley nearly led Baltimore (8-6) all the way back from a 31-17 deficit.

His 8-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left pulled the Ravens within one, but Huntley’s 2-point conversion pass was incomplete.

It was the third consecutive loss for Baltimore, which also fell to Pittsburgh two weekends ago on a missed 2-point conversion in the final seconds. The Ravens fell into a first-place tie in the AFC North with Cincinnati.

Ravaged this season by injuries — especially in the secondary — Baltimore faced a difficult task trying to stop Rodgers and the Green Bay receivers. The Ravens mounted enough time-consuming drive of their own to keep the game close, but the Packers had the ball first after a 14-14 halftime tie and took advantage.

Baltimore appeared to have Green Bay (11-3) stopped on a third-down incompletion, but minimal contact by Kevon Seymour was enough for a pass interference flag. Rodgers found Aaron Jones for a 9-yard touchdown on the next play.

The Ravens drove into Green Bay territory before another devastating penalty. With Baltimore running the ball effectively and preparing to go on fourth-and-1 in the red zone, Ben Cleveland committed a false start. The Ravens settled for a field goal, and Green Bay drove 88 yards, taking an 11-point lead on an 11-yard pass from Rodgers to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

That was Rodgers’ 442nd touchdown pass, pulling him even with Favre.

He went 23 of 31 for 268 yards. Rodgers has thrown for 13 touchdowns without an interception over his last four games and didn’t appear the slightest bit limited by his toe injury.

Down 31-17, the Ravens began their comeback when Huntley ran for a 3-yard touchdown with 4:47 remaining. Then they got the ball back and scored again. Tight end Mark Andrews had 10 catches for 136 yards and two TDs for the Ravens.

BENGALS 15, BRONCOS 10 DENVER (AP) — Khalid Kareem snatched

the ball from backup quarterback Drew Lock on second-and-goal early in the fourth quarter to help the Bengals stay in the thick of the logjammed AFC playoff race.

The Bengals (8-6) won despite star rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase being held to a single catch for 3 yards and Tee Higgins managing only 23 yards on two catches. The Broncos (7-7) saw their postseason hopes whittled with their fourth home loss of the season.

Lock was in for Teddy Bridgewater, who was taken to the hospital in the third quarter for further evaluation of a head injury after he was carted off the field following a scary collision that also sent Bengals linebacker Joe Bachie from the game with a leg injury.

Bridgewater had movement in his extremities and coach Vic Fangio said he’d be held overnight for observation but was expected to be OK. Tyler Boyd caught five passes for 96 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown throw from Joe Burrow moments after Denver had taken a 10-9 lead late in the third quarter.

Kareem almost went from hero to goat on his strip of Lock, who faked a handoff to Javonte Williams but ran smack into Kareem. He wrested the ball away from the quarterback and tumbled to the ground, bounced up and rumbled down the Broncos sideline. The return was eliminated by video replay but the fumble stood.

STEELERS 19, TITANS 13 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger ran for his first touchdown in three years and Chris Boswell kicked four field goals to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Steelers (7-6-1) forced the Titans (9-5) into four turnovers and needed every one of them to win for the second time in three games. The Titans let a winnable game slip away, trimming their lead over Indianapolis in the AFC South to one game.

Despite the miscues, Tennessee drove deep into Pittsburgh territory in the final moments, but wide receiver Nick WestbrookIkhine was tackled inches short of the first down at the Steelers 11 with 27 seconds to go.

Pittsburgh remained in the mix in the muddled AFC North despite managing just 168 yards of total offence.

Roethlisberger threw for 148 yards to move past Philip Rivers into fifth on the NFL’s career yards passing list, but it was his legs — and Pittsburgh’s resilient defence — that provided the difference.

PACKERS wide receiver Allen Lazard (13) reaches but is unable to hold on to a pass attempt in the end zone in front of Baltimore Ravens defensive back Kevon Seymour in the second half yesterday.

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

STEELERS quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) gets a pass off as Titans outside linebacker Bud Dupree (48) pressures during the second half yesterday in Pittsburgh. The Steelers won 19-13.

