08272024 NEWS AND SPORT

woman & health

BANNISTER FACING MURDER CONSPIRACY

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

FORMER managing director of Clifton Heritage Mario Bannister was yesterday charged along with two other men in connection with the murder of Philip Adderley, who was found stabbed to death with his hands and feet bound together earlier this month. Bannister, 62, was dismissed from his post at Clifton Heritage by Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis on Sunday. Yesterday, he was arraigned along with Dontee Riley, 26, and Christian Napier, 28, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Staff Reporter

Party leader Fred Mitchell has warned that individuals in public life must be accountable for their personal conduct. He made this statement yesterday as former Clifton Heritage managing director Mario Bannister and two other men were arraigned in magistrate’s court in

connection with the murder of Philip Adderley.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis confirmed Mr Bannister’s dismissal from Clifton Heritage in a statement on Sunday.

While Mr Mitchell did not mention Mr Bannister directly, he emphasised expected standards of behaviour in a voice note.

“I remember one clear principle of ministerial

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor

THE National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme is set to impose “caps and limits” on a portion of the care benefits received by 160,000 Bahamians as part of further “cost containment measures”.

POLICE at the scene where Philip Adderley was found stabbed to death earlier this month. Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

MARIO BANNISTER

US Embassy hosts Women’s Equality Day luncheon

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune S taff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE US Embassy celebrated Women’s Equality Day yesterday with a luncheon, honouring both the progress made towards gender equality and the ongoing challenges.

Women’s Equality Day marks the anniversary of the United States 19th Amendment’s ratification, which granted women the right to vote in 1920, and serves as a reminder of ongoing efforts to achieve full gender equality.

The event featured speakers Assistant Commissioner of Police Janet McKenzie and Robyn Dawn Lynes. Their addresses aimed to engage attendees in discussions about gender equality and raise awareness of issues such as the gender pay gap, underrepresentation in leadership roles, and gender discrimination.

In her remarks, US Charge d’Affaires Kimberly Furnish highlighted the importance of continuing the quest for equality. “It’s about women helping women. We need to lift each other up,” she said. “While we make progress and strides, our work continues every day. Woman, we still fix disparity across the board - education, access to healthcare, inequal pay in our workplace, and even in education. Together we continue to work for a more just and equal society for all people,” she added. She expressed the importance of advancing women’s equality and ending with yesterday’s theme “Count Her In”.

Notable guests included Allyson Maynard Gibson KC, University of The Bahamas acting president Janyne Hodder, president of the Senate Lashell Adderley, and Senator Maxine Seymour.

Bannister facing murder conspiracy

Bannister was also charged separately yesterday with being an accessory after the fact in the killing.

Riley and Napier were each charged with murder.

The trio allegedly conspired to commit the murder of Mr Adderley earlier this month.

Last week, it was reported that a highranking male official had been questioned as part of investigations into Mr Adderley’s murder. At the time, police said the official had not been regarded as a suspect.

Riley and Napier allegedly killed the 36-year-old Adderley on South West Road on August 14.

Bannister allegedly enabled the suspects in this matter to evade the law on August 15.

That same day, Mr Adderley’s body was found partially submerged in waters near an abandoned building near Stuart’s Cove. There was a tense atmosphere in the courtroom

prior to the arraignment as the gallery was filled with relatives of both the deceased and the defendants.

A visibly on edge Riley verbally confronted a man in the court gallery, who was seen intensely glaring at him, asking what his problem was.

Sergeant Vernon Pyfrom then warned those present in court not to interfere with the defendants during proceedings.

Both Bannister and Napier remained calm and silent throughout their arraignment.

The trio were informed their matter would proceed to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Magistrate Reckley informed the defendants he was unable to grant them bail due to the nature of the offence but told them of their right to apply for it through the higher court.

Stanley Rolle, Riley’s attorney, indicated to the Chief Magistrate that his client was allegedly

assaulted by a police officer while in custody at CDU last Friday. Mr Rolle did not disclose the identity of this officer in court.

Before being taken to the Magistrate Court’s cellblock, the defendants were allowed a moment with relatives and supporters in court.

Mr Rolle told the press on the courthouse steps he intended to file for emergency bail for his client.

K Melvin Munroe, Bannister’s attorney, said his client had declared his innocence from the onset.

Mr Munroe said no evidence has been presented against Bannister in court yet and that it won’t be put forward until it’s before a jury.

In response to public speculation on the number of charges Bannister should face, Mr Munroe said that “people will have many views as to the various charges but at the end of the day the investigators will determine based on the evidence what charges will come forward”.

Mr Munroe described

his client as being in a good mental state but said that he was sad to go through with court proceedings.

The VBIs will he served on February 13, 2025. Superintendent Lockhart served as the

prosecutor. Police have also said they are investigating a series of graphic video and text messages that were circulating on social media that purported to provide a detailed account of the events leading up to the

murder of Mr Adderley. The messages appeared to be Whatsapp notes, purportedly saying how those involved took Mr Adderley into a bush area to kill him, and including pictures and video of the body.

WSC board member testifies on procedures for contract approvals

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

TESTIMONY continued yesterday in the criminal trial of Long Island MP Adrian Gibson and his coaccused, with former Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) board member

Carolyn Wallace-Whitfield taking the stand.

Mrs Wallace-Whitfield, who previously served as deputy chairman of the WSC board, testified about her role and various policy procedures concerning contract approvals during cross-examination by Damian Gomez KC, Mr Gibson’s attorney.

She agreed with Mr Gomez’s suggestion that the board’s duties included overseeing the corporation’s operations and discussing its strengths and weaknesses, among other things.

“Would you agree that the independence of each board member was never interfered with during your tenure as deputy chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation?” Mr Gomez asked.

Mrs Wallace-Whitfield said she agreed for the

most part. When asked if she had a good business relationship with Mr Gibson during the board’s deliberations, she said they did initially.

Mr Gomez also asked if Mr Gibson had ever requested that she do anything contrary to the law or WSC policies, to which she replied no.

Mr Gibson faces several charges related to his tenure as WSC executive chairman under the Minnis administration. The charges concern his alleged failure to declare his interest in contracts awarded by the WSC.

The FNM politician is on trial alongside Elwood Donaldson Jr, former WSC general manager, Joan Knowles, Peaches Farquharson, and Jerome Missick.

The defence team includes Mr Gomez KC, Mr Murrio Ducille KC, Ian Cargill, Bryan Bastian, Ryan Eve, and Raphael Moxey.

The Crown’s legal team include acting Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier, Cashena Thompson, Karine MacVean, and Rashied Edgecombe.

ADRIAN Gibson outside court yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

MURRIO Ducille KC and Brian Bastian, legal counsel for Adrian Gibson, outside court yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff

FORMER managing director of Clifton Heritage Mario Bannister was yesterday charged along with two other men in connection with the murder of Philip Adderley, who was found stabbed to death with his hands and feet bound together earlier this month.

‘You are responsible for your personal conduct’

from page one

government, and by extension all of us in public life, including managing directors of corporations, you were responsible for the consequences of your personal conduct. We taught that lesson to all the would be candidates, members, including corporation chairpersons and wannabes just before the 2021 general election,” he said.

“Your personal conduct should not adversely impact the party and when there’s a conflict, you should fall on your sword. We have seen examples of this in the administration twice since the general election and it is an important principle for us to remember this week, the leader should not have to ask anyone what to do.”

In August 2023, North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish was charged with two counts of rape, along with assault and threats of death in magistrate’s court. Shortly before his appearance, it was announced that Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis requested and accepted Mr Cornish’s resignation as parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. North Eleuthera MP Sylvanus Petty resigned as executive chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation after it was revealed that his daughter had been awarded a contract with the company in November 2023.

During cross-examination in the Adrian Gibson corruption trial, Mr Petty confirmed his daughter received the contract. The Tribune understands the contract was awarded to her company, Mainscape Maintenance and Management, which offers landscaping and general maintenance services.

Throughout the cross-examination, Mr Petty did not express concern about the contract award. He stated that he did not oppose nepotism and had no problem with his company entering into contracts with political allies if they were capable.

Former educators frustrated over lack of progress at Ragged Island school

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter

FORMER educators expressed frustration over the lack of progress in reopening the Ragged Island school, which has been closed for seven years.

The island was devastated by Hurricane Irma in September 2017, which flattened homes and government buildings. As a result, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) deemed the island uninhabitable.

Mazie Pintard-Poitier, a retired educator with 41 years of experience, noted that when she visited the island in March this year, the school was almost completed but had remained in that state for nearly two years. She emphasised that the children on the island

deserve the same quality of education as those elsewhere.

“It is so frustrating when you see them on television bragging about the accomplishment of other islands or other schools, knowing that are still doing virtual and a lot of them, or some of them, don’t even understand some of the concepts that are being taught virtually, but doesn’t have the capability or the capacity to express that ‘Okay, I’m not getting this point’. You know, it’s really sad and it seems as if no one is seeing this as an issue.”

This year, it was alleged that students were uncertain they would be sitting the GLAT and BJC exam, but the paper did arrive by airplanes last minute. Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) officers stepped in to administer the examinations.

The former Stapledon School vice principal said she heard parents had concerns about officers overseeing the exam.

“If a child asks a question about something that’s on the GLAT, I don’t feel like that officer is fully equipped to explain to the child what the situation is all about,”

Mrs Pintard-Poitier said.

“Even to explain to them, ‘okay, this is what you have to do and how you go doing it and all the rest of that’, that’s not the place of a defence force officer or no other officer other than an educational officer. That goes to show how little this government concern about Ragged Island children.”

Acting director of education Dominique McCartney-Russell confirmed to The Tribune that the Ministry of Education’s evaluation and assessment division had “utilised the

services of the RBDF to proctor the grade 3 GLAT and BJCs”. She said: “One student sat the grade 3 GLAT, and one student sat BJC exams this school year.”

She added: “The school is being rebuilt. We are pleased that in this new academic year, two teachers have been redeployed to provide instruction to the students in Ragged Island.”

Retired senior educator Mizpah Munroe said it is very disheartening what is happening, calling it “murder”. She recalled a boy now aged eight who did not know the alphabet.

“A retired teacher had to take him last summer while I was visiting the island and she had to try to teach him his alphabet because he was seven years old at that time, and he did not know his alphabet because he was virtual. He didn’t know

what to do. He was getting straight Fs, straight across the board.”

She said Chester Cooper, the island’s MP, was at a family member’s funeral about four or five weeks ago and explained at the pulpit he was promised the school would be ready by September.

Ms Munroe added: “You must look at the potential students because there are many parents who are Ragged Island descendants who would like for their children to be schooled in that environment where you have one-on-one teacher contact with the children.

“The classes are small, the children are free, and it’s healthy. There’s no gangrelated anything. You know, everything is conducive to good learning. There are potential students here in New Providence and some

of the other Family Islands that we can count on if that school is reopened.”

She added that parents do not want the previous principal to return to the school as they desire something new for their children. Osborne Pintard, a former educator, said a trained pre-school teacher is prepared to take on a role at the school, saying: “She had to leave the island with her children and come to Nassau to enroll them in school because she cannot get a response from the Minister of Education, more representative as to what her future is. She wanted to be in Ragged Island. Her husband is in Ragged Island and things like these are not being said.”

Attempts to contact Mr Cooper received no response by the time of going to press.

Barbados’ PM teams up with Blue Action in GB to work on climate-related issues

A GRAND Bahama environmental project has linked up with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and a think tank in her office to work on climate-related issues.

Rupert Hayward, the cofounder and president of Blue Action, said: “We are thrilled to work alongside Prime Minister Mottley and her team.”

Blue Action is teaming up with think tank FutureBARBADOS to develop and accelerate climateresilient technologies and coastal resilience models across the Caribbean.

Mr Hayward said: “Expanding our model to Barbados aligns the region around sustainability principles.”

Blue Action said the collaboration aims to build the blue and green economy, support local entrepreneurs and promote innovative technologies in Barbados, The Bahamas and the region.

A memorandum of understanding was recently signed between FutureBARBADOS and Blue Action, focusing on expanding Blue Action’s Conservation Cove, a hub for restoring marine and coastal resources and

encouraging education and workforce development, to Barbados.

