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A L L T H E N E W S Y O U N E E D T O R E A D I N T H E M O R N I N G

VOL. 31 - NO. 15 75 CENTSMONDAY - JANUARY 21ST, 2019

“A CASE BUILT ON SAND”“They have built theircase on the sand,” thatsummed up the argumentof lead Defense Attorney,Keith Knight QC, whosought to drive home a nocase submission lastFriday in the ongoingextortion and bribery trialof former PLP MP andex- Public HospitalsAuthority Chairman,Frank Smith.

Defense attorneysinsisted that there isinsufficient evidence toconvict Frank Smith ofthe 13 counts of extortion,one count of attemptedextortion and one countof bribery.

The allegations stemfrom what allegedly tookplace between Smith andMagic Touch CleaningCompany Owner,Barbara Hanna, betweenApril 2016 and April2017.

It is alleged that duringthat period, Smith solicit-ed a monthly fee of$5,000 from Mrs. Hannaafter having assisted herin securing a cleaningcontract for the criticalcare block of the PrincessMargaret Hospital.

According to Attorney

WILLIAMS ADVISES INVESTMENTIN TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT CRIME

Former BTC ChiefExecutive Officer LeonWilliams says theBahamas should betteruse technology to fightcrime. He expressed hisconcerns yesterdaywhile appearing as a gueston the Love 97 Radioprogramme Jones andCompany.

According to Mr.Williams, the advance-

ment of technology playsa huge role in the progres-sion of a nation.

He said, “you want tofight crime. We don’thave the resources in TheBahamas to buy enoughvehicles, and put police-men on road. Crime has tobe fought using technolo-gy.”

He added, “go toEstonia, go to Singapore,and go to South Korea.

BY LEAH COOPERJournal Staff Writer

g See page 3...4 Former BTC CEO, Leon Williams (File photo)

4 Jones Communications Network (JCN) ‘Persons of the Year,’ Rev. Dr. Timothy Stewart and Pastor Leonard Johnson werehonoured in ceremonies at JCN on Friday, January 18, 2019. In group photo, showing plaques from left: Prime Minister, theMost Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis; Rev. Dr. Timothy Stewart; Governor General, the Most Hon. Dame Marguerite Pindling; Pastor

Leonard Johnson; and JCN CEO Wendall Jones. (BIS Photos/Raymond A. Bethel, Sr.)

Two Religious Leaders ReceiveJCN Person Of the Year Award

Many government offi-cials and religious leadersof the nation were inattendance on Friday two

witness two outstandingClerics receiving theJones CommunicationsPerson of the Year awardfor 2018.

Accepting the presti-gious awards this past

Friday in ceremonies inthe JCN Media Centreafter being elected tointernational leadershippositions were Presidentof the ProgressiveNational Baptist

Convention Inc. USA, theRev. Dr. Timothy Stewartand Dr. Leonard Johnson,a Seventh Day AdventistPastor and the first pastor

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

g See page 2...

UnionLawyerGoes ToPrivyCouncilTrade Union CongressPresident Obie Fergusonhas applied for leave toappeal to the London-based Privy Council overa ruling made in TheCourt of Appeal onDecember 27th concern-ing over time and holidaypay for Atlantis workers.


g See page 2...

SecondTraffic

Fatality InTwo Weeks

Police investigatingthe second traffic fatalityin New Providence forthe month of Januaryafter a male was ejectedfrom his car early Sundaymorning on John FKennedy Drive.

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

g See page 4...

GB Police Search ForWanted Suspects

Grand Bahama policeneed assistance in locat-ing two men that theyconsider extremely dan-gerous.

Police say 43 year oldTavares Demonte

Beckford aka “foe” and32 year old Tony JamalSmith, aka Jamal Penn,aka “fool” are both want-ed by the CentralDetective Unit.

Beckford aka “foe” iswanted for questioning in

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

g See page 4...

g See page 2...

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 1/21/2019 12:00 AM

A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Monday - January 21st, 2019

4 Jones Communications Network (JCN) ‘Persons of the Year,’ team were pleased to have Prime Minister, theMost Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis; and Governor General, the Most Hon. Dame Marguerite Pindling in attendance.

(BIS Photos/Raymond A. Bethel, Sr.)

