Today's Belize News: October 27, 2014

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Today's Belize News: October 27, 2014 #497311 10/27/14 05:05 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 and CTV 3 Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and the Dickie Bradley Specials The San Pedro Sun Wolfe's Woofer: Skin Grafts "Hey, John," I said. "Pull up a chair and tell me how life is going up in Canada." One of the nicest things about living here is all of the people you meet. You might only see them once or twice a year but some become old familiar friends. John pulled up one of the [�] Letter to the Editor: Chriss Roggema Hey, Chriss why did you stop writing your articles? I mostly answer by asking, "What do you think I should write about." Or I say "Pardon my French, but we say the more things change, the more they stay the same whatever one says or writes" Yes, I do admit I have been frustrated these last six months because my private situation and divorce but not that alone. I look around and see people still kill each other because one is red or the other is blue or one is sunny and the other is shite or one is Belizean and the other is Guatemalan. Where is the love? Where is the respect? Where is the acceptance of our differences? Where is the care for the betterment for our children? The one person who answered my question about what to write about mentioned the high school situation. How many cases of dengue do we need at the Caye Caulker Ocean Academy before social security and thus central government is willing to invest in the future of our island? And I am not talking what will this do to tourism. I'm talking about our children! Doctor Love Readers, please send your letters. They can be emails, formal letters or handwritten notes. They are edited solely for grammar and spelling. Also, they are sometimes edited for length. Dear Doctor Love, I have been married for six years. After we had been married for a year I had an affair with an old girlfriend [�] Misc Belizean Sources La Feria Frontera Sur EXPOFER the fun continues at "La Feria Frontera Sur EXPOFER" in Chetumal as tonight is celebrated as "Noche Belice�a" or "Belizean Night". Last night was a packed night with many Belizean musical artists performing on stage..Enjoy and be safe! (4 photos) NOHOCH CHE'EN OPEN The IA would like to inform all Tour Guides, Tour Operators and the General Public that as of Sunday 26 October 2014 the NOHOCH CHE'EN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESERVE is OPEN. CTV3 Stabbing Incident At CJC Leaves On Student Injured A student enrolled at the Corozal Junior College is tonight admitted at the Northern Regional Hospital recuperating from a stab injury inflicted on him by another student. The incident is said to have occurred yesterday inside the school campus. Up to news time the administration at CJC is being tight lipped about the situation and has refused to speak on the matter based on the grounds that anything they say can jeopardize the investigation. What we understand happened is that the two male students got into a fight over a seat on the bus yesterday afternoon. That fight reportedly escalated and led to one student stabbing the other.When we questioned Dean Jose Mai whether an official report has been made to the Corozal Police Formation he stated and we quote. "To my knowledge the police are already involved and are doing their investigation, which i will need to find out."This afternoon reporter Victor Castillo caught up with Officer Commanding the Corozal Police formation, Andrew Ramirez, who confirmed that the victim is a minor while the aggressor is an adult. MOH Still Awaiting Results Of Samples Sent To CARPHA Two days ago we told you about the suspected cases of Chikungunya in Belize emerging from the Las Flores area of Belmopan City. When we left you, officials at the Ministry of Health had conducted a rapid test which proved inconclusive and so the blood samples of the possible patients were sent for further testing at the CARPHA headquarters in Trinidad. Today when we tried contacting Vector Control Chief, Kim Bautista, we were informed that he was unavailable. Our calls were directed to the Ministry's Public Relations Officer, Claudette Dakers, who told us that they are still awaiting the results.Claudette Dakers - Public Relations, MOH"Today as of 4:25, we have not received any official note at all from CARPHA, we sent specifically two to CARPHA for their confirmation because we will only take confirmation form them even if there has been tests down here in Belize with whatever test they are using; rapid test in order for us to establish it here we have to get the confirmation from CARPHA and we haven't gotten that as yet but we are pushing it for Monday." Courts Kicks Off New Promotion With Eating Competition Today the daily routine at Courts Orange Walk Branch was interrupted for a rather interesting competition between two men. Their challenge was to get through one of the biggest burgers to be on sale in Orange Walk Town. We are talking about the "man burger" prepared by the Burger Hut in Town. The management of Courts teamed up with the restaurant to launch their latest promotion. Branch manager at Courts, Cesar Ramirez tells us more about the partnership. Cesar Ramirez - Manager, Courts "We had two very worthy competitors, we have Mr. Gian Montero who came out the champion he did it in it was approximately eighteen minutes that he devoured this huge burger, you guys have the shot earlier but it was very fun and exciting to see and we brought burger hut into our store and we definitely excited to do some more promotion