The partnership will collaborate on funding, investment and grant opportunities. Blue Action also said the partnership will pilot new technologies in Barbados’ Exclusive Economic Zone and explore commercialisation opportunities. Mr Hayward said: “Blue Action aspires to work across the region for climate resilience and a prosperous future. FutureBARBADOS and PM Mottley share our commitment to a sustainability revolution for coastal communities.” Blue Action co-founder Jeff Stoike added: “This partnership is a shared Caribbean vision to address global climate change. Together, we can make a significant contribution to solving it.”

BARBADOS Prime Minister Mia Motley (centre) pictured with Blue Action president Rupert Hayward (right) and Blue Action cofounder Jeff Stoike.

MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS FRED MITCHELL

Honour roll student battling rare neurological disorder

By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A FAMILY is calling for support for a young man who went from being an honour roll student to lying helpless in a hospital bed, unable to move his legs.

17-year-old Nathan Bandelier has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nerves – and now faces a battle to walk again. He faces surgeries that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Natasha Gibson, Nathan’s sole parent and primary caregiver, said Nathan now has blood circulation and feeling restored but he suffers from a fusion of his hips to the joint, and requires surgeries for a hip replacement necessary to facilitate his ability to walk again and an Achilles tendon lengthening, which will require surgery on his right foot to straighten it.

Ms Gibson said the surgeries are estimated to cost nearly $100,000 at Health City in Cayman Islands and almost $200,000 at the Cleveland Clinic, covering both the hip replacement and the Achilles surgery.

Ms Gibson said Nathan started experiencing symptoms “after Christmas about the 31st [of December]” when he went to the beach with his cousin from the US and according to Nathan it was “extremely difficult to get up”.

She recalled: “He began experiencing a severe headache. They picked me up from work and he was lying down on the seat saying his head hurt. He stayed in bed. I went to work the following night and came home in the early morning only to find him colllapsed on the floor and saturated in urine.

He had tried to walk to the bathroom. From there, this journey began.” He was referred to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) by the Medi Centre. There he was diagnosed to have GBS and was admitted to the ICU where “his condition got progressively worse”. She said: “He was experiencing ascending paralysis. He was subsequently intubated and was there for ten days then moved on the ward. There his body was still traumatized, [by] high fevers and respiratory issues.”

She said her son stayed in PMH for two months where he had an MRI “prior to discharge and after discharge which is now normal”.

She added: “My son is an honour roll student at Jordan Prince William on scholarship. He was supposed to graduate in June of this year. That has not happened so it has been very challenging for him to cope with this life-changing event as he went from a healthy teenager to being sick and now in a wheelchair unable to do normal things like just going to the bathroom and having to wear pampers.”

Ms Gibson said: “It is hard for him. All of his friends graduated, and he hasn’t. He is outgoing, funny and super smart. But it still is a serious lifechanging event which is not easy to cope with. He is no longer independent, simple things are not simple anymore. Can’t go out with friends and they have moved on. It is hard.”

She added: “I cry thinking about this entire journey but yet I am grateful to God for upholding me. I cry thinking about how Nathan must feel. How if I only could have found a way to have insurance coverage then maybe

this wouldn’t have been so hard. Makes me feel like I failed my child.”

The family faces ongoing expenses for Nathan’s care, including supplies such as diapers and bed pads, and relies on donations from coworkers and fundraising efforts from family members.

Ms Gibson said the situation is hard, but she has to “push through”. She told of an experience when Nathan had to stay on an adult ward because according to Ms Gibson there aren’t any accommodations for pediatric patients aged 13-17.

She said: “As a result he was on a ward where a lot of older men were. He experienced someone dying on the bed next to him and in his two months there about five people died. That is not easy for a young person.”

The Tribune received a copy of a letter signed by Nathan’s former homeroom teacher and vice principal of Jordan Prince William Baptist School, addressed to Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville, dated in February this year.

It describes an “exceptional student” that “exemplifies dedication, leadership and service” while mentioning that Nathan, throughout his high school life, has consistently earned honour roll and principal’s list distinctions every term, having received the Ministry of Education’s award for Most Outstanding BJC Performance in 2021.

The letter read: “Beyond the classroom, Nathan enthusiastically engages in sports culture and service. He is well respected by all faculty for his warmth humour and guidance. In short, Nathan represents exactly the caliber of student that we hoped to

Aspiring audiologist seeks help to continue pursuit of her dreams

By LYNAIRE MUNN I NGS

Tribune

Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A 25-YEAR-OLD aspiring audiologist is seeking help as she continues her studies.

Judith Strachan, a second-year student at Nova Southeastern University working towards a Doctorate in Audiology, faces the risk of delaying her studies due to financial difficulties.

Ms Strachan has dedicated her career to the memory of Mother Leotha Deveaux-Curry, a cherished family friend who passed away in 2024 who struggled with hearing loss.

“She was a guiding light in my decision to become an audiologist because I wanted to help her. Now that she’s gone, I want to honour her memory by continuing my studies and making a difference,” Ms Strachan said.

As the youngest of five,

Ms Strachan depends entirely on her parents. Her mother is retired, and her father is nearing retirement.

“My parents have sacrificed so much to support me, including funding my undergraduate degree and helping me through the past year. But unforeseen financial hardships have made it challenging for them to assist me as they once did,” she told The Tribune.

“I knew it would be tough, but I believe with faith, perseverance, and trust in God, anything is possible. I am determined to finish my degree and graduate on time in 2027. I’m asking for support to help me complete the last three years of my studies.”

Ms Strachan’s decision to pursue audiology was inspired by a transformative high school internship.

“During high school, I shadowed an audiologist

develop. I have no doubt he is destined for a tremendous success.”

The letter appealed to the health minister for

in The Bahamas, and that experience changed my life. It confirmed my passion for the field, and I still treasure the ear mold impression I received. There are so many people in The Bahamas who suffer from hearing impairments, and I dream of giving back to my community and beyond,” she said.

Ms Strachan hopes to return home after her studies to address the shortage of audiologists and offer support to those in need.

“Any financial assistance or even sharing this campaign means the world to me. I’ve overcome so many obstacles to get this far, and I believe that with your support, no matter how big or small, it will make a real difference in my journey,” she said.

To support Ms Strachan and help her achieve her dream, visit her GoFundMe at https:// gofund.me/20b865bf.

financial assistance considering his exemplary accomplishments, adding that the ministry’s backing of Nathan means “backing

the promise of the next generation”. For anyone wanting to offer support, contact 395-1093.

JUDITH STRACHAN

NATHAN Bandelier with his Mother Natasha Gibson

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-

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Review our national symbols

EDITOR, The Tribune.

WHILE penning this article I was soberly reminded, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

– George Santayana

@tribune242 tribune news network

‘Caps and limits’ raises questions over NHI’s future

THE much-vaunted National Health Insurance scheme – NHI – has hit another hurdle, it would seem.

In today’s Tribune Business section, we report that a series of new “caps and limits” are to be imposed on the benefits provided by the scheme. It is not the first time that the realities of the costs involved in the scheme have run into the ambitions laid out for it.

Last year, for example, there was an extra 90-day wait added to enroll in the scheme. At the time, FNM chairman Dr Duane Sands warned that NHI was effectively “rationing the services” it provided to the Bahamian people.

NHI was part of the PLP’s ten-point plan when in opposition, listed in the party’s Blueprint for Change.

Under a banner reading “A Healthy Bahamas”, the manifesto pledged to “prioritise the health and wellness of our people, with NHI and affordable healthcare. We will implement sustainable national education programmes to fight lifestyle-related diseases”.

How much of any of that has come to fruition, you be the judge.

The latest move on NHI comes in a note sent by the government to healthcare providers – not, you will note, in any announcement to the users of the service.

The notice says there will be restrictions as part of “cost containment measures”, including restrictions to laboratory benefits to be introduced in October to “better manage… escalating costs”.

There will also be limits on the size of the NHI care network, the number of doctors, laboratories and other medical facilities enrolled in the scheme, with no new providers to be added on New Providence before the end of the fiscal year – that’s in June next year.

Payments for laboratory services will also be moved from the 15th of the month to the 30th – remember that next time the government is demanding prompt payment from those owing money to it – and that 90-day wait to join the scheme remains in place, except for expectant and new mothers.

The Health Minister, Dr Michael Darville, confirmed the notice was genuine but said it was “prudent” to “ensure the continued sustainability and effectiveness” of the scheme, while Dr Sands said of the costs: “I cannot see how they could not have put the brakes on this runaway train.”

The amount budgeted for the NHI Authority is $46.2m. Anyone who has had to deal with significant healthcare challenges will tell you how quickly the costs mount up. Elsewhere in today’s Tribune, you can read of one young boy who needs surgeries costing $300,000 in total – he is getting those out of the country but you can see the scale of the costs from just a single patient. Some medical cases soon reach a million plus.

The Budget that saw that $46.2m allocated was unveiled at the end of May. We are only into August and caps and limits are already being imposed. Was that not something, as one person speaking to Tribune Business noted, that should have been announced at the time? That person said: “Was the allocation insufficient? You cannot say that in the second month of the Budget. Why wasn’t that mentioned in the context of the Budget by the minister responsible for health?”

How our nation manages our health needs is a difficult challenge. There are many patients who suffer in silence because they cannot afford the treatment they need.

Solving that conundrum within our population and tax income is a difficult proposition for any government.

But NHI was the promise made to tackle such issues, and limiting access or cutting the services available is not delivering on that promise to anyone.

When schemes such as NHI are promised, our political leaders are to the fore taking the garlands. When it hits challenges, they should be just as up front – with solutions where possible, with reality come what may.

NHI has not yet lived up to those promises. And if it keeps having limits put on it, it will not do so any time soon.

Recently, at a special political convention, Dr Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republican nation of Trinidad and Tobago, announced plans to remove the depictions of Christopher Columbus’ three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria from their Coat of Arms. These symbols are to be replaced with the steel pan, the national instrument of their country and first musical instrument of the 20th Century. This decision has ignited a significant regional dialogue about the representation of history and culture in national symbols. For The Bahamas, a nation with a shared Commonwealth heritage, this conversation is not just timely but essential, especially as we reflect on our national identity fifty-plusone years after gaining independence. I believe that as a nation who has celebrated its Emancipation year, its year of Jubilee, the question of national character is more pressing than ever. We have been a sovereign nation for over five decades, yet the symbols and edifices that define us are often still tethered to a colonial past. Although used as a backdrop to this discussion, the historical narrative surrounding Columbus is, admittedly, more complex. His arrival, often portrayed as a navigational error, marked the beginning of centuries of exploitation and cultural erasure for indigenous and African people. Ironically, the presence of Columbus’ ship on our Coat of Arms serves as a visual manifestation of our own paradoxical nature, a people who are politically sovereign (to a degree) yet subconsciously reliant on colonial vestiges to define our identity.

The Bahamas is not new to the occasional discussions about reimagining our national symbols to better reflect Bahamian cultural signifiers. However, these conversations have been tepid at best. The topic, like many other topics of debate surfaces in national discourse periodically but often lacks the urgency and passion needed to go beyond a one-week press run and inspire meaningful change. This lukewarm approach suggests a deeper ambivalence about what independence truly means in a Bahamian context. While we have been politically independent for 51 years, the question remains whether our national consciousness has fully embraced this independence or whether it continues to be shaped by colonial influences, politically, legislatively, spiritually,

and culturally. I would go further to state that the individual consciousness of some of our people might even prefer the status as usual in avoidance of a Bahamas that is truly self-reliant because there is a lack of trust in that form of independence.

The Bahamian Coat of Arms, adopted in 1971, features elements deeply rooted in the country’s natural beauty and biodiversity: a conch shell, a marlin, and a flamingo. Yet, like many aspects of our national identity, it also bears traces of colonial influence, reflecting a history that is not entirely our own. As Bahamians we must be intrinsically motivated in the act of altering these symbols, understanding that it is more than just a cosmetic change; it is a conscious effort to redefine how we see ourselves and how we present ourselves to the world. Moving beyond the vestiges of a colonial past that lingers in the Bahamian psyche is a necessary step toward reclaiming our narrative. Our Coat of Arms, in many ways, is a microcosm of the larger colonial remnants that continue to influence our national identity. By revisiting and revising these symbols, we take a small yet significant step toward shaping our own story.

This is an opportune moment to reflect on how we present ourselves to the world and to ourselves. The nation-building process is ongoing, and the symbols we choose to represent us are crucial in shaping our collective identity. Just as Trinidad and Tobago is taking steps to align its national symbols with its cultural heritage, The Bahamas, too, should consider how our national emblems reflect who we are today and where we aspire to go in the future.

