Today's Belize News: May 11, 2016

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Today's Belize News: May 11, 2016 #513675 05/11/16 05:57 AM
Joined: Oct 1999 Posts: 84,398 oregon, spr Marty OP
OP Marty	FOR TODAY'S BELIZE WEATHER, CLICK HERE Click for our Daily Tropical Weather Report. Specials and Events Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5, LOVETV, PGTV, West Vision (Cayo) and CTV 3. Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, Rise and Shine Morning Show, and the Dickie Bradley Specials The San Pedro Sun San Pedro Tiger Sharks ready to claim three-peat championship On Saturday, May 7th the San Pedro Tiger Sharks took on the Smart Belize Hurricanes in the second game of the 2016 National Elite Basketball League (NEBL) Finals. The heated match between these two basketball titans took place at the Angel Nu�ez Auditorium at 9PM. Fans from both teams were out in full force, cheering and chanting for their favorite team. For the Tiger Sharks, this was a must win game as, Smart Belize Hurricanes had won the first game of three in this epic series and their first NEBL championship showdown. Fortunately, the two-time defending champions rose to the occasion, crushing the Hurricanes in one exhilarating match. Ambergris Today Pic of the Week - Do You Yoga in Belize? We dare you to find a more picturesque yoga setting in Belize. Michelle Foster shares her 'Shanti' moment with her yoga group on top of the new 'Belize' sign located next to the Baron Bliss Memorial along the coast of Belize City. She recently completed her yoga teacher training at Om Shanti Belize Yoga School 200hr Yoga Alliance. Where do you Yoga? Belize Anglers Win Big at Mahahual, Mexico Fishing Tournament The Marin Family (Aaliyah Marly), from San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, took second place and a brand new 2016 compact car at the 25th annual Governor's Cup Mahahual 2016 Fishing Tournament held in QRoo, Mexico this past weekend. The two-day tourney saw 13 boats from Belize competing against a slew of Mexican anglers. Four boats from San Pedro, Belize, won top prizes that included a compact car, ATV four-wheeler and motorbikes: Team Aaliyah Marly (Enrique Marin) 2nd place - Compact Car, Team Arsenal (Jody Leslie) 5th place - ATV four-wheeler, Team Seacarous (Ivan Staines) 8th place - Motorbike, Team Captain Sharks (James Ritchie) 11th place - Motor Bike. Misc Belizean Sources SELL - A - THON at the Lions Den in San Pedro May 14th 8am - 1pm MEDIA TRAINING! The Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage is offering a FREE training program for Belizean and Belize-based journalists. If you are interested, please inbox/message me (include email address)! NURSING SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION 2016 The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Education is pleased to announce the call for application submission for Nursing Scholarships 2016. Belize Screen on the Green Belize Screen on the Green is featuring the movie, "Coal Miner's Daughter" this Thursday, May 12, 2016 at Governor General Field in Belmopan. As always, movie is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Please bring a blanket, a chair and a snack and join us for a fun evening! About the movie - Raised in rural Kentucky poverty and married at the age of 13, Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek) begins writing and singing her own country songs in her early 20s. With the tireless help of her husband Oliver "Mooney" Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones), Loretta rises from local honky-tonks and small-time record deals to national tours and hit singles, befriending her idol Patsy Cline (Beverly D'Angelo) and becoming a country music icon despite the toll stardom takes on her family and her marriage. Rating - PG (adult situations/language and violence) *In the event of rain the movie will be held at UB's Jaguar Auditorium and movie will start at 6:00 pm sharp. Benque House of Culture Art Sessions Art Sessions every Saturday for the month of May starting on the 14th - Still Life Lessons at 2:00 p.m. AROUND THE WORLD EMBASSY TOUR- PASSPORT DC On Saturday, May 7, 2016, The Belize Hotel Association, was in Washington DC to participate in The Around the World Embassy Tour which is a signature event of Passport DC. This is an annual celebration of international culture, where featured embassies in Washington showcase their countries artists and artisans, performers, lecturers, teachers, and others. The event is open to the public and it allows for visitors to immerse themselves in the culture, traditions, food and music from many countries around the world. Attendees receive a "passport" which is stamped at each embassy that they visit during the event. Besides Belize, other participating countries this year included Afghanistan, African Union, Albania, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Korea, Kosovo, Libya, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Belize