(AP Photo/Gene JPuskar) LIONS 30, Ten days after getting CARDINALS 12 gashed in a loss to MinneDETROIT (AP) — sota, the Steelers responded Murray’s shaky by picking off Ryan Tan- Kyler nehill once and recovering performance against the three Tennessee fumbles. team with the worst record Each turnover led to field in the NFL led to Arizona’s goals by Boswell, the final first road loss of the season.

The Cardinals (10-4) one a 48-yard kick with 4:34 started the day tied for the to go.

NFL’s best record, but were COWBOYS 21, coming off a loss to the GIANTS 6 EAST RUTHERFORD, Rams. The Lions (2-11-1) N.J. (AP) — Defensive end were mired at the bottom of DeMarcus Lawrence forced the league standings before a fumble and made two the first snap.

Arizona missed its other big plays that led to 15 points and the NFL-East chance to get in the playleading Cowboys inched offs for the first time since 2015 with a win over a team closer to a playoff berth.

Dak Prescott threw for it was favoured to beat by a touchdown, Ezekiel Elli- nearly two touchdowns. ott scored on a 13-yard run The Cardinals can still earn and the defence forced four a postseason berth during turnovers, including Trevon Week 15, but they’ll need Diggs’ NFL-leading 10th some other playoff coninterception. The Cow- tenders to lose.

And in any scenario, boys (10-4) won their third straight. Greg Zuerlein Murray will have to play better. The third-year quaradded three field goals.

Graham Gano kicked terback was 23 of 41 for 257 field goals of 35 and 42 yards with a touchdown yards as the Giants (4-10) and an interception, adding lost their third straight up to a 72.9 passer rating. game with backup Mike Murray couldn’t get away Glennon starting for the from the scrappy Lions injured Daniel Jones when he tried to run, and finished with 3 yards rush(neck).

This game was not as ing on four carries.

Jared Goff, meanwhile, close as the score. Dallas has four takeaways in three was the best quarterback straight games for the ninth on the field in one of many time in team history, and the surprises at Ford Field. He first since 1994. The Cow- completed 21 of 26 passes boys never trailed and the for 216 yards with three Giants never looked threat- touchdowns.

Detroit’s Craig Reynolds ening against a defence that also got interceptions from ran for a career-high 112 Jourdan Lewis and Malik yards and rookie receiver Amon-Ra St Brown had Hooker.

90 yards receiving, setting a season high for the second straight week, and a touchdown.

49ERS 31, FALCONS 13 SANTA CLARA, Calif.

(AP) — Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 235 yards and a TD, while San Francisco ran for three more scores.

The 49ers won for the fifth time in six games.

The Niners (8-6) scored touchdowns on four straight drives to make easy work of the Falcons (6-8) to remain in wild-card position as the sixth-place team in the NFC. Atlanta got stopped at the goal line on its first possession of the game and lost a fumble on a strip-sack by Nick Bosa on the opening drive of the second half.

That helped the Niners take control as they took advantage of the good field position to drive 38 yards to take a 24-10 lead on Jeff Wilson Jr.’s 5-yard run.

The Falcons settled for a field goal in the red zone on their next possession when pressure by Arden Key forced Matt Ryan into an incomplete pass on thirdand-goal from the 4. San Francisco responded with a 75-yard drive capped by Garoppolo’s 4-yard TD pass to Jauan Jennings.

Kyle Juszczyk and and Deebo Samuel scored on San Francisco’s other TD runs in the first half.

BILLS 31, PANTHERS 14 ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and Devin Singletary ran for a season-high 86 yards.

Allen finished 19 of 34 for 210 yards while Singletary kept Buffalo moving on the ground and opened the scoring on a 16-yard run.

The Bills limited Allen’s mobility a week after the fourth-year starter sprained his foot in a 33-27 overtime loss at Tampa Bay. Allen was sacked a season-high four times for 17 yards. He scrambled once for 26 yards in the third quarter.

Gabriel Davis scored twice, including a 20-yard catch on a post route for a 24-8 lead in the third quarter. Davis also scored on a 14-yard catch in the fourth quarter, and Stefon Diggs had an 11-yard TD grab in a game the Bills never trailed.

