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The San Pedro Sun
SP host darts tournament at Cholo's Sports Bar
On Saturday April 14th and Sunday April 15th, darts players from around Belize convened at Cholo's Sports Bar for two days of darts activities. The event served two purposes, first to complete the national team that will represent Belize in the American Darts and Caribbean Darts Cups that is scheduled for July 2012, and secondly, as an open tournament that served as practice matches for the national team.
In speaking to the President of the Belize National Darts Federation Jose Mora, he explained that the event on Saturday was a Round Robin of six players. Mora said that of the six players, the two with the best points filled the 9th and 10th spots to complete the Belize Male National Darts Team for the upcoming international events. The two successful players were Wilber Perez and Valentine Marin, both from Caye Caulker Village. Melanie Paz of San Pedro Town was chosen to complete the Belize Female National Darts Team.
Police injured in traffic accident
A member of the Police Department was injured in a traffic accident on Saturday April 14th in San Pedro Town. The incident involving a cycle and a golf cart occurred shortly before 7PM on Coconut Drive just in the vicinity of the Belize Yatch Club. The injured person was later learnt to be 38 year old Juanito Cocom, Sergeant of Police of a Tres Cocos Area address of San Pedro Town.
According to San Pedro Police, when they arrived at the scene shortly after 7PM, the observed a brown skin male person lying on his back on the pavement next to a blue Honda motorcycle. Cocom was observed covered with blood and with apparent head injuries.
Annual Lagoon-Reef Eco-Challenge Kayak Race scheduled for May 12th-13th, 2012
The Eco-Challenge began as the brain child of Mr. Elito Arceo, a tour business owner, environmentalist and community activist of San Pedro Town. Elito enjoys getting involved in sports and coming up with activities that can bring the community together. As a child he frequented the back lagoons of Ambergris Caye and grew to love these areas. As development began threatening these areas, it became clear that he needed a way to get people into these lagoons so that they can begin to appreciate the beauty and importance of these areas, and thus the Eco-Challenge was born.
In 2005, Arceo came up with the idea of a race that would take people through the lagoons and link them to the eastern shore of the island, showing their connectivity. The 42-mile long kayak challenge takes place over two days. The first day the route heads north and travels through lagoons and mangrove channels along the western side of the island, with an overnight stay inside the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve. The second leg of the race takes kayakers south along the eastern coast bordering the beautiful Mesoamerican Barrier Reef and on towards the finish line in San Pedro. Thanks to Elito, the Eco-challenge has now become an annual event that the community looks forward to.
This year, the race will be held on May 12th and 13th, with over $15,000 in prizes on the line. The deadline for registration is May 9th, 2012, with a fee of $200BZ. Applications are available at Hol Chan Marine Reserve Office or at Seaduced by Belize. For more information please contact: Kirah Forman at email [email protected] or call 226-2247.
SPTC visits schools and Government offices in familiarization campaign
The newly elected San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) has taken the initiative to reach out to community schools and government offices in an effort to get acquainted and become informed of the needs of each entity. Led by Mayor Daniel Guerrero, the campaign took place during the week of April 16th.
Visiting the schools served two purposes, the first being to introduce the children to the concept of Civic Pride. Children were invited to actively participate in a planned beautification project that will include the planting of various plants and flowers around the island. Mayor Danny also spoke to the children on the importance of keeping the island clean, with an emphasis on proper garbage disposal.
The second motive for the school visits was to familiarize the Council on the needs of each educational institution. Mayor Danny has invited various principals to submit, in writing, their petitions for assistance. The Mayor and his council have pledged to seek ways in which they can provide as much support as possible to the schools, always keeping in mind that the children are one of the major priorities of the present SPTC.
Dancehall Diva Lady Saw To Guest Judge on Mission Catwalk
Grammy Award-winning Dancehall diva Lady Saw will serve as a guest judge on episode five of Caribbean fashion designer reality series Mission Catwalk which airs Tuesday April 24th on Television Jamaica.
She will join executive producer/host Keneea Linton-George, judges Novia McDonald-Whyte, Jamaica Observer lifestyle editor and noted menswear designer Carlton Brown in critiquing the work of the remaining 12 designers who will be divided into four groups of three. The teams will have to convince the judges that their mini collection for celebrity/style icons Michelle Obama, Victoria "Posh" Beckham, Nicki Minaj and Lady Saw herself is the best of the lot.
When asked if she considers herself a fashion icon Lady Saw (born Marion Hall) replies, "Yes I do see myself as a fashion icon. I'm always into fashion I love Christian Louboutin shoes and Marc Jacobs dresses; anything that's fly- that's me. I will go all out and rock a very expensive outfit for a big show; but sometimes I do mess up; like when I wait last minute and I'll call somebody to get me something and it doesn't work. That can be a disaster!"
Ambergris Today
BBQ Fundraiser for Abel Wiebe
Sunday April 22
Misc Belizean Sources
How long does it take to decompose?
Various common items and how long they take to decompose.