Hotel Association, represented by President Leisa Carr-Caceres, saw over 1000 visitors to the booth and over 400 Hotel guides were handed out along with BHA Maps and other promotional materials. OCEANA mural in Corozal Sarteneja Village artist Chuy Carrillo creates a beautiful mural at Corozal Town's Coronation Park commissioned by Oceana in Belize and the Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage. Who's ready to paint this week! This is a great painting for begnners and also great for advanced painters to get creative and change the snenery if they like. Always remember you are in control of your brush. Let me know who would like a stenciled canvas or a blank one. See you Thursday! Government Explains Refugee Situation in Belize The Government of Belize wishes to clarify reports in the media that there is currently an amnesty program for irregular migrants or for persons who have illegal immigration status in Belize. There is no such amnesty. The committee was reactivated in June 2015 after several years of dormancy. Since reactivation, the committee has held five meetings to consider applications for asylum from persons fleeing from persecution, especially gang violence in their home countries. To date the Committee has vetted and recommended 92 applications and these have been submitted to the Minister with responsibility for Immigration for the grant of refugee status or otherwise. MOTHER'S DAY EXTRAVAGANZA 2016 The San Pedro Town Council hosted yet another successful Mother's Day event for all the Mothers of San Pedro. The mom's were treated to a night filled with games, music, dances and laughter - and let's not forget the food, drinks and dessert! The event started with an opening address by the Mayor of San Pedro Town, His Worship Daniel Guerrero, followed by the keynote address by Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr., Minister of Tourism & Civil Aviation and lastly the closing remarks by Councilor Flora, who was head organizer of the event. Once the official ceremonies were over, the fun began with the games! Participants were randomly selected to participate in games such as musical chairs, singing competition, dance competition and many others. While they enjoyed their delicious turkey dinner, they were entertained by Yaka's Elite Dancers in collaboration with the San Pedro Dance Academy. Also part of the line up and headliners of the event were musical sensation and excellent imitator of Juan Gabriel that had the audience waving their roses from side to side as he serenaded them with Juan Gabriel's greatest hits. Rehab beautiful yellow loreds The air around Wildtracks is alive with the sound of parrots this morning...we have had the pleasure of acting as the release site for six yellow-lored parrots - a Yucatan endemic with a distribution limited to southern Mexico and Belize, and found in Belize's northern coastal forests. These six parrots have completed their rehabilitation at Belize Bird Rescue, and then been moved to Wildtracks for just over a week of acclimatization before their release. Yesterday, their enclosure door was opened...and all six parrots are now back in the wild. Over the coming days we will continue feeding them and keeping an eye on them until we can be sure that they are thriving...but for today we are just enjoying the sight of them stretching their wings. Kudos to Belize Bird Rescue for all their hard work in ensuring parrots such as these have a chance to return to the wild...it is illegal to catch parrots or keep them as pets in Belize, and BBR have worked hard with the Forest Department over the past years to address this issue. Channel 7 Cayo Crowd Came Out To Condemn & Curse Alleged Double Murderer Anchor security guard Andy Bustillos was arraigned today in Cayo for 2 counts of murder. Bustillos allegedly shot and killed his ex-common law wife Miriam "Betty" Mai and her sister in law Daisy Miralda on Saturday April 30th. He then shot himself in the head but he survived. It happened inside Betty's Beauty Salon in Cayo. Now this double murder has wrecked 2 families and infuriated the community. And they showed their anger today as Bustillos was escorted to court. Courtney Weatherburne was there to capture that moment. "In our hearts forever" that was the message the Mai and Miralda families and friends carried with them this morning as they gathered beneath the shade in front of the San Ignacio police station. But while they all stood in love and solidarity for the tragic loss of Miriam Mai and Daisy Miralda, they also stood and waited for justice. Mai's and Miralda's alleged murderer Anchor Security Guard Andy Bustillos was charged yesterday evening with 2 counts of murder. So this morning, with loved ones looking on and police officers standing guard, Bustillos was brought out for his arraignment in court. And that same peaceful crowd then erupted in rage and indignation. Cop Say Domestic Abuse Law Must Be Changed