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Volume: 122 No. 192, August 29, 2025
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‘I hope his mom can one day forgive me’ Montana’s mother says family unsettled by conflicting accounts By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net AN Abaco mother hopes the family of 12-year-old Montana Ferguson can one day forgive her after he died in a fire at her Crown Haven home. Montana, a close friend of her son, was spending the weekend — his first sleepover at the Scott’s house — when flames ripped through the residence around 3am on
Monday. Oceananna Scott, 41, said she was not at home when the blaze began but rushed back after being called. “I just looked around and hollered for everybody,” she told The Tribune. She said she was able to find her 23-year-old daughter and son, but not Montana. She could not explain why the boy, who slept alongside his friend, didn’t make it out of the home. FORGIVE - SEE page FOUR
Hield’s sisters chastised for disorderly conduct By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO sisters of Bahamian NBA star Buddy Hield were admonished by a magistrate yesterday after admitting charges of disorderly behaviour and
fighting following a brawl at Grand Bahama International Airport two weeks ago. Jalisa Hield, 35, an entrepreneur, and her sister Jaleta Hield, 31, a nurse, pleaded guilty before DISORDERLY - SEE page FIVE
Freetown candidate nominee Andrew ‘Blue’ Johnson standing with dejected supporters as Lincoln Deal given the nomination for the seat during the FNM candidates reveal at their headquarters on Mackey Street last night. Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
BGCSE National average Still pegged at D grade By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS Tribune Staff Reporter lmunnings@tribunemedia.net OF the 1,684 candidates who sat five or more BGCSE subjects this year, 627 — 37.2 percent — earned at least five C grades or better, while 970, or 57.6 percent, managed five subjects at grade D or above. As a share of all 6,103 registrants, the numbers drop
to about ten to 16 percent, though officials cautioned this understates achievement since many students take exams over multiple sittings. Fewer students held steady at C and D grades across subjects, while more slipped into the weaker E, F and U bands. The overall results again place national AVERAGE - SEE page THREE
‘Blue’ Johnson snubbed at FNM candidate reveal By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net FREE National Movement ratified seven more candidates last night as the party continued filling its slate ahead of the next general election. The event confirmed several familiar political aspirants and underscored shifts in key constituencies. Among those ratified were former Bain and Grants Town MP Travis Robinson for Fort Charlotte, Heather McDonald for Englerston, attorney Serpent Rolle for Tall Pines,
Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper
and businesswoman Trevania Clarke-Hall. Four of the seven ratified were women. FNM Leader Michael Pintard said the party had elevated more than 100 potential candidates before making its final choices. “Some may question why some went where they went,” he told supporters. “I’m here to tell you, we do not want to disadvantage the next generation. We want to give them a legitimate shot at being successful.” Mr Pintard acknowledged dissatisfaction among REVEAL - SEE page two