Replacing colonial vestiges is a process that comes with both support and criticism. We saw this in 2021 when the Columbus statue was vandalised by a lone assailant. While there may be a consensus that colonial imagery can be demoralising, its removal can also be perceived as an attempt to sanitise history or purely unnecessary. This raises the question: How do we balance the need to acknowledge our history with the desire to move beyond colonial symbols that no longer resonate with our national identity?

This article should not be seen as a call to remove and forget but rather a call to look at approaches to catalogue and put things in their rightful place. One approach is a call for a complete overhaul of the educational framework

around Bahamian history and how it is preserved. I for one am a proponent of ensuring that future generations understand the full scope of our past, including the impact of colonialism. However, I believe that such education should manifests itself in the halls of a fully equipped national museum, in the archives of our university and in the depths of archeologists’ explorations of our waters. This education should go hand in hand with a deliberate effort to choose symbols that speak to the resilience, creativity, and cultural richness of the Bahamian people. Possibly seeking to answer who really “discovered” the Bahama Islands.

Our country, rich in cultural heritage, has a plethora of symbols that could be more prominently featured in our national emblems. The cowbell, integral to Junkanoo, echoes the vibrancy and rhythm of Bahamian life, while the goat-skin drum speaks to the African roots that permeate our soul. Instead of the Santa Maria, possibly a depiction of a Cacique to memorialise the first settlers of our islands, preserving the same story but recasting the main character. But the idea that stands out foremost in my mind is a sailing sloop, representing the maritime traditions that have sustained Bahamian communities for generations. It could serve as a symbol of our enduring spirit and connection to the ocean. Admittedly, it can be seen as esthetically similar and possibly more palatable than any other suggestion in a referendum. It must be underscored that this call is not to suggest that we erase or forget the past or even a call for modernisation. Instead, it is about recognising that the symbols we chose fifty plus years ago must not continue to ignore the people who have been here for centuries. They should tell the story of our struggles and triumphs and our hopes for the future. The symbols we choose to represent us should resonate with our experiences, our values, and our aspirations. They should reflect the diversity, creativity, and resilience of the Bahamian people not the remnants of a colonial past that no longer defines us.

As we move forward, it is crucial to assert our independence in the truest sense. An independence of thought, conscience, and identity. The time is now for The Bahamas to take bold steps toward defining who we are as a nation. Only then can we truly say that our conscience is independent.

TAMAR

MOSS-FERGUSON Nassau, August 22, 2024.

ciation.

Mr Albury.

MASHA SMITH Nassau, August 26, 2024.

New safety manual coming after recent jet ski incident

By KEILE CAMPBELL Tribune Staff Reporter kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

A NEW safety manual has been prepared to handle jet ski operations and other maritime activities, it has been revealed.

The news comes after a jet ski accident in Grand Bahama that left a 20-year-old woman from the US with upper body injuries.

Acting Port Controller Berne Wright said the manual is intended to enhance safety measures across the board. However, its release has been delayed due to pending internal processes.

According to reports, on Sunday, a US visitor was struck by a jet ski operated by an adult male while participating in a water activity and is currently listed as being in stable condition at the hospital.

Police investigations are ongoing. However, Mr Wright said he had

no update on the incident as it is early in the investigation.

He said the Port Department works with the police for non-fatal incidents, while the police and coroner lead in cases involving fatalities.

In June, 25-year-old Dishon Russell was found unresponsive in waters near Coral Beach after a wave knocked him off the jet ski he was operating.

In July, police launched a search for a jet ski operator who fled the scene following an incident at sea that resulted in injuries to two women after a jet ski collided with the women who were on a banana boat in the waters of Goodman’s Bay.

Responding to concerns about the number of jet ski accidents, Mr Wright acknowledged the frequency of these incidents. “If you’re in this environment, things happen, you know, accidents happen every day,” the acting port controller said.

MAN ACCUSED OF RAPE OF TEEN GIRL

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 33-YEAR-OLD man was remanded in custody yesterday after he was accused of the rape of an 18-year-old woman in New Providence last week.

Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley arraigned Clifton Pinder on a charge of rape. Pinder allegedly had sexual intercourse with a teenage girl without her consent at a residence off Faith Avenue at 2pm on August 21. The defendant was

informed his matter would be transferred to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

Pinder will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until his VBI is served on January 30, 2025.

T WO TEENS CHARGED WITH AR MED ROBBERY

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO TEENAGERS

were remanded in custody yesterday after they allegedly robbed a convenience store earlier this month.

Senior Magistrate Algernon Allen Jr arraigned Dwayne Marshall, 19, and a 16-year-old male, whose

name is being withheld due to him being a minor, for armed robbery. The juvenile’s guardians were present for their arraignment. The pair while armed with a handgun allegedly robbed a cashier of $400 cash belonging to LDM Convenience Store in New Providence on August 4. The duo were informed that their matter would

move to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI).

The VBIs will be served on December 4. Until then, the juvenile defendant will be remanded to the Simpson Penn Centre for Boys while Marshall will be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. Alex Dorsett represented the accused.

JA M AICAN M AN CHARGED WITH GUN POSSESSION

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A JAMAICAN man was granted $8,000 bail after he was accused of having a gun in his parked car last week.

Magistrate Lennox Coleby arraigned Emron Lindo, 37, on possession of an unlicenced firearm and possession of ammunition. Lindo was arrested on August 19 after police allegedly found a black Taurus 9mm pistol and three rounds of ammunition in his vehicle parked

on Apple Way. After having some difficultly hearing the charges the defendant pleaded not guilty to both.

Prosecutor Assistant Superintendent Police Lincoln McKenzie made no objection to Lindo’s bail, which was set at $8,000 with one or two sureties. Under the terms of his bail, Lindo will be fitted with a monitoring device and he must sign in at the Carmichael Road Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday by 6pm. He is further expected to surrender his

travel documents and must obey an 8pm to 8am residential curfew. Lindo must also seek permission to leave the island.

After Magistrate Coleby warned the defendant not to interfere with any witnesses in this matter, he further warned Lindo not to keep “bad company”. The magistrate also recommended that he not share a ride with someone also wearing a monitoring device.

Lindo’s trial begins on November 19.

Tai Pinder-Mackey represented the accused.

“Terry” Cates, 76

of Nassau, Bahamas, who fell asleep in the Lord on Friday, August 16, 2024, with his daughter and son by his side, in Cleveland, Ohio, will be held at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 11 West Street, Nassau on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 2:00 pm.

Reverend Protopresbyter Father Irenaeus Cox, assisted by Reverend Deacon Alexander Maillis II, will officiate and interment will follow at Ebenezer Methodist Cemetery, East Shirley Street, Nassau.

Terry was predeceased by his wife, Ruth Cates; parents, Wallace and Isabel Cates, brothers, Roy, Donald and Billy Cates and sister, Juanita Baker.

He is survived by his, daughter: Michelle Joudi, son: Nelson Cates, grandchildren: Dr. Tony Joudi and Cassidy Joudi, son-in-law: H.E. Ambassador Tony Joudi, brother: Kermit Cates, sister: Gwen Cates, brother-in-law: Donald Kemp, sisters-in-law: Janet Cates and Sharon Kemp, nephews: David Cates, Stephen Cates, Andrew Cates, Robin Cates, Craig Cates, Christopher Cates, Dr. Graham Cates, Richard Cates, Paul Cates, Jeffrey Cates, nieces: Gail Pinder, Karen Brough, Dawn Cicanese, Susan Sykes, Marsya Cates, Cheryl Pinder, Nancy Cash, Kathryn Kreiser, Karen Carey, Kimberly Sweeting, Stacey Albury, nephews-in-law: Dennis Pinder, Gary Brough, John Cicanese, Keith Fadely, Edward Sykes, David Kreiser, Chris Carey, Richard Sweeting, Nathan Albury, nieces-in-law: Elaine Cates, Patricia Cates, Monica Cates, Anita Cates, Joan Cates, Celeste Cates, Jannette Cates and Renee Kemp, other special relatives and friends: Kathryn (“Kitty”), Sheena, Richard and Geoffrey Moree, Hans, MaryAnn, Alex and Katina Schopper, Spyros and Evi Gialidis, Elie, Kamal and Dany Joudi, Ashraf Bawan, Sofia Papageorge, Dot Fernie, Joey Kemp, Jean Darville, Earl Kenneth Pinder, Samantha Lowe, Toni Aranha, Thalberg Wells, Vernice Avant-Jackson, his work family at Paint Suppliers, Jolly Roger, Bahamas Supply Agencies and Bahamas Supply Air Conditioning and a host of other relatives and friends.

The family would like to give special thanks to: the kind and highly skilled doctors and nurses of Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, especially Dr. Michael McNamara and to Terry’s grandson, Dr. Tony Joudi who advocated for the best care possible, including high risk surgeries when others had given up; to his kind and caring doctors in Nassau, Dr. Graham Cates and Dr. Nevein Girgis; to his spiritual doctor in Cleveland, Rev. Father Dean Dimon of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church and to Rev. Father Irenaeus Cox in Nassau who performed his chrismation into the Orthodox Christian Church prior to his leaving Nassau for care in Cleveland.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, in memory of Alfred T. Cates.

Relatives and friends may pay their last respects at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 11 West Street, Nassau on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm (Trisagion at 6:00 pm) and on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at the Church from 1:00 pm to service time.

Photo: Annie Xia

Funeral Service for Alfred Terrance (Terentios)

Destiny and a straw hat

IT was no coincidence that popular American TV host and social media

icon Tabitha Brown met straw vendor Charmaine Hepburn-Thompson during her trip to The Bahamas. It was a divinely orchestrated moment in time. Tabitha found the perfect hat to recreate a scene that captured one of her mother’s most blissful memories in life. Charmaine came face to face with an international celebrity - one whom her mother spoke to her about in the days leading up to her passing.

The mothers of both women, now in the ancestral realms, seemed to have conspired to bring these two women together for a lifechanging encounter.

At first, Tabitha was just busy choosing her hat. It blew me away to see the photograph of her mother, 40 years ago, donning a straw hat, and to see the photo of Tabatha, taken in July 2024, with a hat in the exact same style!

Tabitha said it was one of her mother’s happiest moments in life - her trip to The Bahamas. In the photo, her mother dons a

Face to Face

By FELICITY DARVILLE

Bahamian straw hat, bag, and a big, beautiful smile. It meant a lot for Tabitha and her family to come to The Bahamas. They had a fantastic time. When tabitha found that hat, it was literally icing on the cake.

Tabitha is an American actress, Emmy-winning host, social media personality, entrepreneur, and author, well known for sharing delicious vegan recipes and soul-stirring life lessons. But at that moment, in the straw market, she was a kid again. She was beaming as she placed that hat on her head, repeating history in a good way. Her mom loved The Bahamas, and now she does, too.

Meanwhile, Charmaine gasped with excitement, realising who she was serving - not just because of Tabitha’s celebrity status, but because her mother, who had passed away just days before, had just mentioned Tabitha to her.

Eugie Hepburn was an amazing woman. She had a heart of gold, according to Charmaine. She recalls that growing up, her mother embodied the true essence of tithing. She would put away a portion of her salary to give to those in needand she did so all the days of her life. She exhibited commitment to charities such as Great Commission Ministries, and devotion to her Anglican church, Holy Spirit. Most of all, she showed an unending love for her family. She also took in and mentored many, extending her family to those not only born by blood.

It was a shock for Charmaine and her family when Eugie died. She was 72 years old and although she was battling breast cancer, she did not disclose too much to her family. She continued on in her happy way, likely not wanting to burden her loved ones or dampen their spirits.

Charmaine said just a couple of days before she had to rush her mother to the hospital, her mother reminded her of her purpose and encouraged her to get back on track.

Charmaine has been an advocate for health and fitness in The Bahamas for decades. As a fitness instructor, she helped many people achieve the physical results they desired, while motivating them each step of the way. Charmaine even received specific certification in geriatric fitness, allowing her to work with seniors at a pace that suited them. Each step of the way, her mom was an inspiration.

“Me and my mum walked every morning, especially during the pandemic,” Charmaine recalled.

