Woman & health
‘POLICE TORTURED ME FOR 3 DAYS’
Officers allegedly put hot sauce in man’s eyes and bag over his head
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN testified yesterday that police officers beat and tortured him at Governor’s Harbour Police Station over three days in 2018 as his case for alleged police abuse continued. Yesterday’s hearing was the latest in a case that first heard testimony in 2021.
Justice Loren Klein is presiding over the civil trial involving Chavette Strachan, Dale Gibson Jr, and Kenton Fines, who appeared virtually via Zoom.
The three plaintiffs were arrested in connection with an armed robbery at C and AA Service Station in Palmetto Point, Eleuthera,
MAN CHARGED WITH RAPE OF 73-YEAR-OLD WOM AN
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A 46-YEAR-OLD man was charged yesterday after allegedly sexually assaulting a 73-year-old woman during a home invasion last month.
Prosecutors allege that the defendant broke into the residence of an elderly woman in the area of Weybridge Road and Havant Close and raped her by force on the night of January 30. The defendant was not
Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt Evans arraigned Ricardo Bannister on rape and burglary.
Dundas Centre for Performing Arts receives $340k funding from govt
By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net
THE Dundas Centre for the Performance Arts secured crucial funding through a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the government to ensure its continued operation.
Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis called the signing a significant step in strengthening The Bahamas’ creative economy,
highlighting the Dundas Centre’s legacy of showcasing Bahamian talent. The government has committed $340,000 for immediate upgrades to the Winston V
Man charged with threatening to kill FNM vice-chairman
By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Chief Reporter
A MAN was charged in Grand Bahama last week with threatening to kill former Free National Movement vice-chairman Richard Johnson. Police told The Tribune Mr Johnson was at a restaurant in Grand Bahama on January 22 when he received a call that made him fear for his life. He reported the matter to police, leading to an investigation. As a result, police arrested Lathor Thompson, 24, and charged him with
Blaze damages West Bay Street home
By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
A FIRE yesterday damaged a family’s home off West Bay Street, destroying one room and causing smoke damage throughout the residence.
The blaze occurred nearly two years after an earlier fire, which was allegedly set intentionally by an outsider.
Lincoln Gay, who lives in the house with his two adult children, said he was at work when he received a call around noon about the fire. His 22-year-old daughter was home then and noticed smoke coming from the fridge.
Mr Gay, 44, said his daughter attempted to put out the fire with water but quickly realised it was too much to handle. He said due to her asthma, she was unable to stay inside and ran out to call the fire department.
Firefighters treated her
with oxygen in an ambulance before she was released.
Mr Gay’s father, who is blind and lives in the front section of the home, was safely evacuated as a precaution due to a nearby gas tank.
Mr Gay said the fire destroyed the room where his children slept, along with most of their clothes, a TV, two bureaus, a fridge, a stove, bathroom fittings, an AC unit, and three car amplifiers. He said his children would stay in his room until their space could be repaired.
Mr Gay, who has lived in the residence on and off for 30 years, said the property previously operated as a motel called the Arawak Inn. The structure remains standing, though parts of the roof are charred, and one room appears significantly damaged.
“We gonna have to rebuild it back; you know, in time, piece by piece,” he said.
Skippings heads to new post in command of South-Central Division
By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net
CHIEF Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings, formerly the public face of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, has officially taken command of the SouthCentral Division, also known as the Grove Police Station, following public discussion about the timing of her reassignment.
CSP Skippings returns to lead the community where she began her policing career. For six years, she served as a constable in the Grove area. She previously served as the Royal Bahamas Police Force press liaison officer from July 2022 to the end of 2024, a role that made her widely known to the public. While her reassignment sparked debate, she now takes on a leadership
position in the division.
“I’m so grateful to the commissioner for giving me this opportunity to serve as the commander of the South-Central Police Station,” Ms Skippings said.
With 34 years in the force, Ms Skippings now oversees a division that includes residential neighbourhoods and business communities. She said she intends to focus on community engagement and youth empowerment.
“What I intend to do is to build upon what my predecessor started in the area. And I want to do that by building a better community, caring, sharing, educating and enforcing all of the laws that govern the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
“As I indicated, it’s a dynamic area, but I’m looking forward to building
relationships with the community, with the residents, and then both businesses and the residential community, building relationships with the children of this community and providing them with the necessary skills and tools outside of the classroom.”
CSP Skippings holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in organisational leadership.
Her focus on youth is a key part of her approach.
“It’s all about affecting change, it’s all about empowering persons, giving hope to people, to know that wherever they put their mind to, they can achieve it, especially the youth of our nation.”
She also plans to launch several community initiatives, beginning with a walkabout in the area to outline her approach and future plans.
CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT CHRISLYN SKIPPINGS
EMS personnel assist a woman who was injured during a fire which broke out at Arawak Inn on West Bay Street yesterday.
Photos: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
F I R EFI G H T
R S work to extinguish a fire which broke out at Arawak Inn on West Bay Street
‘Police tortured me for 3 days’
from page one
which involved the shooting of employee Joel Stubbs. However, they were later released without charge. Their Supreme Court trial focuses on their treatment while in custody.
Mr Fines testified about his experience at Governor’s Harbour Police Station between January 19 and 23, 2018.
He said he was taken into custody on January 19, searched, and had his belongings confiscated before being placed in a cell. Throughout his detention, he said he repeatedly asked why he was being held but never received an answer from officers.
During questioning, police mentioned a gas station robbery, but Mr Fines claimed he only learned of it after being beaten.
He said he heard one of his co-plaintiffs, Dale Gibson Jr, was also taken into custody, though he could not say when. He testified that a mutual friend, Michael, was brought in that morning.
Mr Fines claimed he heard Michael being tortured by police, hollering and begging for them to stop. Hearing this, he said he felt worried and confused, fearing he would be next.
He testified that two officers later took him into
a room, shackled his legs and hands, and placed a bag over his head while saying, “You gon’ tell us something today.”
He insisted he knew nothing but was repeatedly suffocated with a fisherman’s bag. He alleged that officers intermittently removed the bag to pour hot sauce into his eyes or inside the bag, causing severe pain.
Describing the ordeal, he said he feared for his life and believed the officers were going to kill him. While he was being strangled, another officer allegedly held his handcuffs down to keep him still. Out of fear, he resisted, kicking a hole in the door and breaking a desk. He said that when officers saw him resisting, they stopped choking him and started beating him.
Mr Fines claimed he was then dragged into a room with a shower, where police placed a pair of cargo shorts over his mouth and poured water over his face to simulate drowning in an attempt to force a confession.
During this ordeal, he said he feared he would never see his three-yearold daughter or his family again.
He testified that when he returned to his cell, his eyes were constantly watering due to the hot sauce, and a thin layer of mucus formed
around them. He struggled to see and feared he might go blind.
He said officers ignored him after placing him back in the cell. None of the male officers made eye contact with him, except for one female officer. He described feeling helpless and traumatised.
Later, he tried to comfort Ms Strachan, telling her he didn’t believe male officers would beat her. However, that night, he claimed he heard officers beating her as she begged for her life, insisting she knew nothing.
He also claimed that while Ms Strachan was being abused, her brother was in front of the police station asking about her, unaware of what was happening.
While in custody, Mr Fines said he was forced to urinate in a Gatorade bottle that friends and family had originally brought for him and his co-plaintiffs to drink. When the bottles were full, he had to urinate around the cell with nothing to clean it up.
He also said he lost track of time and was interrogated again in a room full of officers. He was told that a man had been shot and killed during the gas station robbery. Mr Fines said he was sorry to hear that but insisted he knew nothing about it.
He claimed he spent
Saturday in the same cell without a blanket or jacket.
On Sunday, officers took him to his home in Savannah Sound, Eleuthera, where they handcuffed him and ransacked his belongings. He said police told him he was going to jail, despite his continued insistence on his innocence.
Later that day, he was taken to a clinic, but officers refused to let doctors treat his eyes.
Police took a blood sample from him, allegedly because blood was found at the crime scene. When asked by his attorney, Fred Smith, why he consented, he said he thought it would help secure his release after three days in custody.
He was uncertain when Mr Gibson had been taken into custody.
Mr Fines claimed his wrists and ankles were scarred from the handcuffs, with open wounds from resisting. He was not released until 4 pm on Monday, January 23, 2018.
He said that Michael was the only suspect with a lawyer before his release, and he and his co-plaintiffs used Michael’s attorney to inquire about their release.
Mr Fines claimed his eyes still bother him and that he suffers from extreme sensitivity to sunlight. He later travelled to New Providence for an eye examination at the Golden
Gates Clinic, where he was referred to Dr Rogers.
He was unsure whether he had permanent damage at the time, but a medical report indicated his eye lens was torn. He was prescribed glasses, which he had never needed before, and said he struggles to see small letters from a distance.
After his release, he claimed officers warned him that they were “not off the hook yet.” He was never charged in connection with the robbery and said no officer ever apologised for what happened to him.
He described the experience as “hurtful”.
Mr Fines alleged that officer Ryan Cooper, one of the accused, took his phone and kicked him in the throat to force him to reveal his password. He said he never got the phone back.
After his release, Ms Strachan took pictures of him, which were shown in court. The images allegedly depicted lacerations on his wrists and ankles, as well as his eyes still watering days after the hot sauce incident.
He also claimed that after his arrest, social media posts listed him and Mr Gibson as robbery suspects, using his WhatsApp profile picture. These posts allegedly appeared within 24 hours of his detention.
He accused Officer
BAHAMIAN NEO- N AZI FOUND GUILTY OF CONSPIRACY TO DAMAGE
By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter
kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
BRANDON Russell, a Bahamian and former St Andrew’s School student, has been found guilty in the United States of conspiring to damage an energy facility after prosecutors accused him of being a white supremacist who supported Neo-Nazi ideologies.
The verdict was delivered on February 4, 2025,
after a six-day trial. Russell, who resided in Orlando, Florida, was convicted of plotting attacks on electrical substations to further his racially or ethnically motivated extremist beliefs. Evidence presented in court revealed that between November 2022 and February 3 2023, he shared maps highlighting substation locations and discussed causing a “cascading failure” to disrupt the power grid.
He recruited Sarah Beth Clendaniel from Maryland to execute these attacks in the Baltimore area, aiming to cause significant regional disruption with an intended monetary loss exceeding $75m.
Russell’s sentencing is anticipated in the coming months, where he could face substantial prison time for his actions.
The trial shed light on the meticulous planning he and his co-conspirator
T WO ILLEGAL COAL-MINING OPERATIONS DEMOLISHED IN SOUTHERN NEW P ROVIDENCE
By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter
kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
AUTHORITIES demolished two illegal coal-burning sites in southern New Providence yesterday to address long-standing environmental and public health concerns.