Buffalo (8-6) was at risk of its first three-game skid in three years. The Bills have won four of nine games and kept a hold of at least a wild-card spot. They can still repeat as AFC East champions, too, with a key showdown against firstplace New England (9-5) next Sunday.

The Panthers (5-9) dropped their fourth straight and lost for the ninth time in 11 games. In a what-else-can-go-wrong season, Carolina was dealt a blow a little over an hour before kickoff when kicker Zane Gonzalez had to be helped off the field after hurting his quadriceps.

The Panthers passed up a field-goal attempt and failed to convert fourthand-9 from Buffalo’s 24 to end their second possession.

Carolina converted one of two 2-point attempts.

Quarterback Cam Newton has lost 12 consecutive starts for Carolina.

TEXANS 30, JAGUARS 16 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Tremon Smith returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, ending the longest drought in the NFL, and then Texans beat woeful Jacksonville to end a three-game skid and extend their dominance in the series.

Smith somehow escaped five defenders near the 30-yard line – Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins broke his right ankle trying to make the tackle -- before coasting the rest of the way. It was Houston’s first kickoff return for a score since October 4, 2009.

Every other NFL team had enjoyed at least one since.

Rookie quarterback Davis Mills won for the first time in eight starts. He connected with Brandin Cooks twice for touchdowns, once early and again late. The second one was a 43-yarder that sealed yet another Houston victory against Jacksonville.

The Texans (3-11) won their eighth straight against the Jaguars (2-12), sweeping their rivals for the ninth time in the last 11 years.

The latest one capped a tumultuous week for Jacksonville, which fired Urban Meyer early Thursday to end one of the worst coaching tenures in NFL history.

The Jags showed no spark before or after the kickoff return and ended up dropping their sixth consecutive game. It was their 10th straight loss against AFC South opponents.

PAGE 18, Monday, December 20, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Tiger and his son’s 11 straight birdies fall short of Daly duo

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — Tiger Woods might not be ready for tour-level golf. He can still deliver quite a show.

In a remarkable return from a car crash 10 months ago that badly damaged his right leg, Woods and 12-year-old son Charlie set a tournament record with 11 straight birdies and pushed John Daly and his college son all the way to the finish yesterday in the PNC Championship.

Daly and John Daly II, a freshman at Arkansas, shot 57 in the scramble format and won by two shots. It might have been the widest Woods ever smiled after a runner-up finish.

“The fact that I’m able to have this opportunity this year — even a couple weeks ago we didn’t really know whether or not I would be doing this,” Woods said.

“But here we are. And we had just best time ever.”

The birdie streak began on the seventh hole when Woods hit a half-wedge into a foot. Charlie holed a 10-footer on the next hole, stooping to pick up the marker before the ball was even in the cup, another moment where the confident son looked a lot like his father.

It was like that over the final two hours, Woods often hitting the key irons and Charlie making the putts. They briefly had the lead after a birdie on the 14th and the margin was thin the rest of the way until the very end.

Daly, playing two groups behind, birdied the 16th hole to regain the lead. He and his son stayed in front when Team Woods chipped too strong on the par-5 closing hole and each of them

JOHN DALY, right, stands with his son John Daly II after winning the PNC Championship golf tournament yesterday.

CHARLIE WOODS, son of Tiger Woods, watches his shot on the first tee during the second round of the PNC Championship golf tournament yesterday.

(AP Photos/Scott Audette) missed 8-foot birdie putts.

They shot 57 with only four pars, two of them on par 5s.

“We thought we’d have to birdie every hole on the back nine, and it turned out to be that way,” Woods said. “But man, what a blast it was. We just had a blast all day.”

Daly and son two-putted for birdie on the 18th and set the record that mattered. They finished at 27-under par, breaking by one the mark set by Davis Love III and his son three years ago.

“Yesterday, it was all him.

I putted so bad,” Daly said.

“I finally hit some decent shots. He played unbelievable. I played a little better today. I made him happy.”