“We would walk three miles a day. Just days before I had to rush her to the hospital, she was there telling me to get back on my healthy journey. We were watching Tabitha Brown and seeing her prepare vegan dishes. And my mother reminded me that I was like that. She said that although the doctors couldn’t tell her exactly how she developed breast cancer, sugar played a part of it. That hit home for me, because I love ice cream.”

As Charmaine and I spoke about Tabitha’s recipes and how we would look up vegan ice cream alternatives, the cause of Charmaine’s digression from her fitness routine became evident.

Two years ago, Chamraine’s son TJ was an innocent bystander when he was shot and killed in a hail of bullets intended for others in his vicinity. It

broke her heart, and made life difficult. The grief was overwhelming. Food became a coping mechanism, just as it is for millions of people around the world. Her mother’s death could have sent her into a deeper tailspin, but the words of wisdom that Eugie left her with, would end up being the inspiration for her to put herself first once again. She had two more sons to live for, and a career in health and fitness to get back to.

“My mom was always into her fitness and health,” Charmaine said.

“But like her, I love my Bahamian food. She told me she wanted me to do the BRCA gene and she wanted me to look after my health. We were watching Tabitha and she reminded me to eat healthy like I used to.”

When Tabitha visited Charmaine’s stall at the world famous Nassau Straw Market, Charmaine didn’t immediately recognise her. Tabitha’s boys, Charmaine said, were interested in purchasing some balls with the Bahamian flag on it. As she approached Tabitha and offered to assist, she realised that she was staring in the face of the very woman that Eugie told her to follow and use as inspiration to get back on track.

Tabitha shared the encounter on her Facebook page on Sunday, July 28: “I hugged her and told her it was nice to meet her. She then began to share with me that her mom had just passed away last Wednesday and before she passed away, she told her to get back on Facebook and start watching my videos and to change her eating so that she wouldn’t get sick like her. She said her family had just been watching my videos

last night. Look at God. In that moment, all I could do was hug her again and tell her this is what confirmation looks like! Ms Charmaine, you stay encouraged and take your health and food journey one day at a time.

I believe in you. Praying for you and your family as you lay your mom to rest. I have a feeling that our Moma’s smiled together from heaven today!”

Both Tabitha and Charmaine’s deep love for their mothers connected them and created a moment in time neither will forget.

Tabitha found new zest for life as she walked barefoot on Bahamian sand and swam in crystal clear waters. She realised that her mother’s big smile was likely not just because of the land she was on, but because of the people she met.

Charmaine learned that being genuinely loving and kind to others, and being a Bahamian ambassador at the straw market could put her in a position where all the stars could align in her favour. She discovered that her mother is still blessing her beyond this physical plane, and that her mother’s legacy will live on - not just in the hearts of those she loved, but also for those around the world who would hear her incredible story.

“When women get to a certain age, we relax and chill, but we still have time on this earth,” Charmaine advised.

“My mother taught me how to be a decent human being,” Charmaine said.

“Mom was a good person and an awesome mother. She looked out for others. She budgeted in to accomodate people who were in need. When she turned 70, she was still walking every day. She saw her three scores and ten. As women, we have to put ourselves first - get ourselves tested and take care of ourselves. Eugie Vernetta Hepburn is survived by her children: Charles (Virinia) Hepburn; Charmaine (Force Chief Petty Officer Theodore) Thompson; and Octivier Sweeting. Her grandchildren: Police Sergeant 148 Giano (Tameka); Charles Jr; Cha-Nea; Chelsea Hepburn; Chyne (Bryan) Pena; Michelle Bryan; Ronny Valentino Ettienne; Aldrin King Jr; Caleb Sweeting; Gabriel Williams; SeanEdward and Charlene

“Every day is a chance to get up on it. I promised Tabitha I would. I started by creating a salad bar in my fridge. Every two to three days I cut up fresh veggies and reload my salad bar. This morning, I made a big salad with avocado. So it’s working, it’s starting slowly!” She told me about Tabitha’s kale salad recipe that she absolutely loves, and I was telling her about the vegan seafood boil with hearts of palm that I want to try. We agreed that with mother Eugie looking down on us, we had better not let her down!

Hall. Her great-grandchildren: Chyanne, Chanel and Genesis Hepburn, Ternisha Paul, Preze Bryan and Shaunae Adderley. She is also survived by her sister Ida Bain, brother-in-law Elkin Johnson, and a host of other relatives and friends including her adopted children Melissa Williams-Clarke (Romel, Chrstine (Marcus) Gardiner, Marcus (Miley-di) and Marc Hall.

TABITHA Brown’s mother took this photo in The Bahamas more than 40 years ago - a moment of pure bliss for her mother.

CHARMAINE shares a loving embrace with her mother, Eugie Hepburn.

CHARMAINE and her mother, Eugie on her wedding day

CHARMAINE Hepburn-Thompson (left) and Tabitha Brown (right) share a surreal moment in the world famous Nassau Straw Market that changed their lives

TABITHA Brown donning a hat that looks just like the hat her mother wore in The Bahamas 40 years ago.

AMERICAN Emmy-winning Tv show host and social media icon Tabitha Brown with her family in Downtown Nassau at the Straw Market.

Modi meets with Zelenskyy hoping to play peacemaker

IN another example of the US media’s apparent reluctance to give due weight to the full range of international affairs, there seems to have been relatively little reporting about Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit last week to Ukraine when he offered to be a peacemaker. This was the first visit to Kyiv by an Indian premier in modern Ukrainian history, and it came little more than a month after a trip by him to Moscow.

It also came after Ukraine’s undeniably daring and successful major incursion in to Russia that has created a new and different dimension to the war. In view of this, Modi’s offer to President Zelensky has become all the more significant, not least because after his July visit to Russia he had been heavily criticised by Zelensky for meeting Putin and being photographed hugging him - particularly at a time of deadly Russian strikes, including one on Kyiv’s biggest children’s hospital which resulted in heavy casualties. As Zelensky said at the time, he was “disappointed to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal”.

Clearly, however, Ukraine considers it could be advantageous to engage with an ally of Moscow.

The Peter Young column

So, when they met last Friday, the two leaders had apparently overcome their differences, and Modi had managed to placate Zelensky sufficiently for the Ukrainians to give him a warm welcome and to create the conditions for him to come up with his offer to mediate.

India’s stance on this should be viewed against the background of the nation’s famed non-aligned approach to geopolitics that it judges to be in its overall interests. This has served it well for decades, as the world’s most populous nation (having recently overtaken China) and its fifth largest economy. It is therefore

unsurprising to see Modi seeking to cultivate his country’s relationship with both Russia and Ukraine in this way. He is signalling that while India has strong relations with the formerapparently partly in order to help bring pressure on China as its main Asian rival - his country also wants to be on good terms with Ukraine and thus continue to maintain close and constructive relations with Western countries. He wants to achieve that without having to placate them, not least as a counter balance to China given the West’s capacity and willingness to try to keep China in check.

Thus, India is working closely with the West while maintaining good relations with Russia. It should also be noted that Russia is India’s major supplier of oil – thus helping Moscow’s war economy at a time it has been hit by Western sanctions - and of arms and defence equipment.

To the annoyance of the West, India recently has done little more than regret and deplore publicly, on humanitarian grounds, the war and loss of life in Ukraine while declining to blame and condemn Russia specifically for its invasion, bombing campaign and ongoing conflict. At the same time, India calls for all countries to respect

the territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations worldwide. It therefore continues to express concern about the Ukraine war and is pushing for diplomacy and dialogue to end it.

As a country, therefore, that enjoys close relations with both Russia and Western countries – and now Ukraine as well – it sees itself as uniquely well positioned to be a peacemaker. Of course, as is well known, India does not like other countries mediating in relation to its own internal issues like the Kashmir dispute with its history of tension and conflict.

But it regards the Ukraine war as an international issue and thus quite different in nature – and what it is offering is to provide a bridge between the parties rather than to interfere in another country’s affairs.

In addition to reasserting its policy of non-alignment, it seems that India also wants continually to ramp up its bilateral engagement with what are considered by many as the big four of Europe – Britain, Germany, France and Italy. Moreover, reportedly, it is looking for greater trade and investment in relation to countries in eastern Europe like Austria and Poland which explains in part why Modi was in Poland before travelling by rail to Ukraine from the latter. Thus, as already mentioned, it seems that the Indian prime minister regards his country as a mediator which is well placed at least to initiate peace talks through diplomacy and dialogue. Reportedly, Modi said to the Ukrainians that he had told Putin firmly that territorial and other disputes could not be settled on the battlefield. He had also urged Zelensky to sit down for peace talks with the Russians to end the fighting and bring about a lasting peace.

To many observers, the Ukrainian offensive into Russia has changed its strategic position to such an extent that Putin might now be encouraged, or even forced, to negotiate. So the timing for some sort of intervention by India is probably propitious – and the ending of this terrible and unnecessary war of already two and a half years could finally be in sight, however distant that prospect might still seem. If so, perhaps the balanced diplomacy, pursued by India as a non-aligned nation, will have paid off.

IS I T TOO EARLY TO HOLD NEW BR I T ISH GOVERNMENT TO ACCOUNT?

WHILE in a democracy a strong and vibrant press is charged to hold government to account, it is essential for the so-called Fourth Estate to remain at all times fair and objective and be seen as being truthful, reasonable and accurate. That applies as much in Britain as here at home in The Bahamas where everything a government undertakes should be under proper scrutiny on behalf of the tax-paying public.

This thought struck me forcibly when studying the latest reports and assessments in the UK press of the new British government’s performance since its overwhelming victory in the general election on July 4. While prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government is still finding its feet after less than two months in office, the rightwing press, in particular, is already on the attack with a vengeance. The honeymoon period, during which Starmer and his colleagues were widely praised for their handling of the recent riots, appears to be over already as the same people are now being criticised by some as being “clueless and cowardly”.

Some in the UK press are saying that, following a long period of Tory rule, the wave of optimism in the country about a new political era following Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997 has been absent this time. They say this is because of the lack of a sense that this year’s election result really reflected

the popular will, despite Labour’s landslide victory and substantial majority. In an earlier column after the election, I explained that Labour won only 34 per cent of the vote in a generally low voter turnout. But, because of the relative success of other smaller parties who came first in more seats than usual under Britain’s “first past the post” electoral system,

Labour were able to win two thirds of the seats in the House of Commons with only one third of the vote.

Some in the press are even saying that this year’s election result was one of the most perverse in British democratic history. But to counter this, it should be emphasized that the elections were well organised and conducted with copybook efficiency in a calm

and peaceful environment with no violence so that, in many ways, it should serve as a model for other countries to follow.

Nonetheless, with free speech and a free press any government will find itself open to criticism – and it is important for those in power and authority to engage in a dialogue rather than hide behind false, manufactured barriers which is what authoritarian leaders and despots do.

The press are saying already that the latest polls are showing that more than 50 per cent of people in the country think it is on the wrong track under Starmer’s new government which appears to be staggering from one crisis to another. It has, they say, lost credibility as it allegedly shies away from the notion that it is free enterprise that grows the economy and pays for public services. Already, state bureaucracy and the so-called diversity industry are growing. But the major complaint I have seen is that the government is already capitulating to the unions by giving in to unrealistic inflation-busting pay demands by public sector workers while threatening higher taxes and placing too great an emphasis on divisive identity politics. Its worst decision so far is said to be withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance for pensioners instead of tackling benefit fraud that is much needed. What is more, nothing has been announced so far about how to deal with illegal

The silly season across the pond

WITH the month of August nearly at an end, I am tempted in today’s column to repeat what I wrote in August last year about what is often termed in Britain “the silly season”. With apologies for what might be deemed idleness on my part, I accordingly now return to the subject. In Britain, the silly season was a period during the summer months when frivolous or inconsequential stories appeared in the mass media because of a lack of other so-called

serious news. The height of the silly season was August when Parliament was in recess, schools were closed and many people were on vacation. In Europe, so many things close down for August – except of course in holiday destinationsas people leave the cities for their annual vacations. They do not return until the first week of September. In France, this is called “ la rentree” which signifies that the long summer holidays have come to an

end, and it’s time to return to work, to the office, to school and normal life.

Amidst a slowdown in activity, however, newspapers still had to fill the space normally devoted to political and economic news. So there was a mischievous temptation to float stories which made readers doubtful of their authenticity but were sufficiently plausible to make them wonder whether the content might just be true. The scope for such tales was endless, and some

writers delighted in deliberately misleading people in a subtle fashion designed to intrigue and confuse in equal measure. Such practice accorded with the traditional British sense of humour and was seen as harmlessly amusing. But, alas, it seems to have died away in the modern era of instant communication and the 24/7 news cycle when everything can be readily checked on the internet – and, as people have a habit of saying, more’s the pity.

immigration – apart from renaming it “irregular”.