Residents of Excellence
Estates, Golden Meadows, Southern Breeze, Sunset Meadows, and Somerset Estates had long complained about the persistent smoke and pollution caused by these sites, which were used for illicit charcoal production. Golden Isles MP and Environment Minister Vaughn Miller emphasised that yesterday’s action delivered on a promise.
He stressed the need for continued vigilance to prevent people from returning and rebuilding in the same locations. To combat this, the minister said he would be deploying drones to monitor the areas and check on them himself.
“I was driving through one night, and I said, this is ridiculous,” he said, noting that the areas are in his
constituency. “The next day, a police officer who is a constituent told me he knew where the sites were. He took me to both locations, and I said, today begins that elimination process.” When asked about the possibility of legalising charcoal production in a controlled environment, Mr Miller acknowledged that there was a demand for it. However, he said any such activity must be properly regulated, stressing that it cannot be done in a residential area.
He revealed that several Bahamians had already
approached him about establishing a legal and holistic method for producing charcoal.
“This is not a prescribed burn. This is unregulated, but there is a demand for it. We would certainly entertain the idea, but it has to be done properly,” he added.
As for those responsible for the illegal sites, Mr Miller said an investigation is underway.
“My recommendation is that they should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. They know better,” he said.
The site off Carmichael Road had been smoldering for over a week, affecting air quality and raising health concerns.
While it was unclear how much longer the fires would continue, Mr Miller explained that smoldering sites are known for their slow burns, a key part of the charcoal production process.
He also noted that the presence of authorities in the area may have disrupted the usual timeline for the operation.
The crackdown on illegal burning extends beyond this incident, as Mr Miller confirmed that authorities have also targeted violations in wetland areas.
A cease-and-desist order has been issued, and penalties will be enforced against those found responsible, according to Mr Miller.
When asked if any approvals had been given for the wetlands activity, Mr Miller said no.
undertook. They utilised opensource maps to identify vulnerable points in the power grid and strategised coordinated attacks to maximise impact. Their objective was not only to cause widespread power outages but also to further their white supremacist agenda by instigating chaos and fear.
Law enforcement agencies intercepted communications between Russell and Clendaniel,
Cooper of making the post, which was later deleted. Mr Fines recalled an uncomfortable experience returning to the clinic after his release, saying people looked at him with suspicion, and someone shouted, “Someone better lock this murderer up.”
Later that year, while in New Providence, he lodged an official complaint with the Complaints and Corruption Unit. He claimed officers instructed him not to mention Mr Gibson or Ms Strachan in his statement, but he signed the document anyway. He said he never received an apology from police. During cross-examination by Mr Smith, Mr Fines denied pursuing the case for money. He said he believed others had endured similar experiences in custody and wanted his story to be heard for the “voiceless” and for those allegedly killed in police custody. He described police officers as “gangsters in uniform” and said he felt helpless. He claimed police abuse their power daily in The Bahamas. When asked by Mr Smith, he confirmed he wanted damages from the government for the abuse he suffered. Ms Strachan and Mr Gibson are represented by Bjorn Ferguson, while Mr Fines is represented by Fred Smith, KC.
ENERGY FACILITY IN US
including discussions about the attacks’ logistics and the anticipated societal impact.
Federal authorities revealed that an undercover informant played a crucial role in unravelling their plot.
According to international reports, the informant, using the alias “Jackson”, engaged with the suspects, gathering vital intelligence on their plans to disable electrical substations.
The trial itself took place under heightened security due to the nature of the charges and the threats posed by Russell’s extremist affiliations. Witnesses, including law enforcement officials and informants, testified under aliases and were given protective measures to shield their identities. Strict courtroom protocols were reportedly enforced to prevent intimidation or potential retaliation.
GOLDEN Isles MP Vaughn Miller. Photos: Nikia Charlton
Over 200 GB residents take advantage of free eye exams
By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
MORE than 200 resi-
dents of Grand Bahama received free eye examinations and prescription glasses through the Rosani Lens Project, a collaborative effort between Rotary Clubs in Grand Bahama and Fleming Island, Florida.
This marks the third year the project has been hosted in Grand Bahama, with this year’s event spanning three days at the Salvation Army.
Preston Mangus, an eye test equipment operator, reported that this year saw the largest turnout since the project’s inception.
“The Rosani Lens Project designs lenses, glasses, and frames that we distribute globally,” he said. “Our Bahamian Rotary partners have been fantastic in organising and executing this initiative.”
He noted the overwhelming demand for eyewear.
“This is our biggest case yet, with over 400 pairs of prescription glasses and an equal number of reading glasses available. We’ve already distributed more than half of our stock. The need is great, and we’re happy to be able to meet it.”
Othniel Pinder, assistant governor of District 6990 Rotary International, said the Rotary Club of Fleming Island, located just outside Orlando, partnered with the Rotary Club of Freeport and the Rotary Club of Grand Bahama for the project.
Mr Pinder highlighted the unique position of Grand Bahama’s Rotary Clubs within District 6990, which spans both Grand Bahama and South Florida, allowing seamless collaboration with other clubs in the district to secure essential supplies.
Malvese Capron,
president-elect of the Rotary Club of Grand Bahama, said there has been overwhelmingly positive feedback from residents.
The project was first introduced to Ms Capron by Rotarian Randy Rob, who briefly worked on Grand Bahama. Mr Rob approached her about partnering with the Rotary Club of Fleming Island to implement the Rosani Eye Glass Initiative on the island.
“It has been a resounding success,” said Ms Capron. “We have provided services to more than 200 individuals and issued glasses to them. On Saturday, we focused on children aged 12 and under, and many parents brought their kids in for eye testing.”
She noted the transformative impact of the glasses on participants’ daily lives.
“Many people shared that they couldn’t read a
newspaper before, but now they can see clearly,” she said. “Some discovered their poor eyesight wasn’t due to a disease but simply changes in their vision over time. The community’s feedback has been positive.”
Ceremony honours outgoing trade union registrar and introduces successor
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Chief Reporter
A HANDOVER ceremony was held on Friday to honour outgoing trade unions registrar Van Delaney for his contributions to labour relations in The Bahamas and to welcome his successor, Yolantha Ward-Yallop.
The event, hosted at the Department of Labour, brought together key stakeholders from the labour sector and representatives from various trade unions.
Acting Labour Minister Zane Lightbourne praised Mr Delaney for his dedication and expertise, recalling their past collaboration when Mr Delaney served as a consultant and mentor.
Mr Lightbourne also welcomed Mrs WardYallop, describing her as a dynamic and astute lawyer.
The Registrar of Trade
Unions is responsible for registering and regulating trade unions, ensuring they operate within a legal framework that promotes transparency and
accountability. The office also plays a key role in resolving disputes between trade unions and employers. In her remarks, Mrs Yallop expressed gratitude
for the role, saying she does not take the responsibility lightly. She pledged to lead the office with integrity, accountability, and dedication.
RESIDENTS of Grand Bahama look at different styles of glasses at a free eye testing clinic - a collaboration between Rotary Clubs in Grand Bahama and Rosani Lens Project.
Photo: Vandyke Hepburn
YOLANTHA Ward-Yallop - incoming trade union registrar - thanks her colleague outgoing trade unions registrar Van Delaney for the work that he has done over the years at the Department of Labour, adding that she plans to uphold the integrity that was made by those before her at the Department of Labour on Friday.
Photos: Chappell Whyms Jr
Dundas Centre for Performing Arts receives $340k funding from govt
Saunders Theatre, the main 332-seat venue that is currently closed, and the Philip A Burrows Black Box Theatre, an 80-seat venue.
The MoU was signed at the Office of the Prime Minister. Dr Nicolette Bethel, chair of the Dundas Centre, described the agreement as historic, marking the first time the centre has received support of this scale from the government.
The Dundas Centre, established in 1930 as a civic centre, was repurposed in 1970 as a performing arts venue.
Dr Bethel said the centre remained operational until 2020, generating enough revenue from its main theatre to cover basic costs.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close for 18 months, leading to the main theatre’s continued shutdown. She said that the primary goal is to reopen the main theatre.
The air conditioning system in the main theatre needs to be replaced.
Dr Bethel said the system, installed in the 1970s, began deteriorating in 2021. She said performers cannot rehearse there, and audiences would find the heat unbearable.
“The deterioration of the building has happened in the last five years,” she said. “When we can run the theatre, and we can have the revenue, we are able to manage the upkeep. This injection will enable us to make some real capital investments to go beyond simple repairs, but to do some serious digging.”
Dundas Centre officials estimate that $1.5m is needed to renovate the complex completely but said the government’s financial assistance is an important first step. Mr Davis said the government also supports the centre’s complete restoration.
He said that the Dundas Centre will receive an annual maintenance grant under the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, but the exact amount has not yet been determined. Officials also did not confirm when funds from the government to the centre would be disbursed.
Nonetheless, Dr Bethel said the agreement means the centre no longer faces closure.
The signing comes weeks after Dr Bethel told reporters that The Bahamas’ only community theatre was at risk of shutting down if it did not secure $400,000 to reopen the Winston V Saunders Theatre. from page one
GOVT IDENTIFIES SITE FOR FUTURE BAHAMAS CREATIVE AND PERFORMANC E A RTS SC HOOL
By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net
THE government has identified a site for the Bahamas Creative and Performing Arts School (CAPAS), according to Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis.
He told reporters that negotiations are underway to purchase the chosen site, but the process may take some time.
The performing arts school is supposed to open later this year. In February 2024, government officials held a consultation session on CAPAS, marking what they called a significant step in developing an artistic hub for students. The school is expected to have a mixture of Bahamian and international teachers for its courses. The school will also
target highly talented local and international performers who are dedicated to making a career in the creative arts. Enthusiastic amateurs are also welcome to develop their skills. CAPAS students must be at least 18 years old and would be allowed to take performance, creative, and technical courses exclusively rather than follow a traditional academic curriculum.
MINISTER MARIO BOWLEG, Prime MinisterPhilip ‘Brave’ Davis, Nicolette bethel, Philip Burrows, and other officials at the completion of the signing of a MOU that is going to provide support to the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts at the office of th Prime Minister on February 10, 2025.
Photos: Chappell Whyms jr
GOVERNOR General Dame Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt visited senior citizen Muriel Deleveaux, 93-yearsold, at her home, presenting her with a care package while on official visit to Crooked Island, and the southern Bahamas, on Thursday.
Photos: Letisha Henderson/BIS
The Tribune Limited
NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI
“Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”
LEON E. H. DUPUCH
Publisher/Editor 1903-1914
SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH, Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .
Publisher/Editor 1919-1972
Contributing Editor 1972-1991
RT HON EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON, C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B.
Publisher/Editor 1972-
Published daily Monday to Friday
Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207
TELEPHONES
News & General Information
(242) 502-2350
Advertising Manager (242) 502-2394
Circulation Department (242) 502-2386
Nassau fax (242) 328-2398
Freeport, Grand Bahama (242)-352-6608
Freeport fax (242) 352-9348
WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK
Sending the wrong message
EDITOR, The Tribune.
P L EASE allow me space to recap sentiments shared in today’s Senate session.
LETTERS
letters@tribunemedia.net
www.tribune242.com @tribune242 tribune news network
As trade deficit grows should we worry?
IN THE wake of the trade tariffs being imposed by US President Donald Trump over a variety of issues and on a variety of nations, there was talk of how The Bahamas needs to be more self-sufficient.
After all, we import much of our goods from the US – and a rise in prices there will mean a rise in prices here. It is untimely then to say the least that the latest trade deficit figures show that things are busily going the other way.
The trade deficit for The Bahamas has hit a record annual amount of $4.274bn. That is how much physical goods imported to the country exceed the nation’s exports.
We are not only failing to become more self-sufficient, we are becoming more dependent on imports than ever.
The increase on 2023’s trade deficit is nearly $750m year on year, a 22.6 percent rise.
An economist tells Tribune Business today that it is not something to be worried about “yet” – as long as our external reserves are not being drained to finance it.
The worry about the current state may not be there yet, but perhaps it is fair to worry about the direction we are travelling.
A READER recently got in touch on the issue of roadworks.
Taking note of the resurfacing work done on Shirley Street for Junkanoo, they noted that the work was nice –except it was unfinished.
“Where are the road markings?” they asked. And indeed, the surfacing is fine,
PICTURE OF THE DAY
but no sign of the white lines marking out lanes and the side of the road.
The reader noted the same for last year’s road works along Eastern Road.
The surfacing was finished, even the reflective cat’s eyes in place – but the markings were left undone. The job not quite finished.
Passing Go Slow Bend the other day, it was notable that there was a wooden construction around the bend in place of the usual wall. The flimsy wood does not look likely to be able to stop some of the vehicles too commonly missing the turn thanks to driver misjudgement.
In each case, work done – but not quite all the work or the right work. It would be good to see the I’s dotted and the t’s crossed – and the finishing touches put in place.
IN THIS column not so long ago, we hailed the strengths of Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings – as she moved on from the role of press liaison officer for the police.
Throughout our dealings with Chief Supt Skippings, we have found her to be excellent in her work, and someone who cares passionately about the people of The Bahamas. We went on to note that whatever role she takes up next, those she works with will be lucky to have her.
And so it shall prove – as she returns to where she started as a constable, the Grove area. She returns as head of the Grove Police Station, the South-Central Division.
We wish her the very best in her new role.
I am heartbroken, outraged, and utterly dumbfounded by the recent court rulings in cases involving the abuse and exploitation of our children. They are our most precious resource— the heart of our nation, the embodiment of our hopes, and the promise of our future. Yet, we often fail them in ways that are unconscionable.
A father who molested his three-year-old twin daughters, one of whom is a child with special needs, was recently sentenced to a mere five years, while a police officer who solicited sex from a minor was allowed to avoid jail time altogether, walking away with only a fine. These sentences are not
just inadequate; they are an affront to justice. They dismiss the lifelong trauma suffered by these innocent victims, including the older sister who witnessed her father assaulting her sisters. These sentences diminish the very principle that children should be protected at all costs. What message are we sending to predators when the punishment for violating our children is so minimal? What message are we sending to victims when their pain is met with leniency for their abusers? Are we telling them that their suffering is insignificant? This is not just a legal failure; it is a moral crisis.
Our nation’s justice system must serve as a deterrent, not as a revolving door for those who violate the most vulnerable among us. We must strengthen laws, enforce harsher penalties, and provide greater support for victims. Anything less is a betrayal of our duty to protect our people. Children are not disposable; they are our future. Their safety must be non-negotiable. No matter how complicated the world gets, they should be able to grow up unharmed, secure and healthy, and develop to the maximum extent of their potential. For the children, for the future,
SENATOR MAXINE SEYMOUR
Shadow Minister, Social Services
February 10, 2025.
Vote may hinge on minimum wage increase
EDITOR, The Tribune. WHENEVER it is permitted to govern, the Free National Movement unfailingly works against the interests of the majority of Bahamians.
Its record is one of protecting concentrated wealth, increasing an already high tax burden on the poor, never raising the minimum wage, reversing advances toward universal healthcare and selling off public assets. In opposition, it has opposed every beneficial development from Independence to National Insurance to the Defence Force to National Health Insurance.
None of this is by accident. Nor is it a result of individual failings among the members or leadership of the party. It is simply a reflection of how the party came into existence, how it is funded and (hence) who it is actually working for.
While the games and antics of personalityfocused politics fixate both the media and the population, the big-picture reality of our two parties is that one is basically beneficial to the long term interests of most Bahamians, while the other is basically harmful to them. This has never fundamentally changed over the course of our modern history and those of us who thought it could (for a brief moment after 1992) have been proved embarrassingly wrong.
So why, with its record, does the Free National Movement still sometimes get elected?
The answer is simple: because the Progressive L iberal Party allows it to. Bahamians are neither masochists nor fools. As the long run from 1967 to 1992 demonstrates, they will loyally vote for their obvious interests until the issues are allowed to be fudged and obscured by a governing party that begins to stray from its own better instincts. When the P L P finds itself believing that Foreign Investment inflows are an objective in and of themselves, or that impressive tourist numbers will magically morph into broad benefits for Bahamians, it not only buys into a myth, but it lays the foundation for a return of the FNM –which will in turn apply these harmful trickledown fallacies with even greater vigor.
In a country whose basic problem is never a lack of wealth, but an historic tendency to distribute it from the poor to the rich and a related failure to invest it in a more equitable society, only a P L P government can ever do the things (like raising the minimum wage, increasing social and capital spending and finding ways to make the rich pay more for it than the poor) that will not only benefit our economy, but also ensure reelection. Yet remarkably, it has often strayed from that easy formula.
Mr Christie’s initial plan for a single-payer National Health Insurance scheme would surely have seen him reelected had he not delayed the
matter
interminably, watering it down with profit-oriented baggage proffered by the medical and insurance industries to ensure either failure or inefficacy.
As a result, the wealthy Bahamas lags Jamaica and Barbados in terms of internationallyrecoginsed universal healthcare goals, Bahamians are still being financially wiped out by medical emergencies and we frankly look like fools to our region and the world.
Today, the most important matter facing the government is the urgent and obvious need for a substantial increase in the minimum wage (or an actual livable wage), both to reflect the wealth and cost structure of this country and to address a socio-economic imbalance that manifests itself in everything from bad dietary choices to our ridiculously high violent crime rate.
By all means should this government tout its success in attracting billions of dollars of investments and unprecedented tourism numbers. But without positive actions to channel these achievements into the service of the majority of Bahamians, it runs the risk that the public will once again conclude (wrongly, but understandably) that there is no difference between the two parties and will opt once again for the far worse of the two.
ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, February 9, 2025.
A MEMBER of the Wayuu Indigenous group kitesurfs with others in Cabo de la Vela, Colombia, Friday.
Photo: Ivan Valencia/AP
Man charged with rape of 73-year-old woman
from page one
required to enter a plea at that time. He was informed that his matter would proceed to the Supreme Court
through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). He was told of his right to apply for bail before the higher court. He will be remanded to the Bahamas Department
of Correctional Services until his VBI is served on May 19.
Assistant Superintendent of Police S Coakley served as the prosecutor.
SIX ACCUSED OF USING FRAUDULENT DOCUMENT S IN ORDER TO OBTAIN BAHAMIAN PA SSPORT
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net
SIX people, including a juvenile, were arraigned before Senior Magistrate Kendra Kelly on multiple fraud-related charges.
Teofilo Antonio Tavarez, 56, Ruslen Berroa Espinosa, 38, and Larny Estefania Tavarez Nova, 32, were each charged with two counts of possession of a forged document, two counts of uttering a forged document, and fraud by false pretences.
A 17-year-old Haitian male faced a single charge of possessing a false document, while he, along with Ricardo Pyfrom, 53, and Silian Dorelin, 43, was charged with conspiracy
to commit fraud by false pretences. Prosecutors allege that between April 25 and May 10, 2024, Tavarez, Espinosa, and Nova used fake registration certificates and fraudulent immigration letters to obtain Bahamian passports from the Passport Office.
The teenager is accused of using a fake Bahamian passport to obtain a new one on June 13, 2024. Additionally, he and Pyfrom and Dorelin allegedly conspired to defraud the Passport Office between May 30 and June 13, 2024.
All defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecution noted that Tavarez and Nova both held valid work permits.
Senior Magistrate Kelly granted bail for Tavarez, Nova, and Espinosa at $6,000 each, with one or two sureties. They must report to their respective police stations every Thursday by 6pm.
Pyfrom and Dorelin were granted bail at $4,000 each, also requiring one or two sureties, and must sign in at their local police stations on the first Monday of each month.
The teenager was remanded into custody until his bail hearing on February 12. Tavarez’s trial is set for May 27, while E spinosa and Nova are scheduled to appear in court on May 23. The trial for the juvenile, Pyfrom, and Dorelin is set for May 19.
T EEN GET S 30 MONTHS JAIL FOR LOADED GUN
By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A 19-YEAR-OLD youth was sentenced to 30 months in prison after admitting to having a loaded pistol on Prison Lane last week.
Magistrate Lennox Coleby arraigned Rico Alexander on possession of
Man charged with threatening to kill FNM vice-chairman Johnson
an unlicensed firearm and two counts of possession of ammunition.
Police reportedly arrested the defendant after he was found with a loaded .22 revolver on February 7.A search of the defendant’s residence uncovered 21 rounds of 7.62 ammunition.
The defendant pleaded guilty to all charges and accepted the facts against him in his case.
Magistrate Coleby ordered the defendant to serve a 30-month sentence at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. He must also pay a total fine of $10,000 for the ammunition charges or risk an additional year in prison.
Governor General visits Long Cay
GOVERNOR GENERAL, Dame
Cynthia ‘Mother’ Pratt visited Long Cay on her official visit to the southern Bahamas: There, she planted a Yellow Elder, National Flower of The Bahamas on Thursday. Long Cay has a small population with many persons having left the island following the passage of Hurricane Joaquin in 2015. Joaquin left many buildings damaged; and ruins remain today as a reminder of that storm.
Photos: Letisha Henderson/ BIS
Funeral Service For
Retired Nurse, Ismae Christine Culmer, 80
a resident of Madera Avenue, South Beach Estates, New Providence, Bahamas and formerly of Moss Town, Exuma, Bahamas, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 13, 2025 at All Saints Anglican Church, All Saints Way, Joan’s Height, South Beach. Offciating will be Rev. Fr. Bradley Miller assisted by Fr. Richard Woods and Canon Sebastian Campbell. Interment will follow in Lakeview Memorial Gardens, John F. Kennedy Drive.
Ismae was predeceased by her parents: Sylvanus and Georgianna Clarke; brothers: Daniel Clarke, Kingsley Sebastian Clarke and Milton Clarke; adopted daughter: Joyann Wallace.
Left to cherish her memories are her sisters: Barbara Dorsett and Willamae Culmer; sister-in-law: Rev. Yvonne Clarke; adopted grandchildren: Lerneice Williams, Nathan and Anna Wallace; nieces: Karen and Kenria Dorsett, Andrea Pratt( Edward), Rochelle Clarke, Marsha Smith and Ikysha Beneby; nephews: Arlington Dorsett Sr., Adrian Clarke, Miguel Culmer; grand nieces: Yasmine Charlton, Brianna Bannister, Dillyn Beneby, Kaitlyn Bowe; grandnephews: Arlington “AJ” Dorsett Jr., Kenneth “KJ” Smith Jr.; other relatives and friends including: Nazel Johnson and family, Yvonne Sherman-Bullard, Janice Brooks, Katie Williams, Brenda Simms, Valda Hunt, June Roberts and Family, Ruth Campbell and Family, Janet Wright and Family, Charles Weir, Wilbert Dean and Family, Deacon Dennis and Estella Mackey, Edna Newbold, Esther Swann, Basil McKenzie and Family, Javotte Moncur, Gloria Dorsett, Descendants of the late Olivia McDonald, Descendants of the late Reverend Alpheaus Rolle, Descendants of the late Simon Rolle, Descendants of the late Edna Bain, Descendants of the late Minerva Smith, Nathalie Evans, Sheila Curry and Family, Harold Major, Descendants of the late Earnest Munroe, Letitia Smith and Family, Descendants of the late Florence Rolle, Descendants of the late Albertha Rollins, Descendants of the late Prince Albert Saunders, Rev. Hueter Rolle, Keith Taylor, Descendants of the late Susan Musgrove, Lucinda Davis and Family, Rev. Father Bradely Miller and Mrs. Miller, Rev. Father Richard Woods and Mrs. Woods, Cannon Sebastian Campbell (Agatha), The Rt. Hon. Carrington and Rev. Dr. Sabrina Pinder, The Prayer Band of St. Marks Baptist Church, Betty Francis, Pam Hunt, Louise Harris, Shorna Seymour, Kevin Ryan, Delores Rolle, Ruthie Newbold, Eloise Bain, Velma Turnquest, Gwen Stuart, Dorothy Coleby, Clara McPhee, The All Saints Choir, The A.C.W., The All Saints Prayer Band and the All Saints Family, Janette Hanna, Lester Gardiner, Fran Roberts, Rufus Curry and Family, Odean Gibson and Family, Ethelyn Pratt and Family, Oncology Staff ( P.M.H.), Nurse Hepburn, Nurse Demeritte, Doctor Carey, Doctor Bowles, the Staff of Medical Surgical Ward East, Nurse Swaby, Nurse Miller, Dr. Gerrad Deveaux, Temple Christian School Family, Mrs. Turnquest, Mrs. Porter, Cedar Crest Funeral Home and a host of other relatives and friends.
Relatives and friends may pay their respects at Cedar Crest Funeral Home and Crematorium Ltd, Robinson and Baillou Hill Roads on Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. and at the church on Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until service time.
of death. Thompson pleaded not guilty before
Senior Magistrate Laquay Laing on Thursday and was granted $3,000 bail with one surety. He is scheduled to return to court in April.
from page one
FNM VICE-CHAIRMAN RICHARD JOHNSON
Marital rape: A grave injustice
FACING reality, we all know that marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one’s spouse without the spouse’s consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and doesn’t always involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Although, historically, sexual intercourse within marriage was regarded as a right of spouses, engaging in the act without the spouse’s consent is now widely classified as rape by many societies around the world and increasingly criminalised. However, it is repudiated by some more conservative cultures, according to Wikipedia.
We follow widespread consensus because of who espouses it. We do not think about the genuineness of the argument because we look at who is offering an opinion that we follow, void of common decency or common sense. So, the worst-case scenario is accepted because people look for the group offering an opinion and ignore what is in their best interest. In other words, the easily influenced could agree to the detriment and disadvantage of the majority.
It is astonishing how we are still pussyfooting around the topic of marital rape, which is easy to conclude. Still, the movers and shakers that influence others have their own selfish opinions void of respect, common decency and protection for the lesser sex.
The insensitivity is most
FACING REALITY
astounding.
Sex is not just a physical act; it is a shared experience that should be enjoyable and respectful. It is emotional, psychological and mental. Any hostility or harmful behaviour violates this respect and cannot lead to a great experience that will be treasured.
There can be no celebration of two individuals sharing without permission. Forced sex must be a foul feeling, especially since the atmosphere should be one where the male has full consent from the female in a positive environment. Help me to fathom how a man who loves his wife can come home inebriated, sweaty with negative psychical behaviour, and force himself on his wife, who is kicking and screaming?
How could a man who loves his wife expect her to disrespect herself by agreeing to participate in an act that
she does not agree to, that she has to hold her nose to perform, and then, after experiencing the torture, pretend to enjoy it just because of an obligation?
Is this what Christ meant in Ephesians 5:25 when he said: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.”
Why should she disgrace herself because of marriage? Are the wedding vows being prostituted just so the man could have his way? Why should the wife participate under duress,
now being categorised as torture? That’s what it is. No means no, and there can be no civilised reasoning that can change no to yes.
When sex happens without the consent and permission of the wife, then it is forced; it is rape because the very definition is having sex without the consent of the wife, regardless of who does it. It’s dehumanising! To level the playing field, women force themselves on their husbands, too, but the same principles apply, which is no means no.
Why would a man jump on his wife, with her resisting and expect to enjoy it?
What is the point of continuing, even after being told no? What animal would overpower a helpless man or woman to prove a point? What does a person do when they are at the point of a gun to have sex that they do not want? Do they have any recourse for their body violated?
It is about time for men to stop this male chauvinism and give women the same respect that they expect to get. He is supposed to be her protector, not her abuser, warden and/ or torturer.
Marital rape has been discussed for too long. We’ve heard from the church with warped reasoning that stops short of extreme psychiatric deficiency. Supposedly
sible, learned men with straight faces try to justify jumping on their wives while she is hollering for him to stop and consider that to be pleasurable. An overpowering spouse must be condemned, and the perpetrator must suffer the consequences like anyone else who forces themselves on a stranger.
No fluff; the definition of rape is clear, sex without consent, PERIOD! The objections to marital rape come from the same place that women do not have the same respect as that of a man. Women are not equal to decide as to what they want or do not want concerning their bodies. We must move away from the primitive behaviour that existed when we were cavemen and cavewomen.
Times have passed when men treated women as their prize possessions, saying they could do as they wished. A man could stay out all night and do as he wished, but if the woman did the same thing, he would want to jump off the bridge. He could be as loose as he wished, called a loverboy, but if she did it, then she was a loose woman. The double standard is not acceptable.
I am stunned that any man who abused his wife sexually and the disguised obligations of marriage does not have the best interest of his wife or family
hand and is selfish and does not deserve to have her.
Society must stop this masquerade and swiftly move towards a future where all individuals, regardless of gender and outdated reasons, are treated as equals, no more, no less. How would men who torture their wives for cheap sex act, like if someone is doing the same thing to his daughter, sister, mother or grandmother?
Respect for everyone, regardless, is what is lacking in many of the scenarios mentioned. When we respect ourselves and our self-esteem is high, we do not want to disrespect anyone for any reason.
The family’s foundation is shattered. Many practices are embedded in the subconscious we carry because the horrible experiences we’ve had in our homes have shaped us into the people we are. Without any damage control, we dump our frustrations on society. Nothing should be done in isolation. All behaviours and activities are the ingredients that make us who we are, but sweeping them under the proverbial carpet will only compound the problem; ignoring them will not help. Let us be honest about the situation, then combine our efforts to address it.
If we want to salvage what is left of our families and communities, we had better face reality sooner or later, and that’s a fact.
Counting the cost of USAID, but what of the human toll?
OF all the radical steps
President Trump has taken precipitately since his inauguration only weeks ago, his dramatic and uncompromising action in relation to the US overseas aid programme has, arguably, been the most damaging to the most people, both at home and in overseas countries.
Most people are aware by now that he has hit the ground running in setting an agenda of massive change to redefine the role and function of the federal government. He has set in train a series of measures to reshape and transform government bureaucracy in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness across the board and with a view to cutting staff and expenditure.
The President is said to have had the US Agency for International Development, known as USAID, in his sights for a long time. He is quoted as saying the US foreign aid industry and bureaucracy is “antithetical to American values”. He has called it “a waste of money” and an organisation run by “radical left lunatics”, with the White House describing some of its projects as “waste and abuse”. Going even further, his so-called efficiency tsar, Elon Musk, has even described it as a criminal organisation.
So Trump is reported now to want to get rid of USAID or, at least, reorganise it to maximise its efficiency and align its operations with what he claims to be the national interest which he sees as his “America First” approach. Thus, what may be left of USAID is due to become part of the State Department, and any of its activities that cannot be absorbed within this separate body may be simply terminated.
Unsurprisingly, USAID is in considerable disarray as its activities have been frozen for 90 days while its organisation and activities are under review. Clearly, its future as an independent agency now hangs in the balance. It is said, however, that dismantlement of it would require the approval of Congress which has the authority to establish or abolish government agencies. It will also be liable
The Peter Young column
to legal challenges as it appears that the courts will be the only constraint on Trump’s actions. As a brief reminder, USAID was created by the US government under President Kennedy in 1961 and based on what was a legacy of existing development assistance that already had US staff serving in field missions in various developing countries. The latest figures - for 2023 - indicate spending on aid of $68 billion, which amounts to 0.6 percent of total US government expenditure, with the employment of some 10,000 people including in some sixty offices around the world.
The US is, by some margin, the world’s biggest spender on international development, well above the UK, for example, which in 2023 disbursed some $18 billion, putting it in fourth place. Operating as an independent body, USAID has a broad remit. With a mixture of humanitarian and developmental aid, it spends millions of dollars annually across the world in an effort to alleviate poverty, treat human diseases and respond to famines and natural disasters. It also promotes democracy building.
Although some waivers have been negotiated, Trump’s aid freeze is said to have sparked mayhem around the world, with one veteran humanitarian worker talking of an earthquake across the aid sector as it braces for the inevitable serious effect on humanitarian projects
THE US Agency for International Development, or USAID, is pictured February 1, 2025, in Washington.
worldwide.
Millions are reported to be suffering already as US aid – including long-term projects and commitments - has, in effect, been suspended, causing confusion, disruption and apprehension with existing arrangements not being honoured so that recipients are suddenly concerned about their future and their safety.
Reportedly, one noted casualty of all this is aid to Ukraine; limiting or removing it permanently would hardly be consistent with US supply of separate military support to that beleaguered country.
From everything I have read, the president’s radical review of government spending is becoming increasingly popular among voters at home – and this will grow if the review reveals corruption within government agencies. They seem to be welcoming their new government acting decisively to take the axe to unnecessary and unjustified expenditure of their taxpayer dollars, and who can blame them for that. But others believe that there should be a proper and measured way of
dealing with the traditional long-standing aid sector –and the government’s aid budget -- involving the lives and welfare of human beings across the world.
Amidst all the recent dramatic hype, there appears to have been little consideration about the reason and justification for foreign aid. Instead, most of the talk has been about the mechanics of the White House’s assault on this aid agency and the immediate effect on recipients overseas.
There is, of course, a moral dimension to foreign aid which was well articulated by former British Prime Minister David Cameron when, a few years ago, he was pushing for his own country to enshrine in domestic law a commitment to meet the UN target of spending annually 0.7 per cent of Gross National Product on foreign aid. He succeeded in achieving this in Britain, though the figure was reduced to 0.5 per cent in 2021 following the impact of COVID-19.
In Cameron’s words, as human beings there is a moral obligation for better-off countries to tackle poverty and child mortality in the world and to help
those suffering, particularly for reasons beyond their control.
The moral case for the better-off countries to help others, with particular attention being given to the most vulnerable, rests on the fundamental need to address human suffering wherever it is found. This means immediate help to alleviate such suffering but also working in the longer term to reduce poverty levels. It should involve assistance in dealing with immediate hunger and famines as well as other emergencies and natural disasters. It also means helping struggling poorer countries, which may also be ravaged by war, to make better provision for their own citizens.
There is also a broader dimension in that it is in the interests of donor countries to protect their own security and prosperity by helping to combat conditions around the world that may spawn terrorism and conflict – like poverty, weak institutions and corruption - by promoting economic development, good governance and transparency. So a strong aid programme is in the interests of those
countries themselves. Certainly, long-term aid, in particular, should be linked to the donor country’s foreign policy objectives and Britain put this in to practice when it brought the provision of aid under the umbrella of foreign affairs by creating in 2020 the current joint department – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This was a merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development. Within today’s space constraints, it is only possible to touch on what is obviously an important issue. But what seems to be disturbing a growing number of people is the White House’s emphasis purely on the financial and practical aspects with little or no acknowledgement of the wider moral and human dimension of aid. A new government should surely review all official expenditure and insist on proper practice across the federal government. But many will hope that the US will not withdraw from being the world’s largest and most generous single aid power.
Liberation of Auschwitz Lack of political judgement
I HAD intended to write last week about the 80th anniversary on January 27 of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau but was overtaken by other topics. Auschwitz was the largest of the concentration, extermination and forced labour camps operated by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. There were said to be more than twenty main such camps but also many other smaller places of incarceration. This date has become known as the International Day of Commemoration to remember the victims of the Holocaust of European Jews during the war. Between 1940 and 1945, more than a million Jews, religious leaders, disabled people and other innocent victims were killed – gassed or shot – at Auschwitz alone in what became the worst case of mass murder in history.
It is widely considered that the concentration camps and the unspeakable atrocities committed in them constitute one of the darkest chapters in the human story as huge numbers suffered from immense cruelty. They were stripped of their possessions, dignity and humanity before being summarily killed.
Auschwitz, which was a complex of camps in occupied Poland, has become the symbol of the holocaust. Every year, people are encouraged to make
this date a day to develop educational programmes and raise awareness of the holocaust and other international genocides. Its purpose is to honour the victims of Nazism and to help prevent anything like it from ever happening again. At the solemn ceremony two weeks ago at the camp itself survivors were joined in remembrance by world leaders and European royalty. They joined together with the people of Poland and the rest of the world in mourning the lives lost. There was also a memorial event held in London. An estimated one thousand survivors of Auschwitz are still alive but because of their advanced age people expect that last month’s ceremony may be one of the last such gatherings of those who experienced its horrors. The oldest survivor is a woman called Rose Girone who celebrated her
113th birthday in January. Born in Poland she now lives in New York and tells a remarkable tale of resilience and survival. Since the war and into modern times there has been a huge effort to condemn anti-Semitism and religious or racial bigotry in all its forms; not least, of course, because the manifest evils on which Nazism was based in Germany began with hatred on the ordinary streets that grew disproportionately and all too quickly.
The lessons for today’s generation must surely be learned and taken heed of so that history can never be allowed to repeat itself. All agree that there is a duty to remember the horrors that took place during that dark time of history – in the terrible realisation that there appears to be no limit to the evil humans can do to one another.
IT is all too easy for outsiders to criticise the way politicians run a country.
But, judging from the UK press, the British government’s handling of the Chagos Islands issue looks to have been a case of mismanagement. From all accounts, the optics are anyway not good. There has been much publicity recently about the heavy costs of the deal to hand over sovereignty of these islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. This includes retention of a lease on one of the islands
called Diego Garcia for the UK-US military air base that is already there. Prime minister Keir Starmer is now under fire for allowing these costs allegedly to rise excessively to some $20 billion. From all reports, there had been no compelling reason for the government to push this deal through at the moment; and, inevitably, people are comparing the large payment to Mauritius to the government’s decision, shortly after being elected last July, to cut winter fuel payments to
pensioners in the UK.
This may appear to some people a somewhat weird comparison but that is surely the reality of the nature of politics. And, what makes matters worse for the British government is that the deal is anyway now mired in uncertainty after President Trump is expected to object to it on the grounds that it will give a security boost to China. Perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye. But, to this observer, the optics are indeed not very good.
Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP
What the Westminster show dogs’ names mean
Associated Press
THEY have names that could make a random password generator cry uncle. Meet, for example, GCHG CH Calicops Sassafras Gonnakikurass.
“She’s a saucy girl. Her name says it all,” Fred Ortiz said as he groomed the Brussels griffon to compete Monday at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Her name says ... what exactly? Well, ponder the final part, and you may understand what her owners are wryly getting at. But in any event, you can just call her Wrassy.
Westminster’s main competition began Monday with breed-bybreed judging that leads to US dogdom’s most illustrious best in show prize, awarded Tuesday night. The kennel club held agility and obedience contests, as well as other events on Saturday.
If show dogs are the aristocrats of the canine world, they often have the names, titles and nicknames to match.
Their “registered,” or formal, names are the ones used for showing. Those long, confounding-sounding appellations are actually packed with show-dog
information.
Clumps of capital letters at the beginning, and sometimes also the end, signify the dogs’ achievements in various sports. “GCHG” and “CH,” for example, denote various levels of championship in the traditional, breed-by-breed judging.
After those titles, the first word in a registered name generally indicates the kennel, or breeding program, that produced the dog.
Other kennels or dogs in the pedigree might get a shout-out at the end.
Meanwhile, show dogs have “call names” that they go by on a day-to-day basis. A dog might also have had a different “puppy name” bestowed by its breeder and later changed by its eventual owner.
The portmanteau words and puzzling phrases in registered names are partly meant to avoid duplication with other dogs in registries that go back over a century.
But many breeders also use patterns to help them remember which litter was which.
Professional dog handlers and sometime miniature schnauzer breeders Rachel Adams and Alberto Montila name their litters
in alphabetical order — one litter had names that start with “A,” the next with “B,” and so on, Adams said Monday. She was blow-drying a French bulldog named GCHG CH Elysium’s Adventurous Rapscallion D’Assisi, better known as Finn.
When Amie McLaughlin picks names for her litters of Norwegian buhunds, she just likes to have pun. “I like the name to be something that someone looks at and says, ‘Oh, that’s cute,’” said McLaughlin, of Kent, Washington.
A dog she bred and guided on Monday, GCH CH Cloudpointe Nothing Betta Than This CGC, was born into a fish-themed litter (hence “Betta,” a type of Southeast Asian fish). He goes by Eirik when he’s at home with co-owner Sarah Woodworth in Paloa, Hawaii.
GCH CH Aberdeen’s Zoltar RN BN-V — just Zoltar, to his friends — has owners who appreciate humour, too. For one thing, they share their Los Angeles-area home with a shaggy, clownish, 120pound otterhound who likes to cuddle.
Comedian and actor Chris Hardwick, who owns the dog with
his wife, model and actor Lydia Hearst, named Zoltar for the fortune-telling machine that makes a teenager grow to adult proportions overnight in the movie “Big.”
“We knew he was going to grow,” and plenty big, explained Hearst.
Zoltar got some recognition Monday from the judge, but the dog’s cousin Melody, aka GCHS CH Dobhran’s Alexa Play Some Music, won best of breed.
Hardwick and Hearst were also cheering on the French bulldog breed winner, called Sassy, or GCHS Diva’s Sassafras Lass. She and other breed winners were headed into a semifinal round Monday night.
Sassy is owned and was co-bred by Hearst’s mother, newspaper heir Patricia Hearst Shaw. Famous in the 1970s for her abduction and involvement in a robbery by a radical group, she’s been renowned in recent years for her Frenchies and other show dogs.
Colton Johnson and his family name their litters of old English sheepdogs by themes, such as songs, movies, money, or — appropriately — fluffy things.
One of those “fluff” dogs is GCH CH Bugaboo’s Give Me S’more, who lolled on a table while Johnson brushed him Monday.
“It’s his spa day,” joked Johnson, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The dog’s call name is Graham, as in the crackers that join toasted marshmallow and chocolate to make s’mores. The Johnsons considered calling him Marsh or Mallow, but those names didn’t stick.
Three-year-old Graham is a grandson of Swagger, the old English sheepdog whom Johnson handled to a second-place finish at Westminster in 2013. Last year’s runner-up, a German shepherd named GCHP Kaleef’s Mercedes, is back this year for a last hurrah and won her breed Monday. The 5-yearold will retire from showing after this event, co-owner Dr. Cynthian Wilhelmy said. As for her name, “I wanted something German and something that represented excellence,” said Wilhelmy, of Martinsburg, West Virginia. “Classic, reliable and excellent — that’s Mercedes.”
Trump orders US to ditch 1-cent coin after decades of complaints
RICHMOND Associated Press
THE lowly penny, the forgotten mainstay of coin jars and car cupholders everywhere, may soon be no more.
President Donald Trump announced Sunday he’s ordered his administration to cease production of the 1-cent coin, whose buying power is long past its prime.
Advocates for ditching the penny cite its high production cost — currently almost 4 cents per penny, according to the US Mint — and limited utility. Fans of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative bargain in production costs compared with the nickel, which costs almost 14 cents to mint.
Trump’s surprise order comes after decades of unsuccessful efforts to pitch the penny.
“Only tradition explains our stubborn attachment to the penny. But sometimes traditions get ridiculous,” the Farmers’ Almanac said in its 1989 edition.
Here’s a look at some questions surrounding Trump’s order.
Can Trump really order the Treasury to stop minting pennies without Congress’ approval?
Yes, according to legal scholar Laurence H Tribe, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Constitutional Law Emeritus at Harvard University.
US code gives the Treasury Secretary the authority to mint and issue coins “in amounts the secretary decides are necessary to meet the needs of the United States.”
If Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent decides the amount necessary for the penny is zero, he’s within his legal rights, Tribe said.
“Unlike a lot of what the new administration has been doing pursuant to the flood of executive orders since Jan. 20, this action seems to me entirely lawful and fully constitutional,” Tribe said, referring to the aggressive executive action Trump’s taken on other issues since taking office.
Congress, which dictates currency specifications like the size and metal content of coins, could make Trump’s order permanent through law. But past congressional efforts to ditch the penny have failed.
Pennies are mostly made of zinc, and the American zinc lobby has been a major opponent to suggestions that the penny be eliminated.
How many pennies are in circulation?
It depends on what you mean by circulation.
Pennies are the most popular coin made by the US Mint, which reported making 3.2 billion of them last year. That’s more than half of all the new coins it made last year.
MIT professor Jeff Gore, who founded Citizens to
Retire the Penny, said coins are supposed to stay in circulation for about 30 years and that in the last three decades the US Mint has made about 250 billion pennies. But, he says, “because nobody wants to use pennies, they fall out of active circulation much faster than other coins.” If pennies sit in drawer for a decade, Gore asks, “Does that qualify as being in circulation?”
Will Americans miss pennies?
The experience in other countries suggests no. Canada started phasing out its penny a dozen years ago and urged store owners to round prices to the nearest nickel for cash transactions. Electronic purchases were still billed to the nearest cent. The move came after New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, and others dropped their
lowest-denomination coins. After dropping the penny or its equivalent, those countries have not looked back. What comes next?
Trump’s order, which he announced in a social media post as he was departing New Orleans after watching the first half of the Super Bowl, was the latest in his administration’s rapid-fire efforts to
cut government costs.
“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,”
A LONE penny is illuminated in a bin of completed pennies at the US Mint in Denver, August 15, 2007.
Photo: David Zalubowski/AP
PUGS sit after being groomed in the benching area during the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, yesterday in New York. Photo: Heather Khalifa/AP
THE CHAMPS ARE HERE!
Grand Bahama Primary basketball champions soak up the spotlight
THE Grand Bahama Primary Schools Athletic Association completed its Gladstone ‘Moon’ McPhee/Cecil Thompson Primary School Basketball Tournament at the St George’s Gymnasium in Grand Bahama on Saturday.
Girls’ tournament Xavier’s Lower School defeated St. Francis/ Joseph Catholic School 16-12 with Londyn Mortimer of Xavier’s earning the most valuable player award.
Raygail Smith, also from Xavier’s, was named the coach of the tournament.
The consolation third place went to Temple Christian Academy.
Boys’ tournament Judith Thompson Primary nipped St. Francis/ Joseph’s Catholic 17-15 as Jason Duncombe from Judith Thompson Primary was named the MVP.
The winning coach of the tournament was Rashad Cunningham of Judith Thompson Primary.
BARTLETT High Primary - boys’ third place finishers. GIRLS’ MVP Londyn Mortimer receives her award. JASON Duncombe gets the boys’ MVP award.
JUDITH Thompson Primary boys’ champions.
ST Francis Joseph boys’ runners up.
TEMPLE Christian girls’ third place finishers.
XAVIER’s Lower School girls’ champions.
ST Francis Joseph girls’ runners up.
‘Buddy’ Hield, Lillard and ‘Wemby’ among those in All-Star Saturday events
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)
— Damian Lillard is looking to join Larry Bird and Craig Hodges in an elite club. And Victor Wembanyama will be showing off some skills at All-Star weekend.
Lillard, the Milwaukee guard, has been announced as one of the entrants in this year’s 3-point contest to be held at All-Star Saturday Night in San Francisco on February 15.
Wembanyama, the second-year San Antonio star, will be one of eight players in the Skills Challenge
at All-Star Saturday. That field was also revealed on Friday.
Lillard is bidding to win his third consecutive 3-point title — something only Bird and Hodges have done. Bird won the first three editions of the 3-point competition from 1985 through 1987; Hodges went back-to-back-to-back from 1990 through 1992.
The 3-point contest field also includes New York’s Jalen Brunson, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, Cleveland’s Darius Garland, Miami’s Tyler
Herro, Golden State’s Buddy Hield, Brooklyn’s Cam Johnson and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Norman Powell.
Lillard will be making his fifth 3-point contest appearance. Hield has been in the event three previous times, winning in 2020. Brunson and Herro are both in for the second time; everyone else is making their 3-point contest debut.
The skills event is made up of two-player teams. They are Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley representing the Cleveland
Cavaliers, Washington’s Alex Sarr and Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher representing the NBA rookie class, Wembanyama and Chris Paul representing the Spurs and Draymond Green and Moses Moody representing the host Golden State Warriors.
The dunk contest participants were formally
announced earlier in the week: Orlando two-way player Mac McClung will try to become the first person to win three consecutive dunk contests.
He’ll go up against San Antonio rookie Stephon Castle, Chicago rookie Matas Buzelis and Milwaukee second-year wing Andre Jackson Jr.
‘BUDDY’ SCORES 16 TO HELP WARRIORS WIN
without two-time MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will be out through the All-Star break as he deals with a left calf strain.
Lillard scored 38 points for the Bucks after collecting 43 on Sunday.
Kyle Kuzma scored 21 and Taurean Prince added 19. Golden State is 2-2 during a stretch of seven straight away games.
CAVALIERS 128,
TIMBERWOLVES 107
CLEVELAND (AP)
— Evan Mobley scored 28 points, fellow All-Star Donovan Mitchell added 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers broke out to a big early lead and had little trouble against Minnesota, beating the Timberwolves 128-107 last night.
The East-leading Cavs scored the game’s first 16 points. They welcomed new addition De’Andre Hunter and improved to 25-4 at home.
The versatile Hunter, who gives Cleveland a much-needed wing defender for the playoffs, was acquired last week from Atlanta. He started
his Cavs debut in place of an injured Max Strus and finished with 12 points in 23 minutes.
All-Star Anthony Edwards scored 44 to pace Minnesota, which missed its first 16 shots and scored just 12 in the first quarter.
HAWKS 112, MAGIC 106
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Trae Young scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Atlanta beat Orlando.
Young was 6 for 17 from the field and committed nine turnovers. But he also had eight assists and five rebounds on the same day he was added to the All-Star roster as an injury replacement for Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Caris LeVert had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks, who won for the fourth time in five games after an eight-game losing streak. Terance Mann made three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points on perfect shooting. Franz Wagner led Orlando with 35 points. Paolo Banchero added 31 points, including a
career-high 20 in the third quarter..
SPURS 131, WIZARDS 121
WASHINGTON (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 31 points and 15 rebounds to help San Antonio hold off Washington.
Wembanyama scored a career-high 50 points against Washington in November, and it looked like the All-Star might be on his way to another game like that yesterday when he made his first four 3-point attempts within the first eight minutes.
He didn’t keep up that scoring pace, but the San Antonio big man was still a force against a Washington team that was missing rookie 7-footer Alex Sarr because of a sprained left ankle.
De’Aaron Fox contributed 30 points for the Spurs, and Chris Paul had 10 assists. Rookie Stephon Castle added 16 points.
Tristan Vukcevic led Washington with 18 points.
NETS 97, HORNETS 89
NEW YORK (AP) — Nic Claxton scored 16 points and Brooklyn pulled away after LaMelo Ball was lost to another ankle injury and beat Charlotte.
Cam Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe each added 14 points for the Nets, who won for the fifth time in six games in the best stretch of their first
season under Jordi Fernandez. This was their second easy victory over Charlotte during that span.
Moussa Diabate had a career-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Hornets before he was forced out of the game with a right eye abrasion.
Tidjane Salaun scored 16 points.
CELTICS 103, HEAT 85
MIAMI (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 17 and Boston rolled past Miami. Al Horford scored 16 points, Sam Hauser had 15 and Derrick White added 13 for the Celtics.
Boston took 53 3-pointers in the game and only 32 2-pointers.
Bam Adebayo scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Miami, which was without Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. — both sidelined by illness. Andrew Wiggins had 11 points in his Heat debut.
Miami shot 33.7 per cent and has been held under 90 points in each of its last five matchups against the Boston Celtics.
Giants, Saints and Falcons in the win column
FROM PAGE 16
with Deron Moultrie had eight apiece in the game, while Devon Allen had six, Aikai Miller five and Ron Demeritte contributed four.
After playing to a 14-14 tie at the end of the first quarter, St John’s pulled ahead 31-24 at the half.
Queen’s College made a dent in the lead, cutting the deficit to 48-41 after three.
But the Giants, with their bigger line-up, took advantage of some costly mistakes and the foul trouble the Comets got into down the stretch to pull it off. “It feels good. We have one more to do. We will come back on Wednesday and close it out,” said Darshtyan Baker.
“QC always gives me a good fight. QC is a good team, they have good coaches and they have some good guards who will come out and play.” Baker, however, said once they can play defence, follow their game plan, they can wrap up the series and celebrate their championship feat on Wednesday night.
For the Comets, coached by Reuben Mounts Jr, Daniel Rolle 21, Davon
Davis 12, Talon Higgs and Tayshaun Taylor both had nine and Jayden Saunders had seven Senior girls
Saints 40, Giants 19
It was an easy night at the office for last year’s senior girls’ runners up Kingsway Academy as they marched out of the gymnasium with an impressive blowout victory over the defending champions.
Kingsway Academy pulled off a first quarter shutout 17-0 and it wasn’t until midway in the second quarter that St John’s finally got on the scoreboard on a pair of free throws from No.1 to cut the deficit to 19-2.
It was only a matter of what the final score would have been because the game was over from that point. Andica Curtis, with nine points in the first quarter, finished with a game high 22 points. Michayla Joseph had six, all in the first quarter, Tayler Smith also had six, Cedranique Wilmore had four and Kaliah Campbell two in the lopsided win.
“We played an alright game,” Butler said. “We just have to continue doing what we’ve been doing all
RACHEL THOMPSON MAKING HER PRESENCE FELT ON TENNIS COURT
FROM PAGE 16 ON THE REPLAY: High school students in action last night during the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ best-of-three championships at the
season, rely on our defense and continue to run the ball.”
As they head into game two on Wednesday, Butler said their goal is not to have a repeat of last year when they played against St John’s and lost. He said they are looking to avoid that by going for the sweep.
St John’s, coached by Oswaldo Taylor, got eight from Lebronique
Demeritte, seven from Zhyon Wilson and two apiece from Rayven Lewis and Aysjah Seymour. Junior boys Falcons 51, Giants 42 Jordan Prince Williams got all the contribution they needed to hold off the challenges from St John’s College in their junior boys’ opener. Alijah Pierre scored a game high 22 points, Peter Louis had
12, Lamar Richardson had seven and Jaden Ferguson six. “We want to give God all the honour, glory and praise,” said coach Patrick Hanna. “I told the boys if we want this championship, we have to come out and secure game one. That is exactly what we did.
“We came out, we locked down with our intensity on the defence and it’s on to game two from here.”
“I was always on the run trying to be somewhere, but after a while I got pretty used to it, once I figured out my schedule and everything,” she stated. “As the youngest person on campus, I was intimidated at first, but now I’m not.
“I was shocked at first when I came to school, but I got over it and I am now so relaxed and comfortable with my environment. I’m really enjoying my college experience so far.” Thompson, who started playing tennis at about 10 years and has already represented the Bahamas on the junior national team, graduated from the American Penn Foster online high school after she attended Bishop Michael Eldon and Lucayan International schools in Grand Bahama.
She noted that she’s eager to maintain her grades as she focuses on her studies. In the meantime, she’s gearing up for the Lady Koalas’ next match on Valentine’s Day (Friday) when they head to Tennessee to face Tennessee Wesleyan.
Hanna said he expects St John’s to make some adjustments but, once they remain hungry, they can take the series.
In the loss for St John’s, Kayden Deveaux had 11 and Brando Thompson and Addison Bethel both had nine and Deandre Baker helped out with six.
Junior girls
Giants 34, Cougars 20
St John’s got the ball rolling as they got a balanced scoring attack from Zuri Hanna with eight, Melodi Ferguson and Dania Rolle both had six, Mariana Guzman four, Danica Simmons three and Brandi Ingraham two for their junior girls’ opening win.
“I feel good about this, everybody played good team basketball,” said St John’s coach Malcolm Rahming. “We shared the ball, we settled ourselves and we played our brand of basketball, so I was happy about that.”
As for game two, Rahming predicted that the series will be over on Wednesday. Charles W Saunders, coached by Valerie Nesbitt, came up short with Alyssa Bain scoring 12, Laila Lenard six and Raynique Tinker two.
Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr
GOLDEN State Warriors guard Chavano “Buddy” Hield in action during an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
CAVALIERS forward Evan Mobley dunks last night in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
INAUGURAL NASSAU CUP HANDED TO THE RUM CLUB
NEXT SESSION OF BLTA’S PLAY TENNIS PROGRAMME FEBRUARY 15 AT THE NATIONAL TENNIS CENTRE
THE Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) has birthed the “Play Tennis Bahamas” programme to aid in tennis sustainability as this increases the pool of available tennis players. Working with children from various neighbourhoods in the Bahamas has been rewarding.
The BLTA’s Play Tennis programme is a path for persons who always wanted to play tennis but never had the opportunity.
“We welcome one and all and believe we need to remove the pricing barriers that may restrict talented juniors with potential,”
the BLTA wrote in a press release.
The next session of the BLTA’s Saturday Play Tennis programme is slated to be held 9am on Saturday, February 15, at the National Tennis Centre.
The programme, which resumed its 2025 spring session in January, continues to offer free tennis lessons to persons in the community. Children ages four to 14 are welcome.
“Young persons desirous of learning a new sport and playing tennis are invited to join in on the Saturday sessions where they will be
TRACK RED-LINE ATHLETES’ FIELD EVENT CLASSIC
Saturday, February 22, at the Charles W Saunders High School, Jean Street. Teams have until Saturday, February 15, to register. The registration fee is $200 per team. Interested teams are urged to contact tournament director Thomas Sears at 424-2888 or federation president Brent Stubbs at 426-7265.
THE Red-Line Athletics Track Club has announced plans to host its second annual Field Event Classic. The country’s all field events only meet is scheduled for Saturday, February 22 at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium. The event is set to take place from 9am to 3pm and will be open to competitors from the under-11 to open
taught various tennis skills, including forehands, backhands, volleys and serves.
“The objective is to have the young people playing and having fun,” the BLTA further noted.
Organising these sessions consistently over the past years, the programme boasts receiving in excess of 700 children, some of whom have moved on to competitive play.
The programme was nominated at the Ministry of Sports’ National Sports Awards for its community impact and was also recognised by the International Tennis Federation.
categories for men and women.
All winners will receive crystals and the top three will earn medals. Athletes can register at redlineathletics242@gmail.com or smnbutler@yahoo.com
TRACK
NPA TRACK CLASSIC
THE Noble Preparatory Academy is all set to hold its 2025 Track and Field Classic on Saturday, March 15 at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium from 9am to 6pm. The registration deadline is March 11. Athletes can register at info@npabahamas.com
ROAD RACE
UNCLE LOU FUN
RUN/WALK THE St Augustine’s College and the Alumni Association is inviting the general public to come out and participate in the Uncle Lou Fun Run/Walk.
Under the theme: “Paint the streets red,” the event will take place on Saturday, March 15, starting 6am at SAC’s campus off Bernard Road.
The route will leave SAC’s campus and head on Bernard Road, turn onto Soldier Road to Prince Charles Drive, turn east onto Prince Charles Drive and head back to SAC.
The programme sparks the interest and ignites a tennis fire in many. “We hope that many more tennis journeys are birthed from this introductory programme of the Association,” the BLTA stated.
The programme has been offered at no cost for kids’ ages for the last five years.
Registration has been a minimal $1 and has been seeded back into building the programme.
All the tennis equipment is provided at no charge.
AS the rain cancelled out the finals matches, the inaugural Nassau Cup was handed to the winner of the round robin - The Rum Club.
Lyford Cay finished as the runners-up.
Paradise Island and Cable Beach tied for third, and Harrold Road came in fifth.
Derron Donaldson, secretary general of the Bahamas Olympic Committee, was in attendance at at the awards ceremony at Baha Mar to hand out the trophies.
IC member Alexander Murbach gave remarks.
He thanked IC president Kit Spencer for his decade’s long contributions to Bahamas Tennis and the IC Bahamas in particular.
He thanked Lyford Cay player and IC member Ivan Hooper for his company Winterbotham’s support for junior tennis.
Murbach awarded special prices to the best performing Bahamian professionals that played in the league
- Jamal Adderley, Rodney Carey, PJ Major, Shannon Francis, O’Neal Mortimer, Julio Valdez and Jyles Turnquest.
The MVP recognition for most wins at A level goes to ex Davis Cupper Jamal Adderley with a clean 4/4 record.
Special recognition went to the team from Harrold Road, led by its charismatic captain Ken Kerr, who participated for the first team in the IC League.
“We look forward to seeing more teams join the league.
“The IC Bahamas will soon announce further events as it looks to strengthen its commitment to promote competitive tennis in The Bahamas,” according to a press release.
Murbach also thanked the sponsors - Sotheby’s Bahamas, Titan Hospitality and Gamma Fund Services - for their support during their initial event.
“They made it possible to make the event a success,” said the release.
Players only need to wear tennis and come ready to learn new skills and have fun while doing so. Registration for players can be done via email pr@ blta.net. If you wish to volunteer as a coach or provide assistance in
The registration fee is $20 for adults and $10 for persons under the age of 20. The first 200 participants will receive road race t-shirts.
Persons can register now by logging onto www.saintaugustinescollege.com
Following the race, a health screening will take place. There will also be a souse out with chicken priced at $10, pig feet at $12 and sheep tongue at $15. Drinks will also be on sale.
For more information, persons can call 242-324-1511or email Thesacalumni@gmail.com
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
BAHAMAS
OPEN HOUSE
SPECIAL Olympics
Bahamas is preparing to hold their open house on Dolphin Drive on February 11, 18 and 25 and everyone is invited to attend any session.
Every Tuesday during the month of February, 2025 between the hours of 10am and 3pm, Special Olympics is iinviting the general public along with family and friends to visit our office at #24 Dolphin Drive to view our Wall of Fame.
While there, they are asking for guests to sign their Visitor’s Register and leave a phone contact for
an opportunity to receive one of their “Special” Red Balls. “Shake hands with our athletes and chat with one of our stars,” said a press release. “Join the Inclusion Revolution today.”
Donations of any amount are welcomed and appreciated during the open house dates.
RUGBY GAMES AT WINTON
AFTER making some minor repairs to the Winton rugby pitch, the Bahamas Rugby Union is scheduled to play matches on Saturday, February 22, Saturday, March 8 and Saturday, March 22. All ages and all abilities are welcome, including men and women, ‘Golden Oldies’ teams and beginners and seasoned players. The BRU is also inviting persons to come and try rugby this year. The only equipment needed are tennis/cleats and PE kit. For further information, persons are urged to call (242) 812-0417.
BASKETBALLL
BSAA
ACTION THE Bahamas Scholastic Athletic Association continued its basketball regular season on Friday at The Hope Center located
University Commons and Bahama Games Blvd.
Here’s a look at the results posted: Mini Division Kingsway Academy def Queen’s College 13-9: Game MVP were Ralph Saintil and Logan Knowles from Kingsway Academy with five points each. Wardell Cox led QC with six points.
Primary Boys Teleos Christian School Queen’s College 8-B
Junior Boys Greenville Preparatory Academy def. Genesis Academy 37-34: Game MVP was Theo Bethel fr0m Greenville Academy with 20 points, three rebounds and two steals. Hayden Seymour led Genesis with 17 points, seven rebounds and an assist.
Intermediate Division San Pedro International School def. Boost Academy 28-19: Game MVP was Keron Stuart from San Pedro with nine points and four rebounds. Jeb Monroe led Boost with six points and three steals. Teleos Christian School def. San Pedro International School 37-28: Game MVP was Lukee Doreely from Teleos with 13 points. Timytry Lockhart led San Pedro with nine points.
RISING tennis stars take advantage of the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s Play Tennis Bahamas programme.
KEN Kerr receives a special award for the Harrold Road team from organiser Alex Murbach and BOC secretary general Derron Donaldson.
JAMAL Adderley gets a special award from IC tournament director Alex Murbach and BOC secretary general Derron Donaldson.
IC round robin championship team - Rum Club - receives their award from BOC secretary general Derron Donaldson.
20 YEARS OF MOORE SCHOLARSHIP CELEBRATED
By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Education Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
THE Harry C Moore Memorial Scholarship in the Arts recently celebrated 20 years of service to The Bahamas, marking two decades of supporting young Bahamian artists.
Established in 2004 in memory of philanthropist
Mr Moore, the scholarship has become one of the Lyford Cay Foundation’s most recognised awards.
Moore, a passionate supporter of the arts, served on various boards of the
Lyford Cay Foundation and The Canadian Lyford Cay Foundation, holding roles as director, chairman, and honorary chairman. His legacy is also honoured by the Harry C Moore Library and Information Centre on the University of The Bahamas campus.
Each year, the scholarship is awarded to one or two students pursuing graduate studies in the arts, demonstrating exceptional promise in their respective fields. The scholarship provides up to $15,000 annually to recipients.
Applicants must submit
a portfolio or work samples in one of the following priority fields: arts education, film, music, playwriting, poetry and fiction writing, theatre arts, or visual arts.
The application process also requires applicants to outline any honours received, special programmes, exhibits, or productions they have participated in. Shortlisted applicants may be invited to interview and could be asked to perform.
Eligible applicants must be Bahamian citizens and meet criteria such as financial need, academic merit,
GRADUATING IN STYLE
and the attainment of a first degree from the University of The Bahamas. A minimum grade point average is required for the scholarship renewal.
Over the past 20 years, the scholarship has been awarded to many distinguished Bahamian artists, including internationally renowned multi-media artist Jeffrey Meris and Aidan Barrow, the proprietor of the luxury gift store Haus of Assembly.
The list of past Harry C Moore Memorial Award Scholars includes Tavares Strachan (2004), Heino
Schmid (2005), Amielle Major (2006), Sonovia Pierre (2007), Nathan Lightbourne (2008), Dion Cunningham (2009), Sonia Farmer (2010), Gregory Curry (2011), Jeffrey Meris (2012), Thea Rutherford (2013), Averia Wright (2015), Aidan Barrow (2016), Jeffrey Meris (2017), Karese Burrows (2018), Stefan Thompson (2019), Letitia Pratt (2020), Lemuel Johnson (2021), Clarence Albury (2021), Alexia Tolas (2023), Giovanni T Clarke (2024), and Cydne Coleby (2024).
As part of the 20th
Anniversary celebration, Lyford Cay Foundation recently recognised two long-standing volunteers for their dedication to the scholarship programme. Patricia Thomson Leonard has been a board member for 20 years and continues the Moore family’s legacy by serving on both the Lyford Cay Foundation and The Canadian Lyford Cay Foundation, Inc boards. Dionne Benjamin-Smith has been instrumental in the scholarship’s success over the past 18 years and champions the work of scholars through Bahamian
Student Spotlight
RBC SUPPORTING YOUNG LEADERS
Several outstanding students were recognised for their achievements, with special awards such as the ‘Star Recipient Award’ and the ‘Executive Director’s Award for Leadership.’
THE National Training Agency (NTA) recently celebrated the graduation of its Cohort 24 in a special ceremony. A total of 110 graduates received certificates and pins after completing their training in various fields, including housekeeping, auto service, hospitality, business, allied health, culinary and baking, teacher’s aide, office procedures, and workforce preparation.
NTA executive chairman Agatha Marcelle delivered an inspiring charge to the graduates, while keynote speaker Jamaro Thompson encouraged the trainees to remain committed to their goals. “Never give up on your dreams, even when the journey gets tough,” Mr Thompson urged.
GOVERNOR General Dame
Cynthia Pratt, on the second day of her Southern Bahamas official visit, was warmly welcomed to Crooked Island by students from Admiral Ferguson High School and Ulrich Ferguson Primary School. The students showcased their talents through performances, while administrators and teachers also extended their greetings to the Governor General.
Angel
Skippings, a junior music education major, is one of eight Northwestern students chosen to participate in the 2024-25 Iowa Collegiate Honor Band. The trumpet player was to be part of a concert on Saturday, January 31.
• Nominate a student to feature in student spotlight by emailing jsimmons@ tribunemedia.net
RBC Royal Bank has officially launched its RBC Young Leaders programme in The Bahamas. Originally established more than 40 years ago in Trinidad & Tobago, the programme began as an essay writing competition focused on increasing awareness about saving. Over the years, it has evolved into an educational servicelearning initiative aimed at empowering students. This year, the programme offers students an opportunity to develop skills such as project management, public speaking, financial literacy, and environmental awareness. Under the theme “Sustainable Future,” students from six schools across Nassau are challenged to create a project plan that promotes environmental and/or social benefits aligned with the theme.
Ericka Rolle, managing director and vice president of personal banking at RBC, emphasised the significance of the theme, particularly in light of the global challenges we face today.
“We are facing pressing global challenges – from climate change
to social inequality – that demand our attention and proactive approach. By equipping our youth with the knowledge and skills to engage in sustainable practices, we can promote awareness and action that leads to meaningful, lasting change in our communities,” Ms Rolle said. RBC will reward the winning school with $15,000 to help implement their proposed project in either their school or community. Second and third place finishers will receive $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. The participating schools this year include Anatol Rodgers Senior High School, CI Gibson Senior High School, CV Bethel Senior High School, St Anne’s High School, St John’s College, and Temple Christian High School.
The Young Leaders programme is being conducted simultaneously in The Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Cayman Islands. A closing ceremony is scheduled for May, where the top three schools will be recognised and awarded for their engagement and project completion.
BAHAMIAN
E
BAISS BEST-OF-3 BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Giants, Falcons and Saints in win column
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
The St John’s Giants split the first game of their Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ best-of-three championships series last night at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
While the Giants’ senior boys and junior girls prevailed over the Queen’s College Comets and Charles W Saunders Cougars respectively, their junior boys lost to the Jordan Prince Williams Falcons and their senior girls are in jeopardy of losing their title after falling to the Kingsway Academy Saints.
Here’s a look at how the match-ups went last night:
Senior boys Giants 76, Comets 60 Leonardo Rolle poured in a game high 24 points and Joshua Russell added
18 to help propel St John’s to their opening victory in the senior boys’ series that was played closer than the
final score indicated. The Giants, however, stomped their approval on the game in the fourth quarter as
and
along
PAGE 13
Rachel Thompson making her presence felt
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
GRAND Bahamian
Rachel Thompson, the youngest student/athlete enrolled at Columbia College, is off to a pretty good start for the Lady Koalas tennis team on and off the court.
Thompson, who will turn 17 on Tuesday, March 25 when they play Brenau, helped the Lady Koalas shutout their division III rivals Agnes Scott College 6-0 at home on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina and they came back on Saturday to knock off Johnson & Wales 6-1.
In both matches, Thompson came away with her pair of victories in singles and doubles.
While Thompson won her singles 6-0, 6-1 at the third spot, she teamed up with sophomore Vienne
Ceren to pull off their doubles win 6-0.
And on Saturday against Johnson & Wales, Thompson prevailed with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Kourtney Newton and she again teamed up with Ceren for a 6-1 decision over Newton and Iyana Barber.
After getting off to a “rocky start” in college, missing her parents, Jamila Carroll-Thompson and Paul Thompson, the confident Thompson said she has settled down and is quite comfortable with the weather and everything that comes with the college experience.
“I was sick a few times and being there at home, your parents are there to help you, but my parents were not there to help me this time,” she said. “I have a very supportive friend group as well as the support of my team. They are always there for me if I am in need and my coach, Mark Carnes, also plays a big part in my transition to college. He’s been there for
THE SPORTS CALENDAR
TRACK DLT TRACK CLASSIC THE Roadrunners Track and Field Club is scheduled to hold its 19th annual Diana Lynn Thompson Track Classic at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium on Saturday, February 15. For more information, contact club president and head coach Dexter Bodie at 434-7706 or 477-1198.
CYCLING NPCA ACTION
During the month of February, the New Providence Cycling Association will hold two separate events, Saturday, February 15 - Cycling Clinic at the Queen Elizabeth Sprots Centre, eastern parking lot next to the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium. The event will run from 9-11 am. Refreshments will be provided. Sunday, February 23 - King of the Hills Cycling Championships, starting 8:30am on Fort Charlotte Hill. The winner will be crowned the King of the Hills for 2025. Registration forms for this event can be picked up from the Cycles Bike Store or contact the NPCA. The categories include elite men, open women, under-23. male/female, masters’ male over 40 years, masters’ male over 55 years, 15-17 boys and girls, 12-014 boys and girls and 9-11 boys and girls. SOFTBALL BBSF SEASON THE Bahamas Baptist Sports Federation will now start its first team competition for 2025 with its co-ed slow-pitch softball season on
SEE PAGE 14
me. I am also an honour student so my honours classmates are also very helpful. It’s just the people that I surround myself with have been my key.”
On the court, the 5-foot, 9-inch Thompson said she couldn’t ask for a better season opener with the double dose of victories.
“I feel this weekend was very productive. It’s not just motivated me, but my entire team, so I feel it’s going to be a great season for us,” Thompson projected. “I also want to be on top of my class and make the Dean’s list.”
The exercise science major, who hopes to one day become a doctor in physical therapy, said she’s not just trying to do well on the court, but her mind is centred on her ability to perform even better in the classroom.
PAGE 13
11
By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Stephen Curry scored a season-high 38 points and the Golden State Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks 125-111 last night. Jimmy Butler had 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his second game with the Warriors. Chavano “Buddy” Hield added 16 points, while Quinten Post and Moses Moody added 13 each.
Hield also contributed two steals, seven rebounds and one assist.
Hield and Lillard are entered in the 3-point contest this All-Star Saturday weekend. (See story on page 13)
The Bucks were playing for a second straight day after beating the Philadelphia 76ers 135-127 at home on Sunday. Milwaukee also was playing a sixth straight game
PAGE 13
NASSAU CUP GOES TO THE RUM CLUB – PAGE 14
Russell connected on 10 points
Rolle added six,
with four from D’Alfer Gibson and three
from Devon Allen to seal the deal. Gibson, along
VERSATILE Bahamian athlete Terrell McCoy.
GRAND Bahamian tennis player Rachel Thompson.
SLAM DUNK: A high school student dunks the ball last night at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
Photo: Chappell Whyms Jr