The most famous encounter between Woods and Daly was in 2005 at Harding Park in a World Golf Championship, which ended in a playoff when Daly three-putted from 15 feet.

Woods was charging again — Tiger and Charlie — except Team Daly didn’t flinch. Daly hit 7-iron into the wind to short range on

TIGER WOODS, right, talks with his son Charlie Woods on the 2nd green during the second round of the PNC Championship.

CHARLIE WOODS, right, watches his fairway shot on the third hole with father Tiger Woods during the second round of the PNC Championship golf tournament yesterday. the 16th for birdie, and he coaxed in a 4-foot par putt on the 17th to stay ahead.

The most popular offseason event that pairs major champions and a family

member suddenly felt tense on a warm Florida afternoon, all because of Woods and everything that led to him playing again. Woods suffered multiple injuries

to his right leg on February 23 when his SUV travelling about 85 mph crashed through a median and down a hill in the Los Angeles suburbs.

He said amputation was a possibility. It took three months for him to get on his feet with help of crutches.

And he ended the year in a Sunday red shirt, holing birdie putts and delivering short irons that led to one birdie after another and a chase that felt like old times.

This wasn’t just about Woods. His son, playing this event for the second straight year, delivered the goods down the stretch,

particularly a 5-iron to 4 feet on the par-3 17th that gave them a tie for the lead going to the 18th.

Team Daly held it steady behind them.

It was only one month ago when Woods first posted a three-second video showing him hitting a short iron with the message, “Making progress.” He was hitting balls at the back of the range at Albany in the Bahamas two weeks ago.

He was able to ride a cart at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, which helped him get by in the 36-hole event on a flat course.

He kept insisting that playing at a high level against the best players in the world is still a long way and a lot of work ahead of him. But there was no shortage of birdies, big shots and loads of hopes for a fairy tale ending. “The competitive juices, they are never going to go away,” Woods said. “This is my environment. This is what I’ve done my entire life. I’m just so thankful to be able to have this opportunity to do it again.

“Earlier this year was not a very good start to the year and it didn’t look very good,” he said. “But the last few weeks, to push as hard as we have the last seven months ... and to have this opportunity to be able to play with my son and to have these memories, it’s worth all the pain.”

Bahamas NACAC Age Group champions FROM PAGE 13 Nabbie clinched her bronze in the girls’ under15 division with 3,560 points and was followed by Phebe Thompson in fourth with 3,490 points.

The British Virgin Islands’ Jah Kyla Morton (4,198) and A’Sia McMaster (3,745) got the silver and bronze respectively.

Moxey Jr captured his bronze in the under-15 boys’ division with 4,729 points.

Demian Brice was fourth with 4,478 points.

Nicaragua’s Jean Carlos Soza won the gold with 4,939 points and Devner Jose Lopez Ruiz got silver with 4.853 points.

The only division the Bahamas didn’t medal in was the boys’ under-13 pentathlon division after Kamron Henfield had to settle for fourth place with 2,804 points with Jonathon Higgs coming in eighth with 2,560 points.

Higgs was a late replacement for George Nottage, who was unable to travel.

The British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and Nicaragua claimed the gold, silver and bronze respectively.

Under-13 girls triumph Over the two days in the individual events they competed in, it was the Keyezra Thomas and Keely Deveaux show as they battled it out to determine the top two spots.

Thomas put the icing on her victory on Saturday by securing the 800 metres, the final event of their competition, in two minutes and 36.66 seconds. Deveaux was a distant seventh place in 3:00.69.

Thomas also won the long jump with 4.21m and Keely Deveaux was second with 4.19m.

The two athletes finished tied with another competitor for second place with 1/25m.

Thomas also won her heat in 8.21 for the fastest time overall and Deveaux won her heat of the 60m in 8.28 for second fastest time overall. But in the baseball

BAHAMAS under-15 girls Jamiah Nabbie and Phebe Thompson.

NACAC president Mike Sands with Kenny Moxey Jr and Demian Brice.

BAHAMAS top two under-13 girls competitors, silver medallist Keely Deveaux and gold medallist Keyezra Deveaux. throw, Deveaux was second with 51.62m and Thomas got sixth with 37.46m.