The principal fear being voiced by many is the danger under a socialist government of returning to the chaos and crisis of the 1970s in Britain. This turbulent decade was characterized by skyrocketing inflation, high interest rates, high unemployment and low growth (called by economists stagflation).

Historians describe the decade as one marked by “a pervasive sense of crisis and discontent with few

parallels in our modern history”. It was said to be a uniquely drab and depressing period culminating in what was called the winter of discontent in 1978-79. Britain was on the brink of bankruptcy and was forced to go to the International Monetary Fund for a loan. In the modern world most of this seems barely credible. It is hard to think that today’s politicians could knowingly allow it to happen again. But the press needs to be there to keep them up to the mark.

IN this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, shows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine on Friday.

Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP

BRITISH Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Photo: AP

Residents hold second protest against GBPC over electricity fee increase

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A PROTEST dubbed the “Bend or Break” rally was held last night in Freeport, as part of a campaign against the proposed rate hike by the Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC).

Despite a modest turnout, organisers plan to hold additional rallies across various constituencies—from West End to East End and Sweeting’s Cay—urging residents to stand up and send a strong message to the power company and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

United across political divides, attendees wore Bahamian colours and waved Bahamian flags as speakers took the stage.

Senator James Turner highlighted the deterioration of utility services, including water and electricity, in Grand Bahama, despite rising costs.

He said: “All around the world, people are discovering ways to lower the cost of electricity. What makes you think it is appropriate to start increasing the cost of electricity?”

He pointed to the disparity in solar energy use between Nassau and Grand Bahama and urged residents to stand up against GBPC. “There is something

wrong with that. When something is wrong, you ought to stand up,” he said. “This is GB’s time to stand and say no to certain things; I say no to abuse because it is wrong in any form.”

Rashad Adderley, a local government representative, invoked the memory of the late Sir Lynden Pindling’s famous “Bend or Break” speech from 1969, calling for renewed action in Freeport. “In 2024, we are here to resurrect Sir Lynden’s spirit to do it again. In GB, we are suffering,” he said, noting that residents are paying monthly light bills of $400 to $900. “When is this going to stop? Are we going to allow them to do this to us? Do you want this to keep happening?”

He encouraged residents to support the rallies and boycotts. “We need to have a blackout and let them feel who we are,” he urged.

Business owner and lawyer Paco Deal criticised GBPC for dismissing residents’ complaints. “When you complain about issues, they send you to their Smart House office to see if something is wrong with your home wiring, which is a cop-out because it’s their way of finding an excuse,” he said. He also condemned the ongoing storm recovery charge, asking: “How much longer do we have to pay for hurricane repair? The hurricane passed almost six

years ago, and we’re still paying. So what happens when another hurricane comes? Are we going to pay for ten to 15 years?”

Iram Lewis, MP for Central Grand Bahama, said: :First of all, I am a Grand Bahamian. We cannot take any more burdens. I am here to support my people.”

Richard Johnson warned the campaign would not stop until the GBPC and the Port Authority either “bend or break”. “We are not afraid; you either bend or break,” he declared.

Mr Johnson, who lives in Nassau but was born in Grand Bahama, said: “When you hurt, I hurt. I will stand for the people of GB.”

He said he would never be bought out by GBPC, adding: “There are many people who got bought out for fighting for the people of GB. They got bought out, paid off, and they’re gone. But I am here to tell you, I am not the same.”

Mr Johnson also criticised successive governments for failing to confront the Port Authority, accusing them of being influenced by financial incentives. However, he commended the PLP leadership under Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis for standing up to the Port Authority. He said he believes GBPC is detrimental to Grand Bahama, citing the proposed rate

increase, damage to people’s appliances, and poor service.

He said he is not seeking any political nomination

Pintard calls public feud between government and GBPA ‘shameful’ and a disservice to residents

BY DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard has condemned the public feud between government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), calling it “shameful” and a disservice to the people of Grand Bahama.

He accused both parties of deflecting blame onto each other in an effort to deceive the public.

Mr Pintard called for “mature, sensible dialogue” between the stakeholders, saying: “This childish row between the

government and the GBPA is shameful, disgraceful, and it really hurts people on the ground in Grand Bahama.”

Mr Pintard spoke as a guest on the radio talk show Making It Make Sense with host Darren Cooper on Dove 103.7 on Monday. The Davis administration has demanded that the GBPA pay over $300m it allegedly owes the government from the last five fiscal years under clause 1(5)(c) of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA). The GBPA denies owing anything.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has also accused the GBPA of

failing to fulfill its obligations under the HCA, claiming the current model is not working.

Mr Pintard, MP for Marco City, said the ongoing conflict is undermining investor confidence in Grand Bahama, adding that politicians from New Providence are indifferent because they are not directly affected.

“It is not hurting politicians who fly in to run up talks; their bread is buttered on both sides. It hurts the residents of GB. The row is eroding the confidence of people who wish to invest in this economy,” he said.

Mr Pintard said there was a need for changes in the GBPA’s structure and its shareholders, but that Grand Bahamians do not want the government to assume control over certain municipal functions, such as licensing.

“Remember when the two families were fighting, it eroded the confidence of the people,” he said. “This is precisely why we should no longer have the configuration of just two families who don’t get along to the extent that we needed them to get along in order to benefit the community. When the shareholders fight, they cannot come up

with a collective vision and sustained strategy to reinvigorate the economy.”

Mr Pintard suggested discussions between government and the GBPA and Port licensees - who he said should be part of the new municipal government configuration and become shareholders in the GBPA.

He said: “The government is having a public row on a matter where they have the moral authority and persuasion to cause some things to happen. The question is, why aren’t they having that conversation?

He called for “open and honest conversations” and said: “Don’t flam the public, don’t try to deceive the public who are desperate for change by giving them the impression it ain’t me.

“Grand Bahama doesn’t play. Grand Bahama has survived multiple hurricanes. We have endured the worst of the worst and we keep fighting. So, don’t play games.”

“I believe the government is behaving similarly to the GBPA. Both the central government and the municipal government (GBPA) tend to use each other as scapegoats when our people are angry. ‘When the natives are restless, let’s blame someone else for what we are not getting done.”

LEADER OF THE FNM MICHAEL PINTARD

adding: “We are here to fight for the people of GB, and we are here to say enough is enough.We plan to hold town hall meetings

across Grand Bahama in the coming weeks, starting in the west and working our way to the East and Sweeting’s Cay.”

A SMALL crowd gathered yesterday evening to protest the electricity fee increase proposed by the Grand Bahama Power Company. Central Grand Bahama MP Iram Lewis and PLP chairman Fred Mitchell also attended.

Tulsi Gabbard endorses Trump, Harris campaign says

it’s raised $540M

Associated Press

THE campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are arguing in advance of their high-stakes Sept. 10 debate over whether microphones should be muted except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak. President Joe Biden’s campaign team made microphone muting a condition of its decision to accept any debates this year. Trump on Sunday suggested he might not show up for the ABC-hosted debate.

Trump travelled to Michigan on Monday to address the National Guard Association of the United States conference in Detroit. He was joined by former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who endorsed him.

Meanwhile, Harris’ campaign said it has now raised $540 million and saw a surge of donations during the Democratic National Convention last week.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/ election-2024.

Here’s the Latest:

Georgia judge rules independent and third-party candidates ineligible

A judge says four independent and third-party candidates are ineligible to appear on Georgia’s presidential ballot.

The final decision is now up to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after Monday’s rulings by Michael Malihi, an administrative law judge. If affirmed, the rulings would block independents Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West, as well as the Green Party’s Jill Stein and the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s Claudia De la Cruz.

Kennedy has said he wants to withdraw his name in Georgia and some other closely contested states after he endorsed Donald Trump. Democrats legally challenged whether all four qualify for the ballot, seeking to block candidates who could siphon votes from Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris after Joe Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020.

Raffensperger must make a decision before Georgia mails military and overseas ballots beginning Sept. 17.

Spokesperson Mike Hassinger said Raffensperger’s office is reviewing the decisions and will decide each as soon as possible. If finalized by Raffensperger, the rulings mean that Georgia voters will choose among only Harris, Trump and Libertarian Chase Oliver in the presidential race.

Voter Voice: ‘I wish he would just state the facts’

Michelle Boyack of Salt Lake City was heartened by Trump’s speech because, she said, “I appreciate the way he supports the military.”

And although Boyack, a 45-year-old national guard spouse, plans to vote for Trump, she said she wished he would have been less aggressive in criticizing Biden and more focused on policy.

“It’s hard because we’re not supposed to be political,” said Boyack. “I wish he would just state the facts of what he plans to do if elected, and not so much going after Biden.”

Jill Stein will remain on Wisconsin presidential ballot

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein will remain on the ballot in the crucial swing state of

Wisconsin after the state Supreme Court decided on Monday not to hear a Democratic challenge seeking to oust her.

The presence of independent and third party candidates on the ballot could be a deciding factor in a state where four of the last six presidential elections have been decided by between 5,700 votes and about 23,000 votes.

The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court decided against hearing the challenge brought by David Strange, an employee of the Democratic National Committee, who sought to oust Stein from the ballot. The court did not explain its reasoning.

Michael White, co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party, called the complaint a “mark of fear by the Democratic Party” and hailed the court’s decision not to consider it.

Stein last appeared on the Wisconsin ballot 2016, when she won just over 31,000 votes — more than Donald Trump’s winning margin of just under 23,000 votes. Some Democrats have blamed her for helping Trump win the state and the presidency that year.

Voter Voice: ‘Unfortunately, decorum has gone out of town’

Karen Dill said she didn’t mind Trump’s harsh criticism of Biden, the US military’s commander in chief, in part because both major party candidates were invited to speak. Harris declined the invitation.

“There is a big difference between our military now and before, when he was president,” said Dill, the 66-year-old retired accountant whose husband is a 42-year-retired national guardsman. “So, I didn’t think it was out of order.”

“And, unfortunately, decorum has gone out of town,” said Dill, who plans to vote for Trump. “Would it be great if he didn’t act like that? Wouldn’t that be great and wonderful. It’s just where we are now.”

Families of killed service members are still fghting for answers

In a media call on Monday with Trump’s running mate JD Vance and Republican congressmen, families of some of the service members who were killed by the bombing three years ago said they had not heard from Harris and they are still fighting for answers on how their loved ones died.

Alicia Lopez, the mother of Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, said she wanted to be present when they fired those responsible for the operation that led to their deaths.

“For them to think that is OK and treat it as another page in a book that they’re just flipping over for the next chapter it saddens me and frightens me all at the same time,” she said. “I do have a son that’s currently serving, and I pray that I don’t get another knock on my door because of the lack of responsibilities this administration has for our military.”

Mark Schmitz, father of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, said he wanted politicians from both parties to ask harder questions at the Afghanistan War hearings.

“This is not a Republican versus Democrat issue, this is an American issue. This is a lack of leadership, and this is the result. America needs to recognize that when choosing a leader,” he said. “Those that are privileged enough to challenge these people in the committee setting need to take full advantage of that to get to the bottom of it.”

Tulsi Gabbard endorses Trump against former foe Harris

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential bid, furthering her shift away from the party she sought to represent four years ago and linking herself to the GOP nominee’s critiques of Vice

Minnesota National Guard left openings for critics to pounce on his military record

Kamala Harris and the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal.

Appearing Monday with Trump in Detroit, Gabbard, a National Guard veteran who served two tours of duty in the Middle East, said that the GOP nominee “understands the grave responsibility that a president and commander in chief bears for every single one of our lives.”

The pair appeared at the National Guard Association of the United States on the third anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 US service members and more than 100 Afghans. Gabbard accompanied Trump earlier Monday to Arlington National Cemetery, when the former president laid wreaths in honor of three of the slain service members — Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss.

Takeaways from the AP’s review of Tim Walz’s descriptions of his military record

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years, rising through the enlisted ranks and receiving an honourable discharge. It is a record seen as one of his political strengths. Republicans are trying to turn it into a weakness.

