Michael Joseph Bruce Huyler, aged 74, Augusta Street, died at the Princess Margaret Hospital on Monday, October 2nd, 2023.

He is survived by his wife: Deanne Huyler; children: Michaella, Mellony, Vanessa and Tiffany Huyler; 6 grandchildren; numerous sisters, brothers and a host of other relatives and friends.

Funeral Arrangements will be announced at a later date.

Bahamian women's professional basketball player Jonquel 'JJ' Jones notched her seventh straight double-double of the postseason, but the New York Liberty were turned back by the Las Vegas Aces, 99-82, losing Game One of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals on Sunday.

Jones finished with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds on the road, at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The defending champions Aces took a key 1-0 lead in the series and will look to become the first repeat champion since the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2001-2002 season. The Liberty is looking to win the franchise's first title and it is the first time they are in the finals since 2002.

Despite the loss, Liberty's starting center Jones made WNBA history in Game One. She has now recorded the most double-doubles in a single postseason in the WNBA, as she did it in all seven of the Liberty's postseason games. By the end of the first half, she had 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Grand Bahama native played just over 34 minutes in the game, shooting 7-for-12 from the field at a 58.3 percent clip. She gathered in seven defensive boards and three on the offensive side. Defensively, she had a steal and a block each.

The league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) Breanna Stewart led Liberty with 21 points. The Aces were led by Jackie Young with 26 points.

The Liberty held a three-point lead heading to the second half, up 49-46. The home team came out of the locker room as a different team. They stayed close to Jones and the Liberty and then took charge. The 6:27 mark of the third quarter was the turning point in the game. Chelsea Gray put the Aces up 57-55 with a shot from deep. Jones was able to pull Liberty within a point after getting her third offensive board of the game and getting a putback layup. The Aces led 60-59 with 4:33 left in that quarter. The Aces kept going at the Liberty who could not get going offensively. The Aces took a 71-65 lead with just over a minute left in the quarter. At the end of the third quarter, the Aces led 72-65.

The fourth quarter opened with the Aces going on a 6-0 scoring run to take their first double-digit lead of the game. They led 78-65 with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter. The Aces kept their offense going, extending the lead. They held their biggest lead of the game of 22 points with a 94-72 cushion with 3:32 left in the game. Liberty's Head Coach Sandy Brondello pulled her starters with 1:34 left in the game.

In the second half, the Aces outscored the Liberty, 51-31. The Liberty shot just 41.2 percent in the second half compared to 61.3 percent for the Aces.

Game Two of the best-of-five series is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the same arena. The game will be aired on ESPN. It will be a key game for Jones and the Liberty as they look to tie the series at a game apiece. Game Three will be played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and if necessary, Game Four will be played at that same venue. If necessary, Game Five will be played in Las Vegas.

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The family of Obediah Wilchcombe and many other Bahamians are preparing to say their final farewell this week to the veteran Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) politician, former journalist, community activist and government minister, who died suddenly in Grand Bahama on September 25.

On Wednesday, Wilchcombe's body will lie in state at the House of Assembly, Parliament Square from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. for members of the public to pay their respects.

A state funeral is set for Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

On Friday, his body will be brought to Grand Bahama for viewing from noon to 5 p.m. at Gerald Bartlett Police Headquarters Complex, East Mall Drive.

A memorial service will take place at Bishop Michael Eldon Auditorium at 6 p.m. on Friday, and the official funeral service on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Pro Cathedral of Christ the King Church.

Wilchcombe will be laid to rest in West End Cemetery next to his father's remains.

"We are still in shock, but we are coping and keeping together as Obie would want us to," his brother, Christopher Wilchcombe, said.

There were a few changes made to the original homegoing itinerary, which initially included a viewing in Bimini to give the late minister's constituents on that small island an opportunity to bid their representative farewell.

However, his brother said the Bimini event will no longer take place and the minister's remains will be flown back to Grand Bahama for public viewing.

"We are coping every day ... one day at a time and just dealing with it. He is the first of eight children to pass," Wilchcombe said.

