The July 28th, 2013 issue of The STAR (Cayo) is online HERE

This Week's Stories:

  • Alleged Home Invader Freed On Bail:
    It has been quite a while since we reported on a home invasion in the community. The latest such reported incident is alleged to have occurred at around 8:30 pm on Thursday, July 18, 2013 on the George Price Highway in Santa Elena. San Ignacio police received the report home invasion in the area known as Hotpoint on the George Price Highway in Santa Elena Town. A team of policemen rushed to the area where they met Hugh Tillet, 49, Belizean laborer originally from Crooked Tree Village in the Belize District. Tillet reported that sometime around 8:25 pm he and his wife were inside the bedroom of their house when two armed, masked male persons invaded the house and kicked down the bedroom door.
  • Rest In Peace Luis Mendez:
    The family of a promising football star is today preparing to lay their loved one to rest in the wake of a tragic accident that occurred in Guatemala on the evening of Tuesday, July 23, 2013. A Guatemalan news agency informed that it was shortly after 3:00 pm on Tuesday, July 23, when the bus in which Luis Mendez, 22, of a Benque Viejo Town address in the Cayo District, was travelling from Guatemala on the return journey to Belize along with his wife when the passenger bus reportedly crashed into a trailer causing it to slide off the road, down a gully and overturned. Several passengers were injured in the accident but Mendez was the only one who died.
  • Editorial: Confused, Confused, Confused:
    As the effort continues to connect the dots, several incidents making the news in the past days and weeks are yielding more questions than answers: 1.While it is no secret that we at the STAR Newspaper hold Audrey Matura Shepard in high regard; unless she comes forward and informs otherwise, we are of the view that her hasty disconnection from OCEANA is the product of an anti-homosexual article she wrote in the Amandala newspaper yet, as OCEANA's Representative in Belize she would allow herself to be used in the handing over of a four thousand dollar check to UNIBAM the lead group overtly promoting the homosexual agenda in Belize. 2. To the best of our knowledge UNIBAM could care less about anything having to do with on or off shore exploration for oil and even less about anything having to do with ocean protection. UNIBAM's singular focus is the promotion of gay rights and the homosexual agenda in Belize.
  • Letter to the Editor:
    I was saddened to see the report in the STAR listed as "anti-LGBT" "anti-UNIBAM" march, when it was specifically listed as a Constitution March, standing upon the Constitutional words invoking the Supremacy of God, the position of the family, inalienable rights endowed to us by our CREATOR, and that "men & institutions remain free ONLY in respect for moral & spiritual values and the rule of law." The word "Constitution" didn't appear once in your article. Then to follow up with the feedback from Asa Dematteo, who is a homosexual, married to a man, from San Francisco, the epitome of debauchery & homosexual license (if you're brave enough, look up "Folsom St. Fair" and you'll get a good picture of San Francisco and what excites Mr. Dematteo and the world HE wants to live in.) Sorry Mr. Dematteo, we absolutely support TRUE HUMAN RIGHTS and the qualification is being a HUMAN. We do not support homosexual rights, above everyone else's rights. Homosexual sodomy is NOT a fundamental human right. And it's unconstitutional in Belize.
  • Guatemalans Suspected In The Stealing Of Motorcycles:
    News is today surfacing of an alleged ring of motorcycle thieves with suspected cross border origins. In the latest incident, Floyd Thiessen, 22, Belizean farmer residing in Spanish Lookout reported that at around 11:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, 2013, he was at Belize Tire Depot located on Center Road in Spanish Lookout when a relative called allegedly informing him that someone had ridden off on his 2009, 450 cc Honda Motorcycle valued at ten thousand dollars which was parked inside his garage at home. An immediate fruitless search of the Spanish Lookout area was conducted. Based on the description of the individuals and the sequence of similar incidents, police investigators are of the opinion that the motorcycle thieves are from across the border in Guatemala.
  • Lifeline Foundation receives a BZ$2 Million from the Oak Foundation for the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit:
    A press release from Life Line Foundation and the office of the Special Envoy for Women and Children today informed that the founder of Life Line Foundation and the Special Envoy for Women and Children, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow is pleased to announce that the Oak Foundation has committed to donating 2 million dollars toward the construction and equipping of a new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. The release additionally informed that the donation is the result of over a year of discussions and due diligence between the Oak Foundation and the Lifeline Foundation. Half of the donation is earmarked for the construction of the new facility while the other one million dollars will go towards the procurement of equipment. The donation will allow for the works, which recently commenced on the new wing of the KHMH to move forward at a quicker pace while efforts continue to raise the remaining needed funds.
  • Belize Recognized Among the Top 10 Best Eco Vacation Spots in the World by FlipKey:
    Belize was named as one of the "Best Eco Vacation Spots" in the world by FlipKey, a TripAdvisor company. The list, developed based on both traveler feedback and industry research, commends Belize for its countless opportunities to experience incredible natural beauty and unique biodiversity. With 36 percent of Belize's landmass and 13 percent of its waters enjoying protected status, the country has long been a leader in this category. From the majestic Blue Hole to the recently established Turneffe Marine Reserve, Belize delivers an authentic, unspoiled experience for both locals and travelers to enjoy. Many others have recognized Belize for its prominence in this category, including renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, who says, "Thank you, Belize, for doing what you are on the land and in the sea; for taking care of the natural systems that take care of us. It is priceless."
  • Sand Hill Village Gets Multi Purpose Center:
    A spanking new multipurpose centre is slated to be inaugurated this Sunday, July 28, in Sand Hill Village in the Belize Rural North Constituency of the Hon. Edmund "Clear The Land" Castro. A release from the Social Investment Fund informs that the facility will benefit over 400 students, who prior to the project had to either travel all the way to Belize City on weekends or stay back after school to do research due to the lack of computer and internet resources in the village. The project, implemented by the Social Investment Fund, was financed by the Government of Belize at a total cost of over three hundred thousand dollars of which over two hundred and eighty five thousand dollars came in the form of a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank while the remaining fifteen thousand dollars was contributed by the people of Sand Hill. The project entailed the rehabilitation of the old community centre including the addition of a one room extension to serve as a kitchen. A temporary partition to facilitate mobile health clinics was also installed.
  • Suspected Bovine Rabies Reported In Toledo:
    The Ministry of Health (MOH) is hereby notifying the public that a suspected case of bovine rabies (rabies in cow) was reported on July 24, 2013 by Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) in the New Road Area of the Toledo District. The MOH and BAHA have been engaged in the investigation and treatment of eight exposed persons as part of a proactive response pending confirmation of laboratory result on the sample. While there is no confirmed case as yet, the public is reminded that periodic cases are seen in the country alluding to active circulation of the rabies virus between the wild, livestock and domestic animals. Officials with the Ministry of Health and BAHA will continue to monitor the situation and are encouraging residents to report any animals that are showing sign of rabies which includes tiredness, fever, vomiting and anorexia, weakness, paralysis, seizures, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, abnormal behavior, aggression, and/ or self-mutilation.
  • Belizeans In The United States Form A New Group To Address Dual Citizenship Rights:
    When Belize became independent on September the 21st 1981, Belizeans who were born in Belize and became citizens of the United States and other countries automatically lost their Belizean citizenships. While, people who were not born in Belize that obtained Belizean citizenship through; descent, marriage to a Belizean citizen naturalization etc. retained the citizenships of their natural born country and Belizean citizenship with all the rights, privileges and to run for office including becoming the Prime Minister of Belize.
  • BURNS:
    A young man sprinkling his lawn and bushes with pesticides wanted to check the contents of the barrel to see how much pesticide remained in it. He raised the cover and lit his lighter; the vapors ignited and engulfed him. He jumped from his truck, screaming. His neighbor came out of her house with a dozen eggs and a bowl yelling: "bring me some more eggs!" She broke them, separating the whites from the yolks. The neighbor woman helped her to apply the whites onto the young man's face. When the ambulance arrived and the EMTs saw the young man, they asked who had done this. Everyone pointed to the lady in charge. They congratulated her and said: "You have saved his face."
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  • Letters to the Editor
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