ONE DAY ON EARTH screens on Sunday
The National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) of Belize joins the global community to SCREEN ON THIS DAY ONLY the amazing film called ONE DAY ON EARTH all over Belize.(Yes, the film includes a scene from Belize contributed by filmmaker Katia Paradis.) We are partnered in this effort by Restore Belize, The Image Factory and the Houses of Culture of Benque, San Ignacio, Orange Walk and San Pedro along with Cayo Outdoor Theatre and San Pedro Townboard to bring you this fascinating look at One Day on Planet Earth.
NOW SHOWING IN A COMMUNITY NEAR YOU!!
SCHEDULED SCREENINGS IN BELIZE
Belize National Tapir Day is April 27th
The Belize Zoo is celebrating World Tapir Day by having their Belize Tapir Day. TBZ was at the University of Belize's Earth Day Fair. This is what they had to say about it.
"A big congratulations to the University of Belize, Belmopan Campus, on another successful Earth Day Fair! TBZ was honoured to be invited to share their work in helping conserve the earth's wonderful natural resources. Info on everything from Barn Owls, to Jaguars, to Boas was shared with over 400 primary school students."
Behind the Scenes at the Cayo Movie Shoot
The crew had some fun while shooting around Cayo. These behind the scenes shots are great. The project is at this point called, "2012, The Belize Witch Project." It will be a full length movie when finished, and Matthew Klinck and Daniel Velazquez will be submitting it to the Belize Film Festival. Good luck to them!
One of the smartest things we brought to Belize
Originally, we hadn't thought of purchasing a dehumidifier for our condo here, figuring we'd just use the air-conditioning when the humidity became too oppressive. We'd never needed a dehumidifier in other places we lived and just hadn't given the possibility any thought. But a very smart neighbor who had been living in San Pedro for a couple of years recommended we bring one, so we took note. After some research, Barry realized that we wouldn't be able to keep the A/C cycling on frequently enough to get the humidity to a reasonable level without living in a very frigid condo -- and busting our budget in the process, since electricity (called "current" here) is a lot pricier than back in North Carolina. Since we don't even like overly air-conditioned spaces and didn't want to live in the cold even if the budget allowed, a portable dehumidifier started looking like a very smart option.
When doing our research, the main negatives of using a dehumidifier mentioned by reviewers were the heat and noise the unit generates in use. We figured the noise wouldn't bother us too much, as we've always preferred to sleep with a white-noise machine rather than hear the various things that go bump in the night, including our first Boston Terrier, Pepper, who snored like a truck driver due to her little squashed face, bless her heart. Paisley has more of a snout and is much quieter, but the white-noise habit has persisted. We always turn on the A/C or fan when we stay in hotels to keep the noise from the hall and surrounding rooms down as well.
International Sources
NASA's new space camera will help developing countries manage their environments
Just in time for Earth Day Sunday, NASA in Huntsville announced plans this week to send a new telescopic camera to the International Space Station to give developing countries critical new environmental data.
Forest fires, floods, droughts, hurricanes and landslides are just some of the natural catastrophes that change the landscapes and strain official resources in Central America, Africa and Asia.
ISERV is NASA's abbreviation for the new camera designed and built at Marshall Space Flight Center to record those changes. It will be installed this summer in the space station's Destiny module.
It's a new addition to SERVIR, an information gathering and sharing program named for the Spanish verb "to serve." SERVIR is a joint project of NASA and the United States Agency for International Development.
Once it's aboard the station, the camera will obtain near-real-time data, NASA says. It will be able to "see" 90 percent of the Earth's land mass and 95 percent of its populated areas, according to lead scientist Burgess Howell of Huntsville.
Guyana & Belize hailed for mangrove restoration efforts
Guyana and Belize have been hailed for their efforts to restore and sustain mangrove reserves to protect against natural disasters. This was highlighted in 'Living Shorelines', one of three films launched by the British High Commission and Caribsave, to raise public awareness on the importance of climate change adaptation and its relevance to the Caribbean.
The films were recently screened at Cara Lodge in Georgetown, under the theme, "Partnership for Resilience".Addressing the event, British High Commissioner to Guyana, Andrew Ayre said the time for action to combat the effects of climate change is now.
He noted that Caribbean leaders have signaled their intention to move towards a low carbon economy as quickly as possible, with Guyana already taking a leadership role in this regard.
Belize teachers take lessons from Parker schools
Tharine Gabourel remembers it was only five years ago that she first visited a Colorado school to learn about successful literacy practices.
This year, she traveled to Douglas County with seven educators representing three separate schools in the Central American nation of Belize. Gabourel, a principal at the Eden School in Belize, marvels at the growth of a program that is benefitting teachers and school children in both countries.
The teacher training project is part of the Belize Education Project, which was started by Douglas County School District teacher Jean Kirshner. For several years, Kirshner and her colleagues traveled to the impoverished country during fall break to strengthen the education system. The literacy rate in Belize hovers around 76 percent.
The delegation of five teachers and three students visited Mammoth Heights Elementary in Parker, Fox Creek Elementary in Highlands Ranch and Prairie Crossing in Parker during a weeklong stay that began April 8.