NATIONAL NOTES

November 2000 Table of Contents

NATIONAL NOTES

Two BaTelCo Workers Die: A 260 foot radio tower collapsed in Staniel Cay, Exuma, killing two BaTelCo installation and maintenance riggers who were inspecting it at the time. Dead are Dwayne Tucker, 36, and Hastings Rollins, 39, both of Nassau. Both men had over 15 years experience as riggers.

Olympic Successes: The Bahamian women's 4 x 100m relay team won gold and Pauline Davis-Thompson won silver in the women's 200m to highlight a historically successful Olympics for The Bahamas. It was so close to being better as the men's 4 x 400m team just failed to win a medal, fading to take fourth place towards the end of the race. The Bahamas had won gold before in yachting in 1966 with Sir Durward Knowles and Cecil Cooke and a bronze by Frank Rutherford in the triple jump in 1992. After the Sydney Olympics there were calculations made to find the most successful country in terms of population versus medals achieved by the Daily Mail of London. Guess which country won? The Bahamas, by a long way! Just the relay gold gave us first place and Pauline's silver separated us from the field. The US placed 44th using these criteria.

Who Let the Dogs Out? Woof! Woof! Believe it or not, the hottest song around is a Bahamian production, though written by a Trinidadian. The nine man band Bahamen and their Who Let the Dogs Out? is a theme song throughout professional sporting events in the US. At this early stage it is second only to Queen's We Will Rock You and ahead of the other Queen sporting favourites We Are the Champions of the World and Another One Bites the Dust. The recording has already reached Platinum and is well on its way to Double Platinum. Bahamen performed in October on NBC's Today show, Good Morning America and ESPN and also took part in the subway World Series. Is the song good? Go figure. But wherever testosterone rules, they are playing it. The Bahamas is not new to producing great songs. Funky Nassau was a big hit in the 80's and the spiritual Michael Row the Boat Ashore and Sloop John B , made famous by the Beach Boys, were traditional Bahamian songs.

Unions Miffed: It appears as though neither unions nor employers like the proposed labour bills which were due to be tabled in late October. A sick out by unions on 12th October might have been the catalyst which persuaded government to defer readings of the bills until the more important money laundering bills were addressed. Prime Minister Ingraham returned from a month in Europe discussing the position of The Bahamas in respect of possible Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development sanctions. Mr Ingraham returned with positive news and felt sure The Bahamas was well on its way to satisfying OECD concerns.

Abaco Champions: Abacom United became soccer champions of The Bahamas on 22nd October when they beat Nassau champions Cavalier FC at Thomas A Robinson Stadium in Nassau by a score of 2-1. Eddie Petit scored for Abacom in the sixth minute and James Julmiste added a second in the 58th minute. from then on it was up to Abacom's vaunted defence to keep Cavalier at bay. Cavalier pulled one goal back but at the final whistle it was the boys from Marsh Harbour who had prevailed.

Abaco Man Wins Appeal: The Bahamas Court of Appeal changed the murder conviction of Stephen Edgecombe of Dundas Town to one of manslaughter on 23rd October. Edgecombe, now 23, will now serve a 15 year gaol sentence instead of receiving the death penalty. Edgecombe had been convicted of the 3rd August 1995 rape and murder of Yvonne Curry of Marsh Harbour. He was tried three times and the first two trials ended in hung juries.

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