For Earlier Interventions Now although Mai suffered the abuse in silence and her friends also kept it a secret, wasn't there anything else the police could have done? Senior Superintendent Andrew Ramirez explained that if a victim or complainant refuses to press charges there is nothing much the police can do and he told us that is what happened in Miriam Mai's case. As we told you, Mai had gone to the police to complain about the abuse on several occasions. She had also gotten a protection order against Bustillos but according to Ramirez, after all that, she still refused to press charges. Ramirez said that there has to be an adjustment to the law regarding domestic abuse so the police can do more. Courtney Weatherburne: "I know that there are formalities as you said before, the victim has to want to press charges and take it to court but aren't there special situations when you know personally that a woman is being abused by her husband or boyfriend. Isn't there any special situation where you really push on and try to help the woman? Because maybe she's fearful, she's afraid to speak out, she doesn't know how to tell her family members that she's being abused, she doesn't know where to go." Bulgarian Scammers Charge CC Fraud Last night, we told you about the 2 Eastern European men from Bulgaria who were allegedly caught after going on a prolific cyber theft in Belize of monies believed to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well tonight, we can share more details with you. Their identities have since been revealed to us as 25 year-old Halid Yuksel Aptula, and 28 year-old Georgi Tsvyatkov (z -vi-at-kov) Petrov, both of Bulgaria. They were arrested, charged, and arraigned in Magistrate's Court this evening, and we'll share the details on that hearing with you a later on. But, first, to the details of a very intriguing tale of cyber-theft. Well, on Saturday, May 7, just before midday, a very vigilant auditor from the Belize Bank was out doing some errands. He stopped by the Belize Bank ATM on Albert Street to withdraw some money, and that's when he spotted Halid Aptula who was trying to withdraw money. This auditor, who apparently had been briefed by his superiors at the Belize Bank, recognized Aptula as the suspicious man in past surveillance camera footage which captured him and his associate conducting fraudulent withdrawals using the cyber theft scheme they'd set up. Northern Cops Copped A Kilo of Coke Orange Walk police came up on one and a half kilo of cocaine today right in the middle of town. The cops say they got a call that someone had stashed cocaine in an open lot. They followed up on the lead, and at 3:20 this afternoon, they came upon a parcel of uncut cocaine neatly wrapped. Officer Commanding Selwyn Tillett told our colleagues at CTV-3 more:... ASP Selvin Tillett, OC - Orange Walk: "A search was conducted on an empty lot on Pastor Street, where at the back of the lot, behind some grasses was a black rectangular pack that was retrieved by police. When the package was opened, it contained white powdery substance with a pungent odor suspected to be cocaine." Reporter: "Do you know what would be the value of this amount of cocaine found?" ASP Selvin Tillett, OC - Orange Walk: "Roughly about $20,000 - $22,000." The Staggering Cost of BTL Acquisition Now Being Tallied The full bill for the BTL acquisition is coming due and it's in the hundreds of millions of dollars. 7News has received unofficial information saying that the ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands has been issued - and right now the numbers people on both sides are just reviewing the final figures to see if they are correct. As you may recall, the Ashcroft Allied company, Dunkeld International took the government to international arbitration for the acquisition of its 45 million or so shares in Telemedia. The Ashcroft side claimed the shares were worth around ten Belize dollars each, and government's international experts, the valuation company NERA put the value at about one dollar and fity cents per share. Woman Faces Trial For Allegedly Killing Her Ex And Injuring His GF Viewers will remember Calaney Flowers, now 30 years-old. She has been spending 3 years and 8 months on remand while she awaits trial for murder and attempted murder. She was accused of knocking down and killing her baby's father, 29 year-old Lyndon Morrison, and seriously injuring his new girlfriend, Sochyl Sosa. That happened on August 28, 2012, and for that entire time the Morrison Family has remained quiet while they waited for the state to prosecute the woman believed to have killed their loved-one with her car. Well, today, at the start of the murder trial against Calaney Flowers the family finally broke the silence. Lyndon Morrison's mother, Laurel Grant, took the stand and testified against her as a prosecution witness, and this evening, after finishing her testimony, she spoke with us about their extended wait for the trial to start. Here's what she told us: San Pedro Murder Victim Was Shot In Testicles: Family Says Police in San Pedro are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Melvin Almendarez. It is a curious case because as far as everyone knows Almendarez was not a trouble maker. He had a clean police record, and was known in the community for his positive influence in youth and sports. So why would anybody want him dead? That is the question that police are still trying to figure out. When we spoke to police yesterday, they didn't say much. They would not even confirm if he had been shot. But today his post mortem examination states that Melvin died of, "�face trauma as a consequence of blunt instrument type and a gunshot wound to the abdomen." The report says "abdomen" but family members who received the body yesterday tell us he was shot to the testicles. They further believe that after being shot, Almendarez was run over by a golf cart. What!? Guat. Soldiers On Belize Side of Border? Many eyebrows were raised yesterday around 4:00 in the afternoon when three Guatemalan Soldiers were spotted with their weapons on the Belize side of the border. They were parked near the OAS Adjacency Zone office, which is on the Belize side of the border. As this photo shows, the soldiers were casual - and our unofficial information is that they were escorting a senior officer, who was on official business at the Adjacency Zone office. We did call that office, and they told us the Director wasn't there. But we did send him an email - to which we haven't yet gotten a response. In The South, Guate Kids Come Over For School Too But as we've shown you, hundreds of Guatemalan schoolchildren freely cross that same border daily to attend primary and high school in Belize. But, it doesn't only happen in the west, it also happens in the south at the unregulated Jalacte border crossing. Except, down there, we can't say how many cross because their is no checkpoint - Guatemalans and Belizeans just crisscross the border freely. We found that out in 2008 when we went down there to investigate a dispute about a Guatemalan warehouse structure which had been placed on Belizean territory. And the dynamic we found down there is the same on driving the encroachments in the Chiquibul, and causing the Guatemalan schoolchildren to go to schools in western and southern Belize. Here's how Guatemalan Edgar Savedra put it:... Edgar Savedra, Jalacte Resident: "I was born in Guatemala but I have to live in Belize because I need somewhere to work. In Guatemala there are only pasturelands and poor people like myself have nowhere to love. I have more opportunities here in Belize because I like to make milpas. I can plant beans and rice and I need to work. In my country I don't have an opportunity to work because I don't have any land." Guatemalan Analyst Criticize His Government For Showing Military Muscle And those historically easy relations and casual crossings are what the sudden militancy from the Guatemalan military seems to want to put into jeopardy. Today we picked up a report from Chapin TV in Guatemala where a Guatemalan analyst criticized his government for militarizing the terms of the territorial dispute. In fact there are a number of Guatemlan NGO's criticizing the Guatemalan Government for their aggressive response to incident with the 13 year old minor. They said this approach has placed the bilateral relationships in jeopardy. Here's the interview political analyst Hugo Novales did with Chapin TV. He's a political analyst for a Guatemalan organization called "Asi-es." Mayor Says City Getting Ready For Rains The rains are upon us- well almost anyways. Belize's typical rainy season starts in late May or early June. And as sure as the rains will fail, if you live in Belize City, you can count on your street being flooded - even if only for a few hours. And while there's only so much you can do about floods in a city at sea level, what about all those clogged drains? They don't clean themselves - and so is the city council busy cleaning them before the rains? Here's what the mayor told us today:... Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor: "We have 3 crews going out right now as we speak and they've been doing this for the last 2 months in terms of certain strategic areas of Belize City and their focu s is exclusively on drain cleaning. They've been working in Lake Independence; we have a crew deployed in parts of Caribbean Shores; we have a crew deployed in sections of Port Loyola and we have a crew deployed in sections of Collet. We are also working quiet closely with the Flood Mitigation Project in relation to certain aspects with the improvement of the canal works that they have been doing over the last year and a half. One of the things that we have also identified is the importance of trying to get the community onboard, because often times assets are developed, drains are cleaned but one of the things we've noticed is that a lot of people block the drains because they don't have a culvert. 5 Years For Firearms No Longer Automatic Last month, we told you how Belize City resident Allyson Major sued the Government and the Police over the Firearms Amendment Act. The law was changed by the Barrow Administration to crack down on crime, and the rationale was that by assigning collective responsibility for individual wrongdoing, the police would increase their chances of a conviction for illegal firearms. Or, to put it differently, the lawmakers figured that if his whole family was charged, the guilty son would be forced to 'fess up'. Well, Allyson Major sued GSU and the court ruled that the police violated his constitutional rights. The pre-trial penalty of an automatic remand that Major was forced to endure violated his constitutional right to the presumption of innocence. So since then, the law has been sort of on shaky grounds, and last week, Anthony Sylvestre, who successfully argued Major's case, represented one of 2 men who challenged the mandatory minimum sentence. They came at the draconian law from the other direction. The Other Side of Sandhill's Supposed Arson Last night we told you about a mother and her 3 kids who lost their home in a fire. 35 year old Sandhill resident Kafi Davis was in Corozal when she got the call about the fire early Sunday morning. She raced back to Sandhill only to find the charred remains of her house. Davis told us yesterday that she believes it was arson and that it was as a result of an ongoing domestic dispute. Well tonight, we have another side to that story: Davis's husband, Steve Davis who just got out of police custody, sent us an email giving us his side of the story. He said that he was in Belize City with friends at the time of the fire. He claims that the Fire Department has it as an electrical fire, not arson. And then he adds that that even if he was in the area he wouldn't destroy a house he helped to fix. He writes, quote, "I borrowed money to put a new roof on the house so why would I throw away money like that?" Davis continues by saying that he turned himself into police after hearing the stories about him. He did end off on a light note by saying "Any help for my wife to get back on her feet would be greatly appreciated." Again, if you would like to help you can call Kafi Davis at 633 - 5572. CitCo Gives Six Computers The Belize City Council today donated 6 brand new desktop computers to Gwen Lizarraga High School. They were installed by the City Council technicians earlier today, and when we went there for the official handing over, they were already in use. It is an asset to the school which serves upwards of 600 students. The donation is valued at 6 thousand dollars. Mayor Calls Out GOB For Being Slack On Siltation Earlier we told you what the city is doing about the drains in advance of the rainy season, but another related issue is the silt that has developed at the mouth of Haulover creek - the main river channel leading into Belize City. Historically that waterway is what brought settlers to this area in the first place. But experts say, that in 5 years or so, we could lose the creek altogether. And that's because it's chocking on its own silt. When we last spoke to Mayor Bradley about the situation he said that the city doesn't have the 2 million dollars funds to dredge the area properly, and that in fact it is central government's job to do it. Today he took it a step further and throw central government under the bus for lacking leadership to get the job done. Here is how he put it. Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor: "Well I think that this is something that people have been saying for months now. I mean, like I go to Baron Bliss Park, I drive along the Southern foreshore, you see it. It's been reported on the media on numerous occasions and again you just need that leadership to just step up. We have a proposal in place, it's going to cost 2.5 million dollars. We have individuals who have even indicated to the council that they would voluntarily commit resources and energy and people who own dredging machines to do it free of cost." Ruben Released; Confession Statement Struck Out Twenty-three year old Ruben Price is a free man tonight, after being acquitted of the murder of Steven Perez in a trial without jury. It happened in June of 2011, when Perez was shot and killed at the corner of Dolphin and Iguana Streets. Police picked up Price shortly after on a nearby street - they say he tried to get away. But, there were no eye witnesses to the shooting and the case for the prosecution depended on a confession statement that Price gave to the police. But, in court he said he was tasered and beaten by the police to give the statement. The prosecution called 8 witnesses to prove that the statement was given voluntarily. But, defence witness, Dr. Raul Ordonez, testified that when he examined Price he found that there were abrasions to his chest, neck, abdomen, both arms and knees. Channel 5 Pair of Alleged Bulgarian Cyber Thieves Arraigned in Magistrates Court Two nationals from Bulgaria appeared late in court this evening and were charged for theft from the Belize Bank.