They have seized on criticism from former National Guard members denouncing Walz, the Minnesota governor, for retiring from the military in 2005 to run for Congress shortly before his unit was deployed to Iraq and for overstating the rank he held after he left the service. They also have pointed to a comment Walz made that implied he had seen combat, when he had not. It is a risky strategy for Republicans that invites comparison between Walz, with decades of military service, and former President Donald Trump, who received a series of deferments to avoid serving in Vietnam, including one attained with a physician’s letter stating he suffered from bone spurs in his feet.

Trump takes stage at National Guard Association’s conference in Detroit

Former President Donald Trump has taken the stage at the National Guard Association of the United States’ general conference in downtown Detroit’s Huntington Center conference hall.

It’s the first of several stops for the Republican presidential ticket this week in Michigan, a pivotal state in the race for 270 Electoral College votes. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance plans to campaign in Michigan Tuesday and Trump plans to be back Thursday.

John Kolb, a retired Minnesota National Guard colonel, knew Tim Walz by reputation as an “excellent leader” who adroitly guided the enlisted troops in his field artillery battalion. But Kolb was stunned by what he saw when Walz left the military and entered politics.

Walz retired from the National Guard in 2005 to run for Congress just before his unit received an order to mobilize for the war in Iraq. Then during the campaign, Walz overstated the rank he held at the point he left the service.

“That is not the behaviour I would expect out of a senior noncommissioned officer,” Kolb said in an interview.

Those two sides of Walz’s service have been in the spotlight now that the Minnesota governor is the Democratic nominee for vice president. Supporters have lauded Walz’s 24 years of service in the National Guard, where he rose through the enlisted ranks and received an honourable discharge.

She’s the sitting vice president. She’s the candidate of change. How Harris is having it both ways

She’s the sitting vice president who has been in office for 3 1/2 years. She’s also the presidential candidate of just five weeks promising a “new way forward.”

Kamala Harris is having it both ways as she hits the campaign trail after the Democratic National Convention, taking credit for parts of President Joe Biden’s record in rallies staged in front of Air Force Two while casting herself as a new leader who rails against “the politics of the past.”

In every presidential cycle candidates run on experience or freshness, but Harris so far appears to be successfully harmonizing two seemingly competing messages, much to the frustration of former President Donald Trump and his allies.

“She has this powerful and unique and interesting advantage that we have never seen before in our politics,” said Patrick Gaspard, CEO of the Democratic-leaning think tank Center for American Progress Action Fund and a former executive director of the Democratic National Committee under President Barack Obama.

Harris campaign says it’s raised $540 million and saw a surge of donations during the convention

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign says it has now raised $540 million for its election battle against Republican nominee former President Donald Trump.

The campaign has had no problems getting supporters to open their wallets since President Joe Biden

announced on July 21 he was ending his campaign and quickly endorsed Harris. The campaign said it saw a surge of donations during last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago where Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, accepted their nominations.

“Just before Vice President Harris’ acceptance speech Thursday night, we officially crossed the $500 million mark,” campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote in a memo released by the campaign on Sunday.

“Immediately after her speech, we saw our best fundraising hour since launch day.”

Trump tries to connect Harris to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on anniversary of attack

Former President Donald Trump on Monday is tying Vice President Kamala Harris to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 US service members.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, laid wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of three of the slain service members — Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss. Later in the day, he was going to Michigan to address the National Guard Association of the United States conference.

Monday marks three years since the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed the American service members and more than 100 Afghans. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Trump would veto legislation establishing a federal abortion ban, Vance says

Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination “on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth.” America, Barack Obama thundered, “is ready for a better story.” JD Vance insisted that the Biden administration “is not the end of our story,” and Donald Trump called on fellow Republicans to “write our own thrilling chapter of the American story.”

“This week,” comedian and former Obama administration speechwriter Jon Lovett said Thursday on NBC, “has been about a story.”

In the discourse of American politics, this kind of talk from both sides is unsurprising — fitting, even. Because in the campaign season of 2024, just as in the fabric of American culture at large, the notion of “story” is everywhere.

This year’s political conventions were, like so many of their kind, curated collections of elaborate stories carefully spun to accomplish one goal — getting elected. But lurking behind them was a pitched, high-stakes battle over how to frame the biggest story of all — the one about America that, as Harris put it, should be “the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”

In boosting clean energy in Minnesota, Walz lays foundation for climate infuence if Harris wins

When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz strolled onstage to welcome a conference of clean power advocates to Minneapolis in May, he was quick to note that his state is now getting a little over half of its power from renewables. In the next breath, Walz said Minnesota would never get to 100% — a goal he helped set — without changing

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance says Donald Trump would not support a national abortion ban if elected president and would veto such legislation if it landed on his desk.

“I can absolutely commit that,” Vance said when asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether he could commit to Trump not imposing such a ban. “Donald Trump’s view is that we want the individual states and their individual cultures and their unique political sensibilities to make these decisions because we don’t want to have a nonstop federal conflict over this issue.”

The Ohio senator also insisted that Trump, the former president who is the Republican nominee this year, would veto such legislation if it were passed by Congress.

“I mean, if you’re not supporting it as the president of the United States, you fundamentally have to veto it,” he said in an interview that aired Sunday.

Behind the rhetoric, a presidential campaign is a competition about how to tell the American story

what he called “outdated” permitting laws.

“There are things we are doing that are too cumbersome, they don’t fit where we’re at, they add costs, and they make it more prohibitive to get where we need to go,” Walz told the industry group American Clean Power.

A few weeks later, he signed legislation to speed things up. Developers no longer have to demonstrate that a clean energy project — that is, solar and wind, storage and transmission projects — is needed as part of Minnesota’s energy system. And they no longer have to study alternative sites and transmission line routes — a requirement that had effectively doubled the possible opponents for a project.

Walz’s effort to resolve a major obstacle to the clean energy transition nationwide is getting new attention since he was tapped as Kamala Harris’ running mate. His experience enacting such laws in Minnesota could position him as a leader on climate issues if Harris wins in November.

President

Walz’s exit from

DONALD TRUMP | KAMALA HARRIS

TIM WALZ

JD VANCE

Lake Mary, Florida, rallies to beat Taiwan 2-1 in eight innings to win Little League World Series title

By AMANDA VOGT Associated Press

SOUTH WILLIAM-

SPORT, Pa. (AP) — Lathan Norton was sick and didn’t play on Saturday at the Little League World Series. But on Sunday he scored the winning run in the championship.

Lathan raced home from second base on an overthrow at first as Lake Mary, Florida, rallied to beat Taiwan 2-1 in eight innings and claim the title.

“It was the greatest feeling ever,” said Lathan, who had a fever of 102 on Saturday but recovered before the championship. “I still haven’t had time to let it all sink in, but it feels like the most amazing thing ever.”

Taiwan clung to a 1-0 lead from the first inning until Florida’s last at-bat.

The Southeast region representatives outhit Taiwan and had a runner on third in three separate innings, but couldn’t get a run across.

Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Florida got runners on first and second and DeMarcos Mieses, who struck out in his previous

two at-bats, delivered. Hitting the gap in shallow left, he gave Chase Anderson enough time to sprint home and tie the game.

In the eighth, Lathan was placed by rule on second base to start the inning. Hunter Alexander bunted and the throw to first went into the outfield.

Florida players poured out of the dugout while the Taiwan players crumpled.

“I was just thinking, ‘Stay fair, stay fair,’” Hunter said. “After that ball goes past me, I say, ‘Let’s go!’”

Taiwan drew two straight walks to start the game. After a bunt moved the runners over and a pop out, Hu Yen-Chun hit a ball toward third, which ricocheted off James Feliciano.

Chiu Wei-Che scored easily. But it was Taiwan’s only run.

This is the first championship in nine tries for Florida, which also came from behind in its 10-7 semifinal win over Texas on Saturday, scoring five runs in its final at-bat.

“We came here to do something. We came here to do a job, and today we

accomplished that job,” Florida manager Jonathan Anderson said. “We took a loss to Texas, we battled all the way back and here we are to talk about how we won this whole thing.”

Taiwan was a dominant team at the LLWS from 1969, when it won its first championship, to 1996, when it claimed its 17th. But it had only made the title game once since, in 2009, a loss to California, before Sunday. Lee ChengTa managed both that team and this year’s club, KueiShan Little League from Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Last season, he led the same team — with a completely different roster — to a third-place finish.

Coaches for Taiwan, representing the AsiaPacific region, declined to attend the postgame news conference.

LAKE MARY, Florida’s James Feliciano (14) takes a selfie of the team after their win against Taiwan during the Little League World Series Championship game in South Williamsport, Pa., on Sunday.

MEMBERS of the Taiwan team react after losing the Little League World Series Championship game to Lake Mary, Fla., in South Williamsport, Pa., on Sunday.

LAKE MARY, Florida’s Hunter Alexander, left front, celebrates with teammates after laying down a game-winning, walk-off bunt in the eighth inning of the Little League World Series Championship game against Taiwan in South Williamsport, Pa., on Sunday.

(AP Photos/Gene J. Puskar)

US Open: Gauff, Olympic gold medallist

Zheng win their first-round matches

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff had an easy start to her U.S. Open title defence, rolling to a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Varvara Gracheva yesterday.

Gauff needed just over an hour, looking more like the player who won her first major title last year at age 19 than the one who had dropped her last two matches before coming to New York. But Gauff said she had practiced well since those losses in Toronto and Cincinnati, and wasn’t surprised that it showed in her play. “So honestly, I was just telling myself that I’m ready,” Gauff said.

“I feel like I’m finding my game, whereas the other two tournaments that I played at, even the practice sessions I was doing, I just felt off.”

Zheng Qinwen, the Olympic gold medallist in women’s tennis, stayed in the tournament by rallying for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Amanda Anisimova.

Zheng began the Grand Slam season by reaching the final of the Australian Open. She had a difficult assignment to start the year’s final major in Anisimova, an American who earlier this month reached the final of a hardcourt warmup tournament in Montreal and returned to the top 50 of the WTA rankings.

But the No. 7 seed from China solved Anisimova’s power as the match went on to move into the second round as she turns her attention back to the Grand Slams after becoming China’s first singles gold medallist at the Paris Olympics.

“You have the first one, of course you’re going to stay a long time in the successful feeling. I did that in the Australian Open but I was just in the final, and the effect takes me so long to come back to reality,” Zheng said.

“I had this experience already, so this time when I had success in the Olympic Games, to come to the next

tournament, I say, everything starts at zero. You are not anymore the Olympic champion. Just be humble

and try to work, fight every single match, because if you don’t fight, you have a big chance to lose.”

Maria Sakkari, the No. 9 seed from Greece, became the first seeded player to be eliminated when she

stopped playing after losing the first set against China’s Wang Yafan. Sakkari, who also lost in the first round last year at Flushing Meadows, received treatment on her shoulder in the first set.

Men’s winners yesterday included No. 4 Alexander Zverev, No. 6 Andrey Rublev, No. 8 Casper Ruud, and Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, the Nos. 12 and 13 seeds.

Shelton eliminated 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, who was playing his final Grand Slam match before retiring after wrist injuries.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic played Radu Albot in the last match in the main stadium last night.

Both No. 1 seeds, Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner, are slated to play their firstround matches today.

Sinner has been the centre of attention since news emerged last week that he tested positive for steroids twice in March but avoided a suspension.

FANS CAN MOVE AROUND IN THE STANDS AND DON’T NEED TO WAIT FOR CHANGEOVERS TO ENTER OR EXIT

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer

NEW YORK (AP) —

Imagine if fans at a Major League Baseball game were told they needed to wait until the end of an inning to go grab a beer and a hot dog. Or if folks at an NFL or NBA game weren’t supposed to head to the restroom until after a quarter finished. Would never happen, right?

That, though, is essentially what etiquette long has demanded at tennis matches, particularly at Grand Slam tournaments such as the U.S. Open, which started yesterday: No one gets in or out during a game. Indeed, not even between games, sometimes. At the start of a set, for example, everyone has been required to hang on until the first changeover, which arrives after three games.

Not anymore at Flushing Meadows. Under a new policy instituted this year, people with tickets for certain sections at every court — from 23,859-capacity Arthur Ashe Stadium all the way down to 336-seat Courts No. 8 and 16 — can move around whenever they want, even during play. And there’s no more twiddling thumbs as multiple games go by before entering or exiting; that’s now permitted after every game. Spectators seemed to love it on Day 1; might take some players a bit to

get used to this, which also was tried at the Australian Open in January.