DNA CONCERNED ABOUT CYBER CRIMEDemocratic NationalAlliance (DNA)spokesperson forInformation TechnologySamuel Strachan hasexpressed concerns sur-rounding recent reportsof a cyber-attack on theB r o a d c a s t i n gCorporation Of TheBahamas (BCB).

He noted that just lastweek, an individualcaused the encryption ofthe BCB’s digital libraryand other data and is

attempting to extortfunds in the form of bit-coins as a condition fordecryption and restora-tion.

BCB Chairman MikeSmith, confirmed thatinternational hackersoriginally requested$50,000 incremental pay-ments of bitcoins whichwas eventually negotiat-ed down to $18,000 bystaff.

However, he added,“the Bahamian peopleremain in the dark on theoverall strategy or courseof action that the govern-

ment has adopted tobring regularity to theBCB’s operations.

“The recent ransomrequest also raises seri-ous concerns about thebusiness continuity anddisaster recovery frame-work of the BCB. Theboard and managementof the BCB must imme-diately disclose whethera robust BusinessContinuity Plan (BCP)exists for the organiza-tion and its effective-ness.”, he said.

In the absence of sucha framework, he added

that the BCB shouldmove swiftly to draft andimplement a BCP andDisaster Recovery Plan(DRP) which “articulatesa contingency plan forcyber-attacks and otheroperational disruptions”.

Mr. Strachan said,“such a plan may alsocall for the update ofcomputer and operatingsystems, installation andupdates of anti-virus andanti-malware software,or conversely installationof artificial intelligencesoftware, regular backupof important files, proper

vetting of vendors andtheir approach to cybersecurity as well as rele-vant insurance coverageamong other things.”

He added, “ as a fur-ther precaution, we rec-ommend that trainingsessions are held for staffto alert them to theinstance of phishing tac-tics included in maliciousattachments that maycome via email or othersources.”

Additionally, the partysuggested that informa-tion technology policiesbe implemented, and

that “address email andinternet usage inclusiveof blocking non-work-related sites that may beprone to spreading virus-es.”He said, “we call for thecommissioning of a com-prehensive vulnerabilityand penetration test toascertain the areas ofweakness within theBCB’s IT systems.

He said the recom-mendations arising fromsuch a test conducted bycompetent professionalsmust be implementedwithout delay.

BY LEAH COOPERJournal Staff Writer

Two Religious Leaders ReceiveJCN Person Of the Year Award

from an English-speak-ing territory to becomeExecutive Secretary ofthe Inter- American divi-sion of Seventh- DayAdventists.

Speaking at the eventJCN Chief ExecutiveOfficer Wendall Jonessaid, “our survival andupward mobility dependon an understanding ofour common humanityand how we are to beable to get our fellowmen to in The Bahamasto follow the Christianfaith.

“This is why as amedia organization weare pleased to draw atten-tion to the Rev. Dr.Timothy Stewart and Dr.Leonard Johnson.

“They are Bahamians

who are extraordinary inproviding leadership onthe global stage,” saidMr. Jones.

Attending the ceremo-ny was last years recipi-ent, Prime Minister Dr.Hubert Minnis who saidit was essential to honorpersons in society whohelp to develop theBahamian society.

“Public recognitionhelps to ensure that theircontributions do not fadefrom our national memo-ry, it also helps nurture astrong sense of unity andnational pride.

“It sets a good exam-ple for others and offersyoung people a source ofinspiration. Thank you,Mr. Jones, for seeing thevalue in recognizing citi-zens who make a differ-ence,” The Prime

Minister said. Dr. Johnson in accept-

ing his award said he didso being cognizant thathe was doing so onbehalf of the church.

“Firstly, the Baptistdenomination where Ihad my early beginningand significantly theSeventh Day Adventistchurch since 1976, whenI became a member.

“This church thataccorded me the privi-lege to serve at just aboutevery single level in thechurch and to travel andtraverse so many placesthroughout the world.

“So today, I stand as amember of this churchand I give this honor tomy church for what it hasdone for me and throughme,” he said.

In his acceptance

address the Rev. Dr.Stewart said,“I want tothank God for being apart of this Bahamiancommunity at this piv-otal juncture in historywhere the best and thebrightest are beingsought and called forth inorder to contribute to thetremendous areas thatthis country needs sobadly,” he said.

Assisting in the pres-entation of the awardswas the GovernorGeneral, DameMarguerite Pindling.Also in attendance wasthe leader of the officialOpposition, PhilipDavis.

The ceremony wasalso attended by severalpersons who received theaward over the last 18years.

“A CASE BUILT ON SAND”Knight, there is insuffi-cient evidence that Smithand Hanna met prior to2016.

This he said, cannotsimply be proven,because of her word andthat Hanna had her dateswrong.

Knight argued thatHanna’s testimony proves

she knows of the proce-dures of the tender docu-ments and that after sub-mitting that is the end of arole.

He further stressed thatHanna and Smith wouldhave had to meet beforethe tender was submitted,but that there is no evi-dence to support this,adding that it doesn’tmake sense to meet

before, so it would havehad to happen after.

Mr.Knight said, “thequestion is did the conver-sation take place at all.”

He said the logic of itall is that it never did.

In a further attempt todismantle the prosecu-tion’s case, Mr. Knightsaid had it been their case,the call log between Smithand Hanna would have

started before 2016.He said no reliance can

be placed on the prosecu-tion’s evidence to estab-lish Hanna and Smith’sfirst meeting. They cannotinfer that it was 2016, andeven if this were the case,Hanna was not called toclarify her dates ofwhether it was in fact2015 or 2016.

The crown had earlier

attempted to prove thatthere was evidence ofHanna being underSmith’s extortion, explain-ing that Hanna paidSmith’s lending company,Pouland instead of NIB.There was no dispute ofphone contact betweenSmith and Hanna; thatNational Security Minister,Marvin Dames, and HealthMinister, Dr. Duane Sands

equally, did not interfere asSands documented hisapproval of her contract ina transparent manner.

Lead Crown Counsel,Edward Jenkins QC, addedthat Hanna’s character anddemeanor must be takeninto account.

Chief MagistrateJoyann Ferguson-Pratt willgive her ruling onFebruary 1.

gg Continued from / PAGE 1...


UnionLawyerGoes ToPrivy

Council

“We have to be thelegitimate guardian for theworking people of thiscountry. If we don’t do it,we will find that all of ourgains will dissipate andwe cannot afford that,”said Mr. Ferguson.He argues that Bahamianworkers should not haveto fight for over time payand public holidays.

“An issue arose whereif they work on a publicholiday, according to theFair Labour StandardAct, they are entitled to bepaid double the rate of

wages for the work per-formed, that’s accordingto act.

“The act also sayswhere there is a holidaythat falls within the week,your total hours for theweek is reduced by eighthours, but you are paidfor the entire week, asthough you actuallyworked,” Mr. Fergusonsaid.

The union chief insiststhat should the Court ofAppeal’s ruling stand, allworkers would be affect-ed.


4 Trade Union Congress President, Obie Ferguson(File photo)


After a long Christmasbreak, the BahamasAgriculture and IndustrialCorporation’s (BAIC)Pop Up Market went backat its Gladstone Roadlocations this pastSaturday.

Confirming this wasBAIC Chairman MichaelFoulkes who toldreporters that BAIC islooking forward to pro-viding families with highquality fresh Bahamiangrown produce.

The BAIC Chairmannoted that last year justunder 100 farmers wereactive in the pop up mar-ket and proudly stated that73 per cent of BAIC’sexpenses last year werepayments made to thefarmers.

He added that thisnumber is expected toincrease in 2019.

“Every month last yearthey received a checkfrom BAIC, in total,almost $200,000 in2018.”

We anticipate thatthose payments willincrease by about $60,000in 2019. For the mostpart, those would bedirect payments to ourFamily Island farmers andtheir families.

“In fact, there is onefarmer in Eleuthera towhom we paid almost$45,000 between January2018 and December2018.

“Imagine that, and letus not forget there was a

time when the Departmentof Agriculture at most paideach Bahamian farmer asubsidy of $9,000 perannum and that was it,”Mr. Foulkes said.

The BAIC Chairmanalso confirmed that the

pop up market will be inGrand Bahama thismonth. He further opinedthat the plan is to pop up inother family islands aswell.

“We are looking atdoing that this year, as we

have had a number ofrequest. We have had arequest from Abaco, wehave had a request fromLong Island and frankly,the one that we get a lot ofrequest for is probably themost difficult to dobecause of the shippingand the time it takes to getthe produce there.

“However, we have hada lot of people callingfrom Inagua and they real-ly want us to bring someof this wonderful freshfruits and vegetablethere,” said Mr. Foulkes.

“We know the climateisn’t best for growingfruits and vegetable inInagua, it’s very dry, sowe’re going to see how wecan accommodate themsometime in 2019.

“We are going to do ourbest perhaps to do it as acollaborative effortbecause the cost of ship-ping to Inagua and also theproduce needing to berefrigerated,” he said.

The pop up markethours of operation is from8am to 3pm everySaturday.


A3The Bahama Journal

Monday - January 21st, 2019NationalNEWS

BAIC Pop up market returns

4 Executive Chairman, Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation, Michael Foulkes announced that thePop-Up Farmers Market will commence again at the Gladstone Road location, Saturday, January 19, 2019

during a press conference at the Corporation’s headquarters Friday, January 18, 2019. (BIS Photo/Kristaan Ingraham)

WILLIAMS ADVISES INVESTMENT Find out what they aredoing.”

Mr. Williams sharedthat cybercrime isexpected to become a six

trillion-dollar industry bythe year 2021.

He also noted that theMinistry of Tourism, theCentral Bank, and ZNShave all fallen victim tohacking at some point

over the last 20 years. With this in mind, Mr.

Williams urges the countryto pay special attention andinvest in the advancementof technology.

He said that in a society,

where more cellulardevices exists thanhumans, there is still noconcentration in theCaribbean region for theadvancement ofI n f o r m a t i o n

C o m m u n i c a t i o nTechnology (ICT), asimportant as it is to theeconomy of The Bahamas.

He added, “BarackObama appointed atelecommunications Czar

to look after the interestsand make sure that theUnited States would benumber one getting to 5G.Do you hear anybodyespousing that in TheBahamas?” he asked.



A4 The Bahama Journal

Monday - January 21st, 2019 NationalNEWS

S e c o n d T r a f f i cFatality In Two WeeksThis latest traffic fatali-

ty followed the death of aRoyal Bahamas DefenceForce Officer who suc-cumbed to his injuries fol-lowing a motorcycle acci-

dent two weeks ago. According to the police

reports, shortly after3:00am yesterday, a malewas travelling in thesouthern lane, west on J.F.Kennedy Drive, in a 2009Nissan Skyline, when he

lost control of his vehicleand crashed into a utilitypole.

The lone occupant ofthe vehicle was ejectedfrom the vehicle andbecame unresponsive.Paramedics were called to

the scene and confirmedthat the male had suc-cumbed to his injuries.

Traffic DepartmentOfficers are investigatingthis incident.

Police in NewProvidence are also inves-

tigating a shooting inci-dent, that occurred onFriday, which left an adultmale with injuries.

Police say shortly after9:00pm, a male was walk-ing through a track road offDumping Ground Corner,

when he heard multiplegunshots and realized thathe had been shot. He wastransported to hospital byParamedics and is listed instable condition.

Investigations areongoing.

GB Police Search For Wanted Suspects

an attempted murder inci-dent and is consideredextremely dangerous.

He is described asstanding at 5’7”, weighing134 lbs. with mediumbrown complexion and isslim built.

Beckford’s last knownaddress is ZimbabweAvenue, New Providenceand number 8 FrobisherCircle, Grand Bahama.

Smith aka “JamalPenn” aka “fool” is want-ed by the CentralDetective Unit for posses-sion of an Illegal Firearmand is considered armedand extremely dangerous.

He is described asstanding at 5’7”, weighing188 lbs. with mediumbrown complexion and isaverage built. His lastknown address is 50Kelly Lane (off JohnsonRoad) New Providence

and Tarry Town, GrandBahama.

If you have any infor-mation on the where-abouts of TavaresDemonte Beckford “foe”,you are asked to contactthe Central Detective Unitin Grand Bahama at tele-phone numbers 350-3107thru 12, 911/919 or callyour nearest police sta-tion.

In other crime newsfrom Grand Bahama:Police are investigating ashooting and stabbingincident that has left twomales hospitalized in seri-ous condition.

Police say on Sunday,shortly after 1:00pm, twomales were at a residenceon Adventurers Way,when an altercationbetween them occurred.

The altercation resultedin one of the males receiv-ing gunshot wounds aboutthe body. He was taken tothe Rand Memorial

Hospital via EmergencyMedical Personnel.

The other male, accord-ing to the police receiveda stab wound to the head,he was taken to the RandMemorial Hospital by pri-vate vehicle. Both wereseen by doctors and arelisted in serious condition.Police are actively investi-gating this matter.

Also while on mobilepatrol, Drug EnforcementUnit officer uncovered anillegal firearm onSaturday shortly after7:00pm, on Pioneer’sWay and LivingstonDrive area when theyobserved a suspiciousmale, who upon seeingthe police fled the area.

Officers searched thearea and discovered ablack and silver pistolwith two rounds ofammunition.

No arrest was madeand investigations contin-ue.



GOT NEWS?Please call The BahamaJournal’s News TIP LINE at 356-7254 and let us know!


A5The Bahama Journal

Monday - January 21st, 2019EditorialNEWS

E D I T O R I A L

The Bahama Journal Is An Independent Newspaper - Published Week Days By The Communicators & Associates In Affiliation With Jones Communications Ltd.

University Drive - P.O. Box N-8610Telephone: 242-325-3082 - Fax: 242-356-7256

Kimaley P. JonesVice President/Operations

Wendall K. Jones Publisher/Chief Executive Officer

Martin LutherKing, Jr.

America celebrates the birthday of theReverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,former Pastor and Civil Rights Leaderon January 21th. Completing his studiesin the North, he and his wife opted toreturn to the South to serve their people.They refused the grand offers to serve inthe North that they may be located inthe south to be readily available toaccept and to serve. Dr. King was calledto the pastorate of the Dexter AvenueBaptist Church in Montgomery,Alabama. The church was known as thebig folks church. Even before King gotinto his role as the new leader there, theRosa Parks incident on the bus came up.Parks refused to get up out of a seat forwhite folks on the bus. That incident ledinto he Montgomery bus boycott.Martin Luther king was quickly electedto lead the boycott. He accepted thechallenge quietly and got to work. TheRose Parks incident on the bus was inDecember, 1955. The writer met Rosamuch later and asked her why she didnot get up out of the seat. She looked atme and simply said: My feet were tired.Looking back, we can thank God forthose tired feet of Rosa.

With Pastor King as leader the churchhad its role in the struggle of liberationfor the black man in America. The roleof the church beginning in the south wasto become the liberative voice of theoppressed as well as the oppressor. Forwhereas the oppressed needs releasefrom the oppressor, the oppressor needsliberation from that culture which madehim treat the poor as sub-humans.

In early April, 1968 the SouthernChristian Leadership Conference staffin Atlanta delegated Dr. King to travelto Washington for the poor people’scampaign and directed him to travel by

way of Memphis. King’s stop inMemphis was to assist the garbage col-lectors who were demanding recogni-tion of their union and a sixty (60c)cents per hour pay raise.

There at Memphis, king planned aseries of rallies in the city. The first andonly one was held on the evening ofApril 3, 1968 at Mason Street Temple. Itwas a rainy night in Memphis but some2000 spirited followers were present.The time came when the civil rightleader was to give his address. Dr. Kingentered the pulpit. He entered it thattime for the last time. There, he said thatit did not matter to him anymore, for Hehad gone to the mountain top and hadseen the Promised Land. He said hewould not get there with those whowould, but he wished them to know theywill get there. King said that He washappy and was not worrying about any-thing. He was not fearing any man.Then the Civil Rights Leader thunderedout the words that his eyes had seen thecoming of the glory of the Lord. Themeeting eventually come to a close. Thenext day April 4th 1968 at 7:05pmMartin Luther King Jr. Pastor and Civilrights leader was pronounced dead byDr. Jerry Francisco, Memphis coroner.The civil rights leader fell by an assas-sin’s bullet.

As a child, daddy King said Martinwould tell his wife and him that hewanted to be like Jesus. Sam Donaldsonon his programme, Nightline inter-viewed king’s father on August 25, 1963some five years before the death of hisson. Daddy King told Donaldson thathis son would tell his father and motherthat when he grew up he would changethe world and that he wants to be likeJesus.

By: Rev’d Dr. Philip A Rahming

The Vice-Grip of Poverty

Over the last several days, SocialMedia was abuzz with tales of woe ofthe dismal economy of the Bahamasand that of Freeport, Grand Bahamain particular.

In one of the recordings circulated, awoman who claims to be a pastor of achurch in Grand Bahama, related astory on how she intervened in an inci-dent of horror. She told how shereceived a telephone call from a des-perate mother of several children whowas attempting suicide.