"Obie was a great brother to us and an amazing servant to the people."

The minister was found unresponsive and rushed to the trauma section at Rand Memorial Hospital, hours after giving a speech to the Grand Bahama PLP Women's branch meeting at the party headquarters.

At the time of his death, he was minister of social services, information and broadcasting, and member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama and Bimini.

Prime Minister Philip Davis has said Wilchcombe's contributions to the party are unmatched.

Wilchcombe's political journey began in the early 90s when he was elected chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party.

He was appointed a senator in 1994, before being elected as member of Parliament for West End and Bimini. He served in that capacity from 2002 to 2017.

Wilchcombe was re-elected in 2021.

He was very involved with community, sporting and civic organization, through donations and support that were not always publicized.

Founder of HIV/AIDS Survivors Benefit (HASB) Grand Bahama, Kevin Delancy, described Wilchcombe as an avid supporter of the organization.

"Obie was by my side every step of the way lending help to HASB," Delancy said.

Wilchcombe was among the first group of benefactors honored by HASB back in 2017.

"In his last message for World AIDS Day, he said that he was absolutely proud of the work I was doing, helping persons living with HIV and AIDS. Even though I thanked him, I just want to publicly express my profound gratitude for his words of encouragement and the love he showed to me," Delancy said.

"I truly don't know what I would have done without him. His generosity gave me hope to continue the work of HASB."

The post Wilchcombe to be laid to rest in GB this week appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

The post Wilchcombe to be laid to rest in GB this week appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

Tensions appear to be brewing in the Progressive Liberal Party over the candidate selection process for the West Grand Bahama and Bimini by-election. 

This comes after the death of the area's long-serving representative Obie Wilchcombe, who died unexpectedly while in office last month.

Letters of support have been written by some party branch executives in support of former Cabinet minister Shane Gibson, who previously represented Golden Gates, being nominated to represent the PLP in the constituency. However, PLP Chairman Fred Mitchell has characterized this movement as "rogue conduct," saying while an official selection process has not begun the candidate will be chosen from the pool of aspirants who were considered ahead of the 2021 general election.

He added that no former House of Assembly members are a part of that pool.

While he did not want to publicly discuss the matter due to the fact that Wilchcombe has not yet been laid to rest, Gibson told The Nassau Guardian yesterday that he "would accept" a PLP nomination for the West Grand Bahama and Bimini by-election if it was offered to him.

Despite the apparent support in some quarters for Gibson, party insiders say another man - Chief Passport Officer Kingsely Smith Jr. - is the rumored favorite among the PLP's leadership to take up Wilchcombe's mantle.

Smith was one of several prospective candidates for the PLP's nomination for the constituency in 2021, however, he lost to Wilchcombe by a wide margin in the party's internal race.

Smith was coy when asked yesterday to respond to speculation that he is the party's favorite to run in the by-election.

Asked if he is interested in the nomination, he said, "interest is still there".

The Nassau Guardian spoke with two PLP West Grand Bahama and Bimini branch executives who support Gibson.

They are upset at what appears to be the party's attempt to divest them of the process of selecting the candidate they want.

Derrick Delancey, chairman of West Grand Bahama and Bimini branch #3, said the situation is "unfair".

"We believe that is unfair and I am going to be real with you, we are waiting until after the funeral and we are going to try and have a discussion with the leader to try and get our point across," Delancey told The Nassau Guardian yesterday. "Yes, we disagree with what they're saying. We think it's wrong. Definitely wrong."

He said the branch should be able to nominate a candidate of its choosing.

"That is the way it's always been done," Delancey said.

"The branch picks [a candidate], the Candidates Committee looks over it, scrutinizes it, to see whatever they want, but that's the way it's done. But they want to take that process away from us this time it seems like, but I can tell you right after we have put him (Wilchcombe) down, we're prepared to go all the way with our choice."

Asked if his branch would support Smith, Delancey said "definitely not".

He added, "We had a bad experience the last time around when he was put in the pool to knock the late member of Parliament out of there. ... There was a fight for that [nomination in 2021]. And we were victorious with that one, so it's a bad taste in our mouths to even come again and bring the same name up again."

In early 2021, some PLP insiders believed that if Wilchcombe received the nomination, the party would face fallout in its efforts to convince the electorate that the party is reformed and rebranded.

But Wilchcombe overwhelmingly won the approval of the West Grand Bahama branches in April 2021.

Wilchcombe at the time reported that he received 154 of the votes; Ginger Moxey received five; Paco Deal got four; Smith got four and Lewis Astwood received no votes.

Kitty Saunders, chairwoman of the PLP's Bimini branch, said Mitchell's statement about the situation was "disappointing".

Saunders, who has also written a letter to the PLP's leadership in support of Gibson, said yesterday, "I would hope we in the islands, in Bimini and West Grand Bahama, would have been considered, at least our opinion, or they should have explained it to us the reason why they did it how they did it.

"I know maybe they have their personal preference, that's all well and good, but at the end of the day, whoever it is, we here in Bimini and West Grand Bahama I'm sure will support that person; but it should have been more fair."

Saunders said Smith's name is being tossed around as a possible candidate. Describing him as "hardworking," she said the branch prefers a candidate with experience over a newcomer.

"Whatever the party chooses, we would have to come back together; but me personally, and I'm quite sure a lot of us would prefer a stronger candidate versus a newcomer for Bimini."

Yesterday, Mitchell commented on the situation, referencing the "rogue conduct" of some political elements. He did not mention Gibson or his supporters by name.

"I want to comment on the rogue conduct of some political elements while my late colleague Obie Wilchcombe is still above the ground," Mitchell said in a voice note that was released on Monday.

He said nothing official regarding a candidate will take place until after sunset on Thursday, the day of Wilchcombe's funeral.

"Anything done before is null and void. In 2002, Perry Christie, the PLP leader [at the time], refused a candidate for a seat which we could have won in Andros despite pressure to nominate a particular candidate. He said, 'I'd rather lose doing the right thing than win doing the wrong thing.' So let's say amen to that," Mitchell said.

Letters of support

In a September 27 letter to Prime Minister and PLP Leader Philip Davis, PLP Deputy Leader Chester Cooper, Mitchell, and PLP Secretary General Barbara Cartwright, Saunders wrote that branch executives met last month and have "unanimously decided" to offer Gibson their full support as the by-election candidate.

"In the wake of the sudden and devastating passing of West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Obie Wilchcombe, our constituency finds itself in need of a capable and experienced representative," Saunders wrote.

"We believe that Mr. Gibson is the ideal candidate to fulfill this important role. Unlike a novice politician with no prior governance experience, Mr. Gibson has a proven track record of dedication and effective service to his constituents and his constituency."

In a letter dated October 3 to Davis and other party leaders, executives from three West Grand Bahama constituency branches - Aneka Ferguson, Anastacia Saunders, and Delancey - also endorsed Gibson as their next candidate.

The branch members noted that while Gibson previously represented a New Providence constituency, he has "personal ties" to Grand Bahama and frequently visits the island with his wife to connect with her family.

"Mr. Gibson has consistently proven himself to be a doer, not merely a talker," they wrote. "We have the utmost confidence that he has the capability to lead West Grand Bahama forward, seamlessly continuing the impactful work of our late MP, Obie Wilchcombe, who will be sorely missed."

In 2019, Gibson, the former minister of labor and national insurance, was acquitted of 15 counts of bribery which were brought against him when the Minnis administration was in power.

In early 2022, he reached a $2.5 million settlement with the government for malicious prosecution.

Later that year, Gibson confirmed he planned to return to politics and had his sights on the MICAL seat for the 2026 general election. The MICAL constituency is currently represented by PLP member Basil McIntosh.

At the time, Gibson said he would only pursue the nomination for MICAL if McIntosh did not seek reelection.

Article 67 of the constitution states that a by-election must be held within 60 days after a House of Assembly seat becomes vacant for any reason other than a dissolution of Parliament.

The post 'I would accept PLP nomination' appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

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