“I noticed it, but once the point starts, I don’t notice it. I guess with college tennis I’ve played ... there’s a lot of situations where I’ve been in that’s a lot crazier than a couple of people walking with drinks back to their seat — Honey Deuces,” said 2023 U.S. Open semifinalist Ben Shelton, referring to the signature cocktail the tournament peddles for $23 a pop.

“I don’t really mind it,” added Shelton, the 2022 NCAA champion for Florida and a winner in Ashe on Monday. “I’m sure some players will be annoyed with it this week.”

Most players asked Monday, including defending champion Coco Gauff, echoed Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic’s take: “Doesn’t really bother me that much.”

There are, after all, distractions aplenty at the noisiest Slam, from rowdy late-night crowds to airplanes zooming overhead to the clatter of nearby trains.

U.S. Open tournament referee Jake Garner acknowledged this could “take some getting used to, from the players’ point of view,” because they’ll consider it bothersome. On the other hand, Garner said in an interview, “It might be seen as a radical thing for tennis, but I’m not sure

Duplantis

trying to increase the fan experience and making it more enjoyable for them should be that radical.”

During several matches around the grounds on Day 1 of the two-week event, competition generally continued without a hitch as ticketholders wandered up and down staircases, ambled along walkways or just generally milled about.

Occasionally, a player who was supposed to serve paused a little extra before starting a point or

a returner held up a hand asking for more time.

One thing missing: The usual admonitions from chair umpires about “Find your seats quickly, please!”

Rachel Ferman Halkias, who works at YouTube and has made more than a half-dozen visits to the U.S. Open, was pleased when an usher let her in after the second set’s first game of 12th-seeded Daria Kasatkina’s victory at Court No. 7.

“I was kind of prepared to wait longer, but I like

breaks world record in pole vault for 3rd time this year by clearing 6.26 metres

CHORZOW, Poland (AP) — Armand Duplantis has broken the world record in the pole vault again, this time clearing 6.26 metres in a Diamond League meet in Poland on Sunday.

Duplantis, the Louisiana-born 24-year-old who competes for his mother’s native Sweden, added another centimetre to his world record in Chorzow.

It’s the third time this year that he has set a world record. He did so in the recent Olympic Games in Paris, clearing 6.25 metres after clinching the gold medal.

Duplantis, who is widely known as “Mondo,” has now broken the world record 10 times in his career — each time by one centimetre.

this. Otherwise, I would have been standing on the stairs for who knows how long? As long as it doesn’t disturb the players, it’s a good thing,” she said.

“I’m OK with all the rules tennis has, but let’s evolve.” Kasatkina said the issue is when there’s movement behind the baselines; it’s not a big deal when people shift along the court’s sides.

“It’s tough to compare with other sports, because tennis is one against one, and you’re very focused.

With team sports, there can be 10 or 20 players moving all the time.

“Also with team sports, it’s loud from the beginning to the end and you get used to the noise when it’s constant. When you’re playing in silence and then just some noise comes from somewhere,” she said, snapping her fingers, “you notice it.”

Lisa and Ferenc Miskolczi, a married couple from New Jersey watching at Louis Armstrong Stadium, appreciate the different rules.

“It’s the only sport where you have to be quiet for them to play; it’s pretty funny that they can’t concentrate,” said Lisa, a senior director of accounting.

“So I love the change — and players need to get used to that.”

One of the reasons the U.S. Open’s Garner gave for the change was to avoid making spectators miss chunks of matches, especially during the initial three games of a set.

Ferenc, a health care project manager, agreed.

“When you have lines of 100 fans outside, and a game can be 13 or 15 minutes, that’s frustrating,” he said.

“This needs to spread to other tournaments.”

Matteo Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon runnerup, expects it to.

“I think,” Berrettini said, “this is going to be the future.”

COCO GAUFF, of the United States, reacts after defeating Varvara Gracheva, of France, during the

round of the U.S. Open tennis championships yesterday in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

ARMAND DUPLANTIS, of Sweden, competes in the men’s pole vault final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, August 5, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

TENNIS fans move in and out of their seats during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships yesterday in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Chisholm Jr cracks solo home run in 5-2 win over Nationals

Chisholm Jr was acquired from the Miami Marlins on Saturday, July 29 for three minor leaguers: catcher Agustín Ramírez, infielder Jared Serna and infielder Abrahan Ramírez.

Having played in the 2022 All-Star as a second baseman, the 26-year-old Chisholm Jr has played centre field for most of the past two seasons.

Chisholm Jr was batting .249 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs this year and is a .246 career hitter with 66 homers and 205 RBIs in five seasons. He has 22 stolen bases, matching last year’s total and one shy of his career high.

On September 1, 2000, Chisholm Jr became the seventh Bahamian to play in MLB, following in the footsteps of outfielder Antoan Richardson, who played from 2011-2014 with the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees before he became a first base coach with the New York Mets.

The previous five players were infielder Andre Rogers, who played from 1957-67 for the Yankees, San Francisco, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh

NEW York Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. celebrates his home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Pirates; outfielder Tony Curry from 1960-1966 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians; outfielder Ed Armbrister from 1973-1977 for the Cincinnati Reds; pitcher Wenty Ford in 1973 for the Atlanta Braves and outfielder Wilfred Culmer in 1983 for Cleveland.

Following Chisholm Jr, Lucius Fox Jr also played as a shortstop with the Washington Nationals in 2022. FROM PAGE 16

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Under-20 athletes to face the world

“I am going to support all of the athletes as they are my own and to provide each of them with the best experience at these Championships,” he said.

“I am elated about these championships and will lead this team with respect and love.”

Here’s how the athletes will line up to compete during the chmp[ionships: Today 11:10am - Shayann Demeritte in the girls’ 1200m heats.

12:10pm - Carlos Brown in the boys’ 100m heats.

12:10am - Jeremiah Adderley in the boys’ 100m heats.

12:35pm - Calae Jackson in the girls’ discus qualification round.

5:45pm - Shayann Demeritte in the girls’ 100m semifinals if she advances.

6:07pm - Carlos Brown and Jeremiah Adderley in the boys’ 100m semifinals if they advance.

Wednesday 10am - Taysha Stubbs in the girls’ javelin qualification round.

10:38am - Kel-Mahiri Hanna in the girls’ 400m hurdles heats.

1pm - Zion Miller in the boys’ 400m heats.

5:06pm - Brendan Vanderpool in the boys’ pole vault qualification round.

5:29pm - Calea Jackson in the girls’ discus final.

6:20pm - Zion Miller in the boys’ 400m semifinals.

7:30pm - Shayann Demeritte in the girls’ 200m final if she advances.

7:47pm - Carlos Brown and Jeremiah Adderley in the boys’ 200m final if they advance.

Thursday 11:20am - Tayshaun Robinson and Tahu Brown in the boys’ 100m hurdles heats.

12:15pm - Alexis Roberts in the girls’ 200m heats.

1:10pm - Carlos Brown and Andrew Styles in the boys’ 200m heats.

4:30pm - Tayshaun Robinson and Tahu Brown in

the boys’ 110m hurdles if they advance.

5:47pm - Alexis Roberts in the girls’ 200m semifinal if she advances.

6:10pm - Carlos Brown and Andrew Styles in the boys’ 200m semifinals if they advance.

7:50pm - Zion Miller in the boys’ 400m final if he advances.

Friday 1pm - Boys 4 x 400 metre heats.

4:35pm - Kel-Mahri Hanna in the girls’ 400 metre hurdles semifinal if she advances.

5pm - Brendan Vanderpool in the boys’ pole vault final if he advances.

By SCHUYLER DIXON and ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writers

FRISCO, Texas (AP)

— CeeDee Lamb’s monthslong holdout with the Dallas Cowboys is over, and the All-Pro receiver is a close second to Justin Jefferson as the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Lamb and the Cowboys agreed yesterday on a $136 million, four-year contract with $100 million guaranteed, three people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the extension hasn’t been announced.

Lamb missed all of training camp in California after also skipping mandatory minicamp in the offseason.

The June absence at the club’s headquarters started a day after Jefferson agreed with the Minnesota Vikings on a $140 million contract that made him the highestpaid non-QB.

The average annual value of Lamb’s extension is $34 million, which is roughly twice what the 25-year-old former Oklahoma standout will make in the final year of his rookie deal this season.

Coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged that a deal was in place.

6:25pm - Tayshaun Robinson and Tahu Brown in the boys’ 110 metre hurdles final if they advance.

6:45pm - Taysha Stubbs in the girls’ javelin final if she advances.

7:35pm - Alexis Roberts in the girls 200m final if she advances.

7:50pm - Carlos Brown and Andrew Styles in the boys 200 metre final if they advance.

Saturday 5:35pm - Kel-Mahri Hanna in the girls’ 400m hurdles if she advances.

7:50pm - Boys 4 x 400 metre final if The Bahamas advances.

BODYBUILDING NOVICE

SHOW THE Bahamas Bodybuilding Wellness and Fitness Federation will hold its 2024 Novice and National Bodybuilding Competition on Saturday, September 7 at the University of the Bahamas. Competition will be held for men and women in fitness, classic, physique, figure, bikini, wellness and bodybuilding. Tickets are priced at $30 for general admission and $40 for VIP and can be purchased from any of the bodybuilding gymnasiums. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $35 general admission and $45 for VIP.

WRESTLING FIGHT FOR PARADISE THE All Caribbean Wrestling (ACW) will hold its Fight for Paradise Show on Saturday, October 19 at

“The reaction obviously was great,” McCarthy said during a conference call that was scheduled before the club reached a deal with Lamb. “Everybody in the office was fired up.” Lamb was drafted 17th overall in 2020, when the Cowboys were shocked he was still available and didn’t hesitate on a pick at a position that wasn’t really a need at the time.

Jefferson went five picks later, then had at least 1,400 yards receiving in each of his first three seasons.

Lamb wasn’t that prolific but closed the gap significantly last season with 1,749 yards and an NFL-best 135 catches. Lamb completed his trifecta of career highs with 12 touchdowns.

The agreement comes 13 days before Dallas’ opener at Cleveland on September 8. That’s more time than the Cowboys had five years ago when running back Ezekiel Elliott ended a preseason-long holdout four days before the opener.

the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Doors open at 1pm. Wrestlers from throughout the Caribbean and the United States of America will be participating. For ticket information, persons can contact FightForParadise.eventbrite.com TRACK UB CROSS COUNTRY

THE University of the Bahamas will hold its annual Cross Country 2K24 Invitational on Saturday, September 28, starting at 7 am at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium. Interested persons can contact coach Ednal Rolle at 424-6469 or ednql. roolle@ub.edu.bs for more details.

CHESS SUMMER CHESS SHOWDOWN

THE Bahamas Chess Federation will hold its Summer Chess Showdown this weekend at the Q Cafe at Queen’s College. The championships will take place on Saturday and Sunday and will serve as a qualifier for the Bahamas National Chess Championships.

NEW York Yankees’ Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr. (13) celebrates his home run with Alex Verdugo, right, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals yesterday in Washington.

Summer camps inspire marine explorers

By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Education Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF) recently wrapped up a series of engaging summer camps held in New Providence, Eleuthera, and Andros, under the theme “Marine Explorers”.

These camps provided students with unique opportunities to immerse themselves in nature and learn about marine environments through a variety of activities.

During the camps, students explored local beaches and marine protected areas, participated in arts and crafts, played games, and embarked on numerous snorkel adventures.

Equipped with fish ID slates, the young explorers identified various fish and sea creatures, fostering a deep connection with their marine surroundings.

In New Providence, the camp took place at the Ardastra Gardens and Wildlife Conservation Centre.

Over the course of a week, 30 children engaged in hands-on activities that emphasized marine conservation and their role as

future stewards of the environment.

A standout activity was a snorkel trip to Bonefish Pond, accompanied by a presentation from Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.

Henry McWilliam, age 8, shared his enthusiasm: “I enjoyed snorkeling, and learning about bonefish. It was great to see them up close.”

Jonathan Pierre, age 12, highlighted his enjoyment of both snorkeling and making friends: “What I enjoyed most from camp was snorkeling, making friends, and doing arts and crafts.”

Ava Williamson, age 13, appreciated the educational aspects of the camp: “I learned a lot on the snorkels and I also enjoyed answering questions during trivia.”

The second camp was hosted in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera, at the Haynes Library.

Campers participated in daily snorkeling excursions and learned about important

fisheries like the Queen Conch.

They practiced measuring conch lip thickness and encountered a pile of conch shells near a local conch stand that did not meet fisheries regulations.

Chloe Lightbourne, age 12, expressed her interest in future learning: “I liked playing the trivia games, snorkeling, and I want to be able to identify more marine species in the future.”

Cohen Simmons, age 9, was excited about his discovery: “I liked exploring the ocean with the fish ID slates; one day I found a lionfish, after that I just wanted to keep looking for more fish.”

The final camp took place on Kamalame Cay, Andros, where campers enjoyed a boat trip to Pigeon Cay in the Andros North Marine Park.

The journey was highlighted by a pod of dolphins swimming alongside the boat, and the campers snorkeled at the beautiful site.

Alexander Wilson, age 13, was thrilled by the dolphin encounter: “I liked it when the dolphins came up to the boat and swam beside us. I want to come back to see them again.”

Makhi Cox, age 12, wished for more time in nature: “I liked the boat ride and exploring the mangroves. I wish I could learn about nature at this camp all summer long.”

BREEF’s summer camps not only provided fun and educational experiences for young participants but also fostered a strong appreciation for marine conservation and the importance of protecting The Bahamas’ natural heritage.

BACK TO SCHOOL FUN DAY THANKS TO ANGLICAN GREEK COMMUNITY

THE Anglican Greek Community (AGC)

recently organised a Back to School Fun Day at St Agnes Anglican Church, bringing joy and essential support to the children and families of the Bain and Grants Town community.

The church parking lot was alive with laughter and excitement as children participated in a variety of activities while families received much-needed school supplies.

In recognition of the financial challenges faced by many families, the AGC also distributed Sandy’s uniform vouchers, helping ensure that students could start the school year on time despite economic hardships.

Established in 2024, the AGC is a coalition

of members from Historically Black Greek Lettered Organisations, including Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Iota Phi Theta.

Looking ahead, the AGC plans to expand its outreach efforts with upcoming initiatives such as a Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels and other community-focused projects.

The organisation is calling on corporate Bahamas and individuals to support these initiatives to make a lasting impact on those in need.

For more information or to make a donation, contact anglicangreekcommunity242@gmail.com.

$1M DEAL IN ORIS’ NAME

The St Andrew Society of The Bahamas has signed an agreement with Lyford Cay Foundations that will make two scholarships available each year in perpetuity. The $1m donation will establish the “Oris Russell Memorial Scholarship Programme” to fund technical, undergraduate or graduate studies in fields that will directly impact The Bahamas.

The St Andrew Society is giving this gift to honour the wishes and memory of benefactor

FOUR ALUMNI JOIN SAC ADMIN TEAM

ST AUGUSTINE’S College (SAC) board of directors has announced the appointment of four alumni to significant roles within the administration team, effective September 1.

“Oris Russell’s love for The Bahamas was evident through the many ways that he served the country,” said Bruce Raine, secretary for

Oris Stanley Russell, a Bahamian public servant who cared deeply about education. Mr Russell had a 42-year career in civil service and was the recipient of an OBE, the Silver Jubilee medal and was made a Companion Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. He was one of the first Bahamians to go abroad on a government scholarship in 1947, completing a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in agriculture in 1950 and a master’s degree in agriculture in 1951. During his career, Russell served as agriculture director for The Bahamas, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and permanent secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs.

the society. “The impact he made was possible because of the education and knowledge he obtained and brought back to The Bahamas. Through this gift, donated from his estate, future Bahamian leaders

will have this same opportunity to serve the country.”

“We are grateful for the generosity of the St Andrew Society and the late Mr Oris Russell. This is a gift that will positively impact the lives of many Bahamians

for generations to come,” said Dr Nicola VirgillRolle, executive director of Lyford Cay Foundations. For more about Lyford Cay Foundations, visit www.lyfordcayfoundations. org.

Dawn Johnson will assume the role of vice principal, administration and external affairs. A 1985 SAC graduate, Ms Johnson will oversee the administrative functions of the college, manage alumni and PTA relations, drive fundraising and capital projects, and handle public relations and risk management.

Genaye Sturrup has been appointed vice principal, academics, curriculum, and student affairs.

A 1996 SAC graduate, Mrs Sturrup will be responsible for the supervision of the teaching staff, the review and revision of the college’s curriculum, and the oversight of all academic matters.

Vernice Russell, a 1985 SAC graduate, and Maurice Fawkes, a 1993 SAC graduate, will serve as deans of students. In their roles, they will jointly manage all disciplinary matters and collaborate with the guidance department to address the emotional and psychological needs of students.

FROM left, Bruce Raine, the St Andrew Society of The Bahamas; Basil P Goulandris, chairman, Lyford Cay Foundation, Inc; Geoff Andrews, the St Andrew Society of The Bahamas.

COHEN Simmons checks conch lip thickness.

LYNDARCIO Whymns snorkeling above a sea star.

CAMPERS in Eleuthera with certificates.

Our best U20 athletes set to face the world

By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

When the world’s best under-20 athletes start competing today through the rest of the week in Lima, Peru, The Bahamas will have a 12-member team carrying the flag in several events.

During the championships that will conclude on Saturday, the Bahamas will be represented by five women and seven men, including Olympic mixed 4 x 400m relay alternate Zion Miller, who will run in the boys’ 400 metres.

Other members of the team, including a number of CARIFTA Games medallists, are as follows:

Females: Shayann Demeritte - 100m; KeiMahri Hanna - 400m hurdles; Calea Jackson - discus; Alexis Roberts200m and Taysha Stubbs - javelin.

Males - Jeremiah Adderley - 100m; Carlos Brown - 100m and 200m; Tahj Brown - 110m hurdles; Tayshaun Robinson - 110m hurdles; Andrew Styles - 200m and Brendan Vanderpool - pole vault.

The manager of the team is Laketah Charlton, who noted that everybody arrived safely into Lima on

Sunday night and are eager to start competing.

“We have a little bit of a language barrier, but our physiotherapist is very fluent, so we don’t have to worry about it,’ Charlton said. “The Games Village atmosphere is perfect, so we really can’t complain.” Head coach Daron Lightbourne, after going through a light “shake out” session yesterday, said

they are adjusting to the change in weather and the conditions in their environment at the Games Village where they are staying with a few other countries.

“We haven’t seen the competition stadium as yet but the training/warm up stadium area was slightly in chaos, but the athletes and coaches were able to get the pre-competition workouts completed,” he said.

Lightbourne said the team is in Peru with the mindset to represent The Bahamas and show the world although The Bahamas might be small, it’s powerful in talent and can compete against the best.

“The goal is to continue the legacy of previous performances from Team Bahamas at World Athletics U20 championships,” he stressed.

“Encouraging the athletes to stand firm in their training, be mentally tough in their events and enjoy this experience.”

As a former athlete turned coach, Lightbourne said it’s an honour for him to be in his position as the head coach and “it is remarkable and a privilege to respect my country.”

SEE PAGE 14

Oldtimers Softball: Rebels and Home Boys in the win column

THE New Providence Oldtimers Softball Association played a double header on Sunday in the Archdeacon William Thompson Softball Park at the Southern Recreation Grounds.

However, the three games scheduled for Saturday got rained out. Here’s a look at the results of the matches played: Rebels 13, Drifters 9 Val Munroe secured the win on the mound over Keino Stuart. Brendon Major led their offensive attack with

a 3-for-5 day at the plate with two runs batted in and as many scored. Stephen Robinson was 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored and Shean Cartwright was 2-for-3 with a RBI and three runs scored. In the loss, Phillip Davis was a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles and three runs scored and Chris Charlton was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI.

The Rebels scored a pair of runs in the second and third, four in the fourth, two more in the fifth and three in the seventh.

THE SPORTS CALENDAR

The Drifters got one run in the first, three in the third and five in the fourth.

Home Boys 25, Corner Boys 14 Sidney Thomas was the winning pitcher and Foster Dorsett got tagged with the loss.

Hosea Hilton was 1-for-3 with a homer, five RBI and three runs scored, Rashad Seymour was a perfect 4-for-4 with a double and triple, four RBI and three runs scored, Michael Thompson was 2-for-4 with a double, homer, four RBI and three runs scored and Brad Wood was 3-for-4

AUGUST

TRACK HIGH PERFORMANCE

TRYOUT THE High Performance Athletics Track Club is scheduled to hold a team tryout for sprints and hurdles on Friday, August 30, from 9am to 1pm at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. It’s open to all athletes between the ages of 12-18 who want to become a part of High Performance Athletics Club. All interested persons are asked to contact 456-2115 for more details.

TRACK RED-LINE CROSS

COUNTRY

IN preparation for the off-season training, the Red-Line Athletics Track Club is scheduled to hold its inaugural Cross Country & Fitness

Run on Saturday, September 14, at the St Augustine’s College Campus. The categories for the male and female runners are under-9, under11, under-13, under-15, under-17, under-20, under-30, under-40, under50 and over-50. The male and female walkers will compete in the under20, under-30, under-40, under-50 and over-50 categories. The course length will be one-mile over two hills, a staircase, road and grass surfaces that will feel like two miles. Trophies will be distributed to the first three all age groups and divisions for both the walkers and the runners. The registration fee is $20 per athlete and interested persons can register online at redlineathletics242@gmail.com

with a double, three RBI and four runs scored.

Elvardo Knowles paced the losers with a 3-for-3 day with a double and a homer, three RBI and a run scored.

John Lockhart was 2-for-3 with a homer, a RBI and two runs scored and Cardinal Gilbert was 2-for-2 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored.

The Home Boys pulled off their offensive attack in the middle of the game with five runs in the third, 6 in the fourth and four in the fifth.

The Corner Boys produced four in the first, two in the second and third and six in the fourth, but couldn’t hold on for the win. Here’s a look at the schedule for this weekend: Saturday Noon - Dozer Pros vs Vipers 2pm - Masqueraders vs Rebels 4pm - Home Boys vs KC Construction Sunday 2 pm Drifters vs Da Boyz 4pm - Divers vs Vipers

JASRADO “Jazz”

Chisholm Jr cracked a solo home run to break out of a hitless streak since his return from the disabled list as his New York Yankees prevailed over the Washington Nationals.

Playing in his fourth game and batting seventh in the line-up, Chisholm Jr went 1-for-4 as the Yankees pulled off a 5-2 victory over the Nationals in the first of their three-game stint this week at the Nationals Park in Washington DC. With the win, New York improved their front running American League East win-loss record to 78-54, dropping the Nationals to 59-73 to fourth place in the National League East. Washington will host New York in their next two games today and tomorrow at 6:45pm both days before the Yankees head to St Louis to face the Cardinals on Friday at 7:05pm.

Chisholm Jr., playing at third base, ripped a 0-1 pitch off Nationals’ lefty Joe La Sosa to right field for a solo homer, his 21st long ball for the season, in the top of the eighth inning to push their lead to 5-1.

Chisholm Jr, who finished the game with a 1-for-4 plate appearance, was hitless up to that point as he popped up in foul territory to catcher Keibert Ruiz in the sixth.

In the fourth in his second at-bat, Chisholm Jr lined out to right fielder Dylan Crews for the first out.

And in his first at-bat in the top of the second inning, Chisholm Jr struck out swinging for the second out.

Since coming off a 10-day DL with a slight injury, Chisholm Jr was hitless in his three previous games from Friday to Sunday.

All four series will continue this week in the New Providence Softball Association men and women best-of-five playoffs. Tonight at 7pm, the Sunshine Auto Wildcats take on the Johnson Lady Truckers in the ladies’ game two. And at 8:30pm, the Chances Mighty Mitts face the Renegades in the men’s game two.

The Cyber Tech Blue Marlins and R&B Operators took the initial lead on Saturday night in the Bankers Field at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. They join the Chances Mighty Mitts and the Sunshine Auto Wildcats, who prevailed in their openers on Thursday night.

Tuesday (Tonight) 7pm - Sunshine Auto Wildcats vs Johnson Lady Truckers - ladies’ game two. 8:30 pm - Chances Mighty Mitts vs Renegades - men’s game two.

GAMETIME: The Chances Mighty Mitts are slated to take on the Renegades in game two of the men’s New Providence Softball Association’s best-of-five playoffs at 8:30pm tonight.

TEAM Bahamas’ track team at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru.