Day two of the court case went by so fast, that if you blinked, you would have missed everything.

The Crown called its second witness to the stand, Officer Hugh Gray, who at the time of the murder on March 29, 1999 was a crime scene investigator.

According to Mr. Gray, his job description at that time was to collect evidence and process crime scenes.

He said on April 1st, 1999, while on duty, he acted on information he received and went to the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) Morgue where he met Dr. Kumar, who showed him the body of Corporal Jimmy Ambrose.

Mr. Gray said he knew the deceased corporal as he had worked with him for two years.

He added that Dr. Kumar opened the body in front of him, removed the organs and removed the projectile, which Mr. Gray said the doctor then handed to him.

The officer said he then put it in a plastic container and sealed it closed.

After that he passed it on to another corporal at the forensic lab.

Murrio Ducille, who represents Stephen ‘Die’ Stubbs, asked the witness if he had indeed put the projectile in the plastic container or if Dr. Kumar did, to which he said he (Mr. Gray) did.

Mr. Ducille also proposed a problem with marking on the container, saying that there was no marking on it and that the witness tampered with the evidence.

Attorney Ian Cargill, who represents Andrew Davis, then got into a shouting match with the witness as to where the marking would have been.

Mr. Cargill told the witness that in his initial police report for that date, Mr. Gray wrote that he had marked the projectile.

After a heated back and forth Justice Roy Jones adjourned the matter so that tempers could cool down and said that both men should learn some courtroom etiquette.

Vinette Graham-Allen is the lead prosecutor, while Ramona Farquharson-Seymour represents Clinton Evans.

The matter continues on today at 10:00 a.m.

The graduation was scheduled for tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Trinity Church and the Emerald Ball was set to take place Monday June 24 at the Sheraton Hotel.

Friday night the parents and students were called into an emergency meeting on the school’s campus around 8:00.

That meeting was hosted by Bishop of The Diocese of the Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands Reverend Laish Boyd who informed the angry crowd that the remaining activities for the seniors were cancelled after a video surfaced allegedly showing some of the students at a school motorcade and dance reportedly acting inappropriately.

However, the parents allege that the dance was sanctioned by the school and took place on campus, just feet away from the principal’s office, with teachers watching and never intervening.

The video has since been removed from Youtube.

Shortly after the announcement was made tempers flared at the Michael Eldon Drive campus.

The Bahama Journal was the only media house on the scene Friday night the parents and students had gathered in protest.

The gathering got so rowdy that the police had to be called in as the crowd gathered around and spat venomous words at Rev. Boyd as he jumped into his car to leave the campus.

“You are a disgrace,” one mother shouted.

“We didn’t do drugs, we didn’t have sex, we didn’t drink, we did nothing wrong,” another angry student yelled.

On Saturday, the irate parents and students met again at the school to express their “disgust” with the decision and to cement their stance that the students did nothing wrong.

“I am beyond disappointed in Bishop Laish Boyd because he refused to hear the students out,” Michelle Goffe, a mother said. “He is taking a very prized possession from them. After 14 years of school fees they don’t want to come to any kind of negotiations.

“I am very disappointed in him. It is very aggravating to me because people are traveling to go to this graduation. I am insulted by his attitude last night, the board sat there and did not open their mouth and they sat there and watched him railroad these young students.”

Another mother presented a container full of medals, awards, certificates and other accolades, proving that her daughter Simone Thompson deserves to graduate tomorrow.

“Simone represented St. John’s in Orlando, Florida on the basketball team since she was in the seventh grade and then she was on the senior team. Simone has seven BGCSEs and this is what I am doing to my child after I spent 12 years paying school fees. She is the third child I sent to this school.”

St. John’s College Head Boy Eric Cox said not being able to walk at his commencement exercise is a tough pill to swallow as, in his family he would have been the only one to take part in such a crowning moment.

“They don’t know how I feel,” he said. “They caused my mother to cry and that hurt me the most.

“I didn’t even care about walking, I just wanted my mother to know that I even had the chance but when I saw her cry that broke my heart. My dad left me when I was six years old, he got shot down dead right in the front of my face and just to not be able to graduate it broke my heart. I have been struggling to pay school fees with my mother all my years.”

The 2013 valedictorian Raven Goffe said she feels her graduating class is being unfairly punished.

“I am shocked and appalled by the lack of professionalism St. John’s College has in this situation,” she said. This is an event sanctioned by the Parent Teacher Association, which is in direct communication with the administration. We have worked hard we did our best, we are well rounded we always stood up for our school.

“We tried our best to keep the school spirit up and we are being punished. To all Bahamian parents consider this situation when you think about sending you child to St. John’s College.”

“As head girl and a student I am upset and I think it was unfair,” I understand that we would have made some mistakes but I think there is something called forgiveness and this school should understand that. I think they are going overboard with that. Cancel graduation and prom? That’s too much,” added St. John’s College Head Girl Deneesha Williams.

The angry mob said while they are upset that the Emerald Ball was cancelled after having spent thousands of dollars on prom attire, it is the fact that they will not be having a graduation to show off their academic achievements to friends and family members some of whom traveled from abroad to bear witness.

A $300 non-refundable graduation fee will also now go down the drain for hundreds of parents who said they pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into their children’s education over the past 12 to 14 years.

A press release from the Anglican Central Education Authority (ACEA) said it take a “principled stand” on its decision to cancel the remaining senior class’ events.

“The decision is due to a breach of ACEA policies and school rules which misrepresented the organisation and showed total disregard for the Anglican ethos,” the release said.
“The ACEA operates four schools on three Islands. Its stated mission is to offer “… a well-rounded educational product that fosters the development of students’ spiritual, academic, physical, social, and emotional well-being thereby affording their relevancy and adaptability for future citizenship and life in an ever changing global environment. Consistent with the mission, we strongly believe that all of our students must be keenly aware of the direct relationship between actions and consequences. It is with this in mind, and after having considered a troubling sequence of events, inclusive of gross insubordination, deceit, and an overall unwillingness to submit to the ordinary procedures and protocols, that the aforementioned decision was taken.”

The parents are planning a meeting with their lawyers for sometime today.

Mr. Sands appeared as a guest of Jones and Company Sunday where he addressed among other things the desire of casino gambling to be extended to Bahamians.

“If the government of The Bahamas in their wisdom made it legal for Bahamians to gamble tomorrow, we will welcome them with open arms,” Mr. Sands said. “Baha Mar is not a resort that excludes or wants to exclude Bahamians from participating in any of the offerings we have.”

He also noted that Baha Mar is pushing the government to amend the Gaming Act Regulations to allow for its gaming licence to include online gaming throughout the resort.

Mr. Sands said that ideally Baha Mar would like for its guests to use a Baha Mar mobile device app to gamble from any jurisdiction where it is legal.

“We do not want to limit gaming to what has been traditionally defined as a specific location,” he said.

“We would like the license to cover the premises so that if you are on holiday and you want to lie on the beach on a lounge chair and you have your IPhone, IPAD or a Blackberry and you have the Baha Mar gaming app and you can play whatever you wish.”

There is also a push from the mega resort for the regulations to be amended to make The Bahamas a more competitive market.

“We made 17 proposals to the government in terms of modernising the gaming regulations,” Mr. Sands said.

“The gaming regulations have not been addressed in earnest since the late 1960s. These regulations basically were best in class practices which exist in major jurisdictions today whether it is Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Singapore, Macau etc. A number of these [proposals] I think the government will embrace and hopefully be very favourable upon. We did make recommendations for an entry levy for Bahamians to come. We don’t know where the government will rule on that particular position.

“By and large, the majority of the proposals are basically proposals that will level the playing field for gaming for The Bahamas and take us out of a non-competitive environment.”

Earlier this year, Bahamians voted against legislation that would have regularised and taxed web shops as well as the creation of a national lottery.
Baha Mar is set to open at the end of 2014.

Students and parents alike arrived to school as usual at the Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School and Mable Walker Primary.

Our Lady’s attributes its closing to lack of finances and Mable Walker to low enrollment.

Nicole Stubbs and Rose Bain both have children that attend Our Lady’s and voiced their optimistic opinions on the school’s decision.

“I was very sad when I found out they would be closing and so was my daughter,” Ms. Stubbs said.

“They taught her well, the teachers were nice and it’s a nice environment.”

Ms. Bain said she was so proud of her son and he had done so well.

“I’m thankful for the teachers and all their hard work so I took this opportunity to come and support them on their last day, I hope the students don’t leave with nothing but take everything they have been taught with them wherever they may go.”

Some parents however were not as happy about the decision as they felt it would affect their children’s momentum.

One parent said that their child was about to enter her last year primary school but would now have to complete it elsewhere.

“We were not informed of the closures in a timely fashion, I am extremely upset and my child does not want to leave, she has all her friends here.”

Another parent voiced her concerns of not having a job and having to find another way for her child to get to a school that is not in the immediate area as this is where she and her family reside.

Most parents said that they have made the necessary arrangements to ensure that their kids will continue their educations at schools of the same caliber.

Both principals at the two institutions declined speaking with the Bahama Journal.

Other schools also closing for good are Saint Bede’s Catholic Primary and Faith Temple Christian Academy.

“We live in a country where all of the possibilities must be thought of,” the prime minister said during the opening ceremony of The Bahamas at 40: Reflecting on the Past, Envisioning the Future Independence conference.

“I could be a dreamer, but so were the people before my time, who were the independence generation.”

The ceremony was held on last Wednesday and hosted by The College of The Bahamas through the School of Social Sciences and in partnership with the government and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Mr. Christie, told the audience at the Performing Arts Centre in the Keva M. Bethel Building, that we should ensure that our stories as a collected people are told, as we build bridges between generations of Bahamians.

“For far too long, we have neglected the heroes and heroines of the “Quiet Revolution,” this needs to change,” he said.

“It is my hope that the conference organizers will live up to their lofty goal of publishing the proceedings of the conference, so that we might continue to tell our stories in greater measure. Let us not stop at simply printing proceedings, we ought to capture the entire conversation that unfolds between presenters and participants.”

The prime minister also pointed out the various national entities that were created because of persons who had a vision and the fortitude to make it a reality.

“They had big dreams and the dreams became: The Central Bank of The Bahamas, The Defence Force, in 1974 The College of The Bahamas,” Mr. Christie said.

“It became Bahamianization and the expansion of secondary education. That’s what dreams are about. That’s what thinking big is about.”

He also pointed out that The University of The Bahamas will be the “instrument that guarantees the continuity that is so necessary for developmental policies will guarantee the accountability for those of us in public life.”

The conference brought together academics, activists, policy makers and artists who while pursuing diverse research interest, have a common bond built upon the foundation of our nation’s rich intellectual resources, noted Dr. Christopher Curry, conference committee Co-chair and Assistant Professor at The College.

“The theme Reflecting on the past, envisioning a future embodies our attempts to bridge our past achievement as a nation with our current conditions, as well as future possibilities for development,” Dr. Curry said.

President of The College of The Bahamas Dr. Betsy Vogel-Boze encouraged members of The College community and all Bahamians to reflect on the accomplishments and the lives of great Bahamian leaders and citizens, who have helped mold and shape the consciousness of the nation.

“We should celebrate our heroes and institutions including that of The College of The Bahamas,” she told those gathered.

“At age 40, we can reflect not only upon the vibrant history but also the education of its citizenry. The College of The Bahamas has been and continues to be a transformative agent producing citizens that have made significant contributions and advancements in: politics, business, education, science and all fields.”

The conference, held at The College of The Bahamas from June 12th -14th, had 17 concurrent panels and four broad plenary sessions.

Each plenary focused on specific issues of national significance, delicately balancing the position of The Bahamas and its local national issues within the broader international context where the processes of modernization, globalization and trans-nationalism continue to shape this archipelagic nation. Panel presenters addressed a range of important issues such as: identity formation, development and sustainability, educational reform, cultural expressions, medicine, law and, human and animal rights.

The prime minister was speaking at the Mount Tabor Full Gospel Baptist Church Honours the Fabulous 40 in “Celebrating Our Fathers” at the Sheraton Hotel, Cable Beach on Friday.

Mount Tabor under the leadership of its Senior Pastor Bishop Neil C. Ellis, in conjunction with the 40th Independence Committee, recognised and highlighted 40 distinguished men from throughout The Bahamas who stand out in their role as fathers and father figures and who have made contributions to the ongoing development of the nation.

“Mount Tabor has chosen 40 men of distinction from all spheres of society across the archipelago to honour and recognise as leading examples of good products,” the prime minister said during his remarks.
“Bishop Ellis and his church are doing a great thing by recognising and uplifting fathers as part of the 40th Anniversary of Independence celebrations.”
He said the men who are nation builders and have, during the course of their lives, made a significant impact on the country’s development through contributions within their various areas of expertise.
“These men are beacons in their communities and have raised children and grandchildren to follow their examples as leaders and trendsetters,” Prime Minister Christie said.
“The theme for the country’s anniversary celebrations is ‘The Bridge to the Future, the Journey Continues’. The 40 fathers here all began their journey for their children, families and for their country. It is now up to the younger generation whose lives these men have impacted, to continue the country’s journey.”
He added that the honourees have done exceptional work over the years and the younger generation must see this as a challenge and surpass the honourees’ success.
The Prime Minister also noted that the nation faces many challenges including the absence of fathers in many homes and in the lives of their children.
“We cannot underestimate the important roles fathers play. While we do need more police officers on patrol, fewer guns on the street, more money for good education, and more extra-curricular programmes for our children, we also need to recognise the crucial role the family plays in helping to mitigate crime, and raise well-adjusted contributing members of society.”
Prime Minister Christie said for the country to continue on its path towards excellence, there must be a devotion to emphasising the importance of the family and the need to have fathers and father figures present in the lives of young people.
“Many of our honourees are religious leaders, who have become father figures to their members, others are involved in education, sports or culture shape young minds and lead teens and groups.”
Prime Minister Christie explained that often when fatherhood is discussed, individuals think about the relationship of a father and his son.
“From our fathers we learn about manhood, and it is after them that we often pattern ourselves.”
He added, “Fathers must also be aware that they are models of manhood for their daughters. It is from her father that a daughter first learns how a man should treat her.”
The prime minister said a strong father has respect for the mother of his children, and fathers help to raise better children when they treat their wives as equals, showing children that mothers’ contributions and opinions are as important.
He explained that being good fathers also require them having compassion.
“Compassion is the key to our humanity. We must in all things be compassionate men,” the prime minister said.
“Good fathers and good leaders also have good work ethic. I learned from my father that nothing worth having comes easily; hard work is necessary to achieve great things.”

Mr. Armstrong, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell and other officials all attended St. Francis Xavier Church with US Embassy Vice Consul Kathleen Cayer Sunday.

The 74-year-old American woman was assaulted and robbed on her way to church a week ago.

Police arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with the incident.

As a result of that crime, US officials sent out a stern warning to the government to get crime under control.

Her injuries also caused the US Embassy visa services to halt for a day.

But on Sunday, Mr. Armstrong said relations between the US and The Bahamas remains strong.

“We have in the past as Minister Mitchell pointed out that The Bahamas have issued warnings for the safety of Bahamians and we have issued statements to American citizens and of course those messages still stand. The Bahamas is a beautiful place, but don’t leave your street smarts at home,” he said.

“Our relationship with The Bahamas is incredibly close. As I told Minister Mitchell when we had the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. bust last fall in Bimini, we will never take The Bahamas for granted. Our friendship, our relationship is strong. This is a problem and we support The Bahamas dealing with this problem. We want to work together. We want to help and that’s where we are. I don’t think any interpretation of it being a blow to our relations, I think would be an over interpretation.”

Mr. Armstrong said the US would provide whatever support is needed to combat crime.

“We stand ready to support the Bahamian government in [its] efforts against crime whether it’s by capacity building, training, equipment and know how. With that being said, and I would be remiss not to say this – the main responsibility is the will of the Bahamian government. The Bahamas is an independent country and the Bahamian government is responsible for what happens here. And we stand fully ready to help in any way we can.”

Ms. Cayer said being attacked has made her more careful.

“Once you have been attacked you do have feelings. If someone stops you on the street – you kind of jump. But I’m fine. I want to thank everyone who has been supportive. Everyone has been terrific and I know that it’s just been one bad person and all of the Bahamians have been so nice and so supportive,” she said.

“I’ve lived in many countries and this isn’t a problem just in The Bahamas. I’ve lived in countries where you always have to watch what you are doing, where you are going and what’s happening and be aware of yourself and others and I will be even more aware now.”

Minister Mitchell said the main thing is to make sure that the vice cousul is fine.

“We deeply regret and deplore what happened. It’s not systematic of the general state of what is going on in The Bahamas. Certainly there is no intent towards US diplomats or toward our visitors. The country should be safe. The government is committed to making sure that it’s safe and all of the officials have been prepped about this to be sure that we do everything in our power to make sure that this never happens again,” he said.

Christopher Butler, 22, of Mckinney Drive and 29-year-old Josy Adelson of Golden Isles appeared before Chief Magistrate

Roger Gomez facing a charge for the murder of Rapeson Jules.

According to court dockets on June 4th the pair shot and killed the 31-year-old.

The duo was not required to enter a plea and will be served a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI) on September 2nd.

Shortly after, 18-year-old James Eric Almoner of Fox Hill was arraigned on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Reports indicate that on June 6th he assaulted two police officers with a hand gun.

He pleaded not guilty and will return to court on June 25th.

According to Central Detective Unit Chief Superintendent Paul Rolle, it was around 4:00 p.m. that they got a call about the shooting through Key West Street, where a 23-year-old man lay dead.

Police have since identified him as William McKenzie.

“Our preliminary investigations so far reveal that two males, the deceased, along with another who we believe is a juvenile, had in their possession a firearm and somehow that firearm discharge striking one of the men to the upper body.
“At this stage we’re not sure yet the complete reason for that but we have taken the shooter into custody.”
Up to press time, police had not yet classified this death.

“When we continue the investigation, if the circumstances give us the belief that it is murder then we will classify it as such,” he added.

“We have classified it as a homicide but we haven’t classified it as a murder. Allow us to do those investigations and we will classify it at some point.”

When the Bahama Journal arrived on the scene a number of onlookers and loved ones of the deceased had already gathered.

Some of them shouted, “I want William,” and, “Where is William,” grief was setting in.

McKenzie was shot to the upper body.
Police said their investigations into this matter are ongoing.

According to Mr. McCartney, who is a former state minister for Immigration, just a few months ago, Mr. Dorsett said the issue of shantytowns is a complex one as they are protected by “the elite.”

“The fact of the matter is that nothing has been done about these shantytowns throughout the years and persons living there have been allowed to do whatever they wish,” Mr. McCartney said in a press statement.

“Simply put, administration after administration lacked the political will to rid our country of this vexing problem. And based on the minister of Immigration’s statement, if these administrations have allowed shantytowns to develop without consequence because of these so called ‘protectors’ and ‘elites’ history would reflect that they have forever done this commonwealth a tremendous disservice and will not be kind to them.”

Mr. McCartney said the statement by the minister of Housing and Environment expressly states that some notices have already been served.

“The Democratic National Alliance wishes to know whether notices were served to date on these “protectors” and “elites” as described by the minister of Immigration. Indeed, the minister of Housing and Environment seems to indicate that they are aware of who are the owners of the land the shantytowns are on. If this is the case, then is the government willing to divulge who are these “protectors” and “elites” and what sanctions will the government levy against them?”

The DNA leader said the party is of the view that many of these shantytowns are owned by prominent PLPs and FNMs, hence their unrestricted development over the years. The shantytowns were indeed “protected”.

“We await the minister’s report on who these “protectors” and “elites” are. If we fail to hear from the government it can only be assumed that our assumption as to ownership is correct,” Mr. McCartney said.

“Alternatively, since there seems to be some contradiction in the Christie cabinet on shantytowns is this just pure talk by the minister of Housing and Environment? Indeed, the country is aware that the PLP government is all talk but very little action. They demonstrated this in their last administration (2002 to 2007) and they are true to form thus far since coming to office in May 2012. Needless to say we have seen that they are the masters of promises. Are these comments by the minister of Housing and Environment just another set of promises? Remember, that a promise is a comfort to a fool. This administration had “fooled us” in the recent general elections and based on their works thus far they continue to “fool us.”