� There was a delay in their arraignment because the court was [...] Bulgarian Duo Implicated in International Credit Card Scam Aptula's attorney says that they are in communication with the Belize Bank to settle the matter. The two Bulgarians allegedly visited the Albert and North Front Streets ATMs of the [...] 111 Credit Cards Found Inside Their Apartment During arraignment today, the police claimed that the scam begun on September seventh, 2015. The men were detained on Saturday and taken to their room at Easy Inn on the [...] Andy Bustillos Arraigned for Double Murder of Ex-common-Law and Sister-In-Law After spending just over a week recovering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, on Monday afternoon, thirty-one year old Andy Bustillos was arrested and charged for the double [...] Still No Arrests in Double Murder of Guatemalan Men Meanwhile an investigation is ongoing in the double murder of two Guatemalan nationals in the San Francisco area of San Ignacio. Fifty-two-year-old Santos Ramon Gomez and thirty-seven-year-old Orlando Antonio Garcia [...] Reuben Price Walks From 2014 Murder Charge Another murder trial by judge ended with an acquittal today for the accused. In a no case submission, Reuben Price's attorney, Simeon Sampson submitted that the only evidence the prosecution [...] Dionicio Salazar is Convicted of Killing Marlon Rivera The prosecution, however, secured a conviction in the murder trial against Dionicio Salazar. On Friday in the�Belmopan Supreme Court, Salazar was found guilty of the murder of Marlon Rivera. �He [...] Question: Will Guatemala Withdraw its Troops from the Belize Side of the Sarstoon? And tonight's question is: Do you believe Guatemala will withdraw its troops from the Belize side of the Sarstoon? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 [...] What's the Latest on Belize and Guatemala on the Sarstoon? At news time it is still not certain if there are any planned meetings between Belize and Guatemala in respect of the Sarstoon even though government says it is cautiously [...] Trade Union Congress Weighs in on Refugee Eligibility Committee The present refugee situation in Belize is another hot-button issue making headlines tonight.� News of an amnesty program for irregular migrants and for persons with illegal immigration status was initially [...] Sarstoon Law Fiercely Opposed by N.T.U.C.B. The National Trade Union Congress of Belize remains vocal in demanding that government rescind the Sarstoon Prohibition Regulation.� The N.T.U.C.B. is in strident opposition of the law, despite a release [...] B.N.T.U. Rally is Fully Endorsed by Umbrella Organization The Belize National Teachers Union, which falls under the umbrella organization, is coordinating a rally in Belize City on Friday.� The public demonstration, part of the recently launched Stand Up [...] Gwen Liz Receives Computer Donation from CitCo There was good news today for students at a high school in the south side of the city. At the request of the Gwen Lizarraga High School, a number of [...] Belize City Mayor Comments on Citywide Crackdown on Liquor Licenses A citywide crackdown on all local businesses selling liquor after hours without the requisite license remains in effect and police officers are wasting no time enforcing the law.� The ongoing [...] A New Roundabout with a Controversial Flag A newly constructed monument at the roundabout near the Phillip Goldson Highway and Chetumal Street is receiving mixed reviews from residents of Belize City.� The marker, which was built by [...] B.N.T.U. President Shares Perspective on BTV's Thwarted Sarstoon Expedition B.N.T.U. President Luke Palacio, during a press conference on Monday, shared a rather interesting perspective on recent events in the south, following the passage of the Sarstoon Law.� Palacio told [...] An Awareness and Education Campaign on Going to ICJ As we told you, the B.N.T.U. is marching on Friday, to Stand Up for Belize. The union is also embarking upon a series of sensitization forums for teachers.� Those discussions [...] Belize Music Week is a Few Days Away! Fresh from successful presentations at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, artists will keep the pace with a series of events to promote the local music industry. Belize Music Week starts [...] Music Ambassador Speaks on Upcoming Music Seminar The week-long activities will be held at the Memorial Park in Belize City and will feature live performances on a daily basis by some of Belize's finest artists. But according [...] CTV3 One Kilo Of Cocaine Found By Orange Walk Police Orange Walk Police are today reporting a significant cocaine bust with a street value of over twenty four thousand dollars. The operation happened at around 3:00 this afternoon after Police received information from a concerned citizen reporting a suspicious person hiding something in an empty lot. When the Police, Domestic and Special Branch team descended on the empty lot located on Pasture Street and conducted a search they found a black plastic pack containing a powdery substance believed to be cocaine. Superintendent Selvin Tillette - Officer Commanding OWDP "The package was photographed and taken to the Orange Walk Police station where is was weight to an amount of 1200 grams of Cocaine, a preliminary test was conducted and it resulted in the presence of cocaine detected, at the moment we are still trying to follow up on it to see if we could detect where it came from and if we can find any more in the area." BNTU Orange Walk Branch Calls Teachers To Attend Friday's Rally In last night's newscast we told how the Belize National Teachers Union council of management agreed during a meeting on Saturday to replace its annual Teachers' Day celebrations with a rally in Belize City, as part of their ongoing "Stand up for Belize" campaign. During the meeting the union also called on GOB to remove the S.I. that restricts travel in the Sarstoon. Today we spoke to president of BNTU Orange Walk, Otilio Munoz, who explained the importance for all teachers to come out and join the stand against the implementation of the Sarstoon Law. Otilio Munoz- President- BNTU Orange Walk: "We agreed that we are going to be celebrating teachers day different and it is not going to be again in their respective places that all the branches had already planned, we are going to be taking it to Belize City but at the same time we want to do a rally, a demonstration rally because we believe that the Union is in the position that we don't believe with the SI that the Government of Belize has come out with and if the SI has been sent and that SI was sent for the people that really wanted to go to the Sarstoon expedition, what about if the government decide we want to have the Union out of this thing and them trying to mess out the negotiations so we going to send out an SI as to that to the Unions that you cannot be participating in anything of rally and demonstration so we believe that this is the time that we can show to the government that we are serious that that SI needs to be remove that is one and two that we are sending a message on our own day, on teacher's day, as educators of this country we are standing up." Belize National Teachers Union Gets Ready To Rally In The City We told you yesterday of the People's United Party's resolutions against the Public Safety Act Sarstoon Regulations instrument of April 29. The Belize National Teachers' Union (BNTU) is also not in favor. While avoiding a question on whether the Union would be prepared to join the PUP in going to the Sarstoon in defiance of the regulations, BNTU president Luke Palacio wondered why Government appears not to be heeding a national call: Luke Palacio - President of Belize Teachers Union: "In terms of the mention of the People's United Party coincidental that when they were meeting we were meeting, our council was in meeting at the same time so it is just coincidental but again the bottom line remain if the Belizean people are saying to the government of Belize almost overwhelmingly the need to rescind the SI so why are they not prepared to do so and they are the best persons to answer that." Belize Project Changing Lives One Book At A Time The Belize Project team is a group of individuals who work hand in hand with churches and educators in Belize to develop a program that at the end will combat illiteracy. The group formed about 3 years ago in the Village of Cristo Rey in Corozal and since then have been working along with the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a non-profit organization that promotes early childhood literacy by handing out books to young children free of cost. Here in the north hundreds of books have been distributed. In fact we can tell you that this past weekend 1,900 books were handed out and next in plan is a survey to determine the effectiveness of the reading program. Mural Brings The Barrier Reef To Light Biological systems are incredibly complex, and can fall victim to serious ecological consequences when disturbed by human activity for example oil exploration, which contributes significantly to noise pollution and contamination of our environment. In an effort to bring awareness of such dangerous activities OCEANA and the Belize Coalition have joined forces to show Belizeans the beauty that Belize has beneath the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Both organizations have embarked on a journey that will display through mural paintings, the beauty that lies within the Jewel's Barrier Reef. According to OCEANA's field representative for Corozal, Ryan Rivero, this mural paintings are being conducted throughout the country and displays what could be lost if we do not protect our eco system.