Under-15 girls glory Jamiah Nabbie’s feat in the under-15 girls came to a close on Saturday with her struggling in tenth place in the 1,000m in 4:02.31.

Thompson, however, finished a little higher in eighth place in 3:58.02.

That came after she was tied for fourth in the high jump with 1.45m. Thompson was seventh with 1.40m.

Nabbie also was fourth in the 80m hurdles in 10.66 and Thompson was fifth in 11.01 and in the baseball throw, Nabbie’s heave of 37.34m was good enough for seventh place. Thompson placed 11th with 30.66m.

On Friday, in the long jump, Thompson’s leap of 4.88m placed her second

just ahead of Nabbie with 4.78m for third.

Nabbie, however, won her heat of the 80m in 10.24 for fastest time overall.

Thompson won the other heat in 10.27 for second fastest time. And in the shot put, Thompson came third with 8.57m and Nabbie was eighth with 7.69m.

Under-15 boys spotlight The last event for the boys’ under-15 came on Saturday in the 1,200m where Kenny Moxey Jr was fourth in 4:05.01. Demian Brice was sixth in 4:08.46.

Moxey Jr was also fourth in the baseball throw with 69.74m. Brice was eighth with 60.33m. Also Saturday, Moxey Jr was second in his heat of the 80m hurdles in 12.13 and Brice was fourth in 13.13. Overall, Moxey was third and Brice came in seventh.

NACAC president Mike Sands with the Bahamas’ Age Group team representatives.

And in the high jump, Brice pulled off the victory, clearing 1.75m and Moxey Jr got second with 1.60m.

On Friday, Moxey won the shot put with 12.98m to help push himself on the leaderboard. Brice was eighth with 10.52m.

In the 80m, Moxey Jr was second in his heat in 9.68 for fourth overall and Brice came in fourth in his heat in 10.19 for eighth overall.

And, in the long jump, Brice had the winning leap of 5.51m and Moxey Jr was second with 5.23m.

Under-13 boys highlights At the end of their competition on Saturday, Jonathan Higgs and Kamron Henfield ran neckand-neck in the 1,000m.

Higgs got ninth in 3:38.26 and Henfield followed him in tenth in 3:39.73.

In the baseball throw, Henfield got second with 58.93m and Higgs was 12th with 33.45m.

On Friday, in the 60m, Higgs got second in his heat in 8.04 and Henfield won the other head in 8.07 and the high jump saw Higgs pick up sixth place with 1.30m and Henfield was eighth with 1.30m.

“There were some strong competitors in every age group. When our athletes fell short in one event, they were able to make up the points in the other events,” Hall said. “We were able to place in the top three in the under-13 girls, under15 girls and under-15 boys.

With a few teams not able to attend, I think the overall competition was great.”

Also on Friday, the athletes also got a chance to compete in a mixed 4 x 100m relay.

The under-13 combo of Deveaux, Higgs, Thomas and Henfield got disqualified, but in the under-15 mixed race, Thomas, Moxey Jr, Brice and Nabbie teamed up for the win in 48.30.

THE TRIBUNE

Monday, December 20, 2021, PAGE 19

Ministry congratulates Olympic swimmer Joanna Evans NASSAU, The Bahamas -- The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, in a press release yesterday, congratulated Bahamian Olympic swimmer Joanna Evans on placing 7th in the women’s 400 metre freestyle and 8th in the 200m freestyle events in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She,

along with Lilly Higgs, Victoria Russell, Izaak Bastian and Lamar Taylor are competing at the 15th edition of the FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Short Course Swimming Championships (25 metres).

“Ms Evans’ finals appearance is an historical feat.

She is the second Bahamian to final at these Championships.

“Arianna Vanderpool Wallace won a bronze medal at the Dubai Championships in 2011.

“The national record holder in the 400m, Ms Evans had also won her heat in a time of 4:03.58

(seconds), which gave her the eighth fastest time

HOLIDAY

EXTRAVAGANZA

heading into the finals. Let us continue to pray for and

cheer on Team Bahamas,” according to the release.

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