The Pastor said she was able to keepthe distraught mother on her cell phoneuntil she arrived at the woman’s home.Once there, when the lady opened herdoor, the pastor said she saw blood onthe woman’s wrist.

Telling the pastor of her dilemma,she said that she had no food for herchildren and invited the pastor toinspect her cupboard. The clergywoman said she found the cupboard tobe empty with just a small bag of flourand that the mother stated that he wasonly able to make pancakes for herchildren without any sugar.

This “Good Samaritan” Pastor saidshe also discovered that the woman’spre-teen daughter’s “health was on”,but the little girl had no sanitary padsto use. She claimed that a shirt was cut-up and used for the girl. The pastorstated after giving the woman some$150, she went to a convenience storeto purchase grocery items for the fam-ily.

She related that while all of this wasin process, there was a second reportof another Grand Bahama woman whowhile attempting suicide, took a hand-ful of pills, because she lamented thatshe could not “take the distress of liv-ing anymore”.

These incidence underscore the des-perate state of many families in GrandBahama. These stories now ramifythroughout New Providence too, asmany proud Bahamian families findthemselves in a vice-grip of poverty.

While statistics reveal that povertyin the Bahamas is on the increase,many of the nation’s politicians in gov-ernment are either in denial or are sodisconnected that they give speechessuggesting that the economy is improv-ing. It is not. At best the economy hasbeen stagnant for several years, withunemployment remaining at 15 percent and discouraged workers increas-ing, with little hope to find jobs.

Speaking at the annual BusinessOutlook Forum in New Providencelast Thursday, Prime Minister DoctorHubert Minnis claimed that “for thefirst time in 12 years and for the firsttime since the great recession of 2008,the country enjoyed projected growthof more than two per cent for two con-secutive years.

Dr.Minnis said, “this is a milestone.Growth means more jobs, improvedfamily income and better opportunitiesfor more Bahamians across the board.”

If the economy has grown, it is defi-nitely not being felt. IndeedEconomists have always insisted thatreal growth can only be felt when it isfour per cent or higher in any economy.

We believe that a real stimulus pack-age for the private sector is needed, orthe government has to rethink its fiscalpolicies and decrease taxes to encour-age growth. In the absence of theseadjustments and with a lack of signif-icant foreign direct investment in thecountry, the tales of human sufferingwill abound.


A6 The Bahama Journal

Monday - January 21st, 2019 NationalNEWS

The Nassau Music Society Celebratesi ts 50th Anniversary Season

Founded by the legendaryE. Clement Bethel, theNassau Music Society iscelebrating its 50thAnniversary Season withan exciting programme ofconcerts and events thatcontinues its tradition ofmusical excellence whilehighlighting its historicalroots and becoming evenmore relevant and con-nected to the local com-munity.

NMS is a non-profit,

charitable organization,and its founding missionstatement still rings truenow: “To promote andencourage the art of musicby organizing concertsand other musical activi-ties, and to provide finan-cial and other assistanceto students of music.”Since then, with supportfrom its membership, cor-porate sponsorship andprivate donations, NMShas consistently presented

world class concerts,offered hundreds of freemasterclasses by visitingartists, extended its educa-tion and outreach initia-tives, and provided schol-arships and grants tomany Bahamian musicstudents for study abroadas well as at theUniversity of theBahamas.

The 50th Anniversaryconcert series showcases adiverse program of musi-

cians and genres, rangingfrom a night at the operaand a jazz café, to classi-cal flute and piano fourhands. In recognition ofone of its past presidents,NMS participated in TheBahamas National YouthChoir’s tribute to Mr.Cleophas Adderley on the26th of October. InNovember, they presenteda documentary filmscreening in partnershipwith The Bahamas

International FilmFestival (BIFF). A specialconcert for 400 primaryschool children sponsoredin part by The CharitableArts Foundation and ajazz concert in the gardensof the BahamasNational Trust (BNT)round off the anniversaryseason. Each visitingartist generally performs 2concerts. Concerts at StPaul’s Church Hall aregenerally classical and

traditional, while TheCurrent: Baha MarGallery & Art Center fea-tures more contemporaryand slightly alternativeperformances. Many topBahamian musicians fea-ture in NMS program-ming, with talented stu-dents opening each con-cert and local professionalmusicians collaboratingand performing alongsideour visiting internationalartists.

LOCAL COMPANY ENCOURAGES STUDENTSTO HELP PUT STOP TO ‘TRASHING OURTREASURE’ WITH ANNUAL POSTER CONTEST Every piece of trash thatmakes its way into theocean threatens the lifeof the animals that call ithome and in a countrywith more than 3,400km of coastline, thattrash known as marinedebris, also threatens theBahamas’ livelihood.

To cultivate aware-ness of the importanceof properly disposing ofall garbage and encour-age Bahamians toreduce, reuse and recy-cle, the DolphinEncounters ProjectBEACH 19th AnnualMarine Education Postercontest challengeskindergarten throughgrade 12 students to cre-atively depict the topic“Marine Debris –Trashing our Treasure.”

“With our emphasishere at Blue LagoonIsland on protecting theenvironment and takingcare of marine animals,it’s only fitting that weuse this year’s poster

contest to further edu-cate young Bahamianson the role we all playwhen it comes to keep-ing the ocean that sur-rounds us clear oftrash,” said Te-ShallaClarke, EducationSupervisor at BlueLagoon Island. “We area tourist destination thatrelies on sun, sand andsea, so while it is criticalthat we keep our oceansclean so that marine ani-mals have a safe envi-ronment to live in, doingso also ensures that weremain a place thattourists want to visit andthat we as Bahamianscan enjoy living in forgenerations to come.”

The most commontypes of trash that maketheir way into the waterssurrounding theBahamas are cigarettes,food wrappers and fastfood containers, cups,lids, and straws, plasticbottles and utensils, alu-minum cans, glass bot-

tles and fishing nets.The debris is mostly aresult of garbage beingleft behind by beachgo-ers and people whoenjoy their lunch alongthe shore, however theBahamas’ narrowislands mean thatgarbage not properlydisposed of inland canalso end up in the ocean.

Some trash – particu-larly plastics and fishingline – can last up to 600years in the ocean,meaning countlessmammals like dolphinsand whales, as well asturtles, fish, crustaceansand even seabirds die asa result of entanglementor ingestion.

Students compete infour age group cate-gories – kindergarten -grade 2; grade 3 - grade5; grade 6 – grade 8 andgrade 9 – grade 12. Apanel of judges who arerecognized for theirwork in the marine envi-ronment will select the

top three entries in eachgrade category.

National Prizes forwinning entries includepasses to exciting activi-ties at Blue LagoonIsland, including Swimwith the Dolphins, SeaLion Encounter,Stingray Encounter,Beach Day, SegwaySafari and even theSeaventure SummerCamp. This year, to rec-ognize the importanceteachers play in educat-ing and encouraging stu-dents on these criticaltopics, DolphinEncounters ProjectBEACH will award theteacher of each firstplace student a choice offour (4) Blue LagoonIsland Beach Day Passesor two (2) adult onlyVIP Beach Passes.

Another excitingaddition to the MarineEducation PosterContest is the chance tocompete internationallyfor a trip to Cancun,

Mexico. The originalartwork of the qualify-ing finalists (ages 6-15)will be entered in theInternational Festival ofthe Oceans DrawingContest hosted byDelphinus in Mexico.Winners of the interna-tional poster contest willwin a free trip to Cancun

The deadline for entryis March 1 and is opento kindergarten throughgrade 12 studentsthroughout theBahamas. NationalWinners will beannounced March 8,2019 and hosted at anawards ceremony onBlue Lagoon Island onMarch 30.

Entries must be the stu-dent’s original freehandartwork and must repre-sent this year’s theme -“Marine Debris – Trashingour Treasure”. Entriesmust be submitted on11x17 sized paper anddesigned using only pens,pencils, coloured pencils

markers, crayons, water-colours or paints.Charcoal, pastels, chalk,glitter, sand or paste-onsare NOT permitted.Stencil, tracing and com-puter graphics are also notpermitted. Student names,ages and schools are not tobe written on the artworkand instead, a completedapplication form must beattached to the back of theentry poster.

The 2019 MarineEducation Poster Contestfact sheet and entry formcan be downloaded fromhttp://www.dolphinen-counters.com/education-programs/marine-educa-t i on -pos t e r - con t e s t / .Teachers can also call BlueLagoon Island Educationat 363-7180 extension303; or e-mail [email protected]. Entry forms can alsobe picked-up at theDolphin Encountersbooth located at theParadise Island FerryTerminal


vol. 31 - no. 15 monday - january 21st, 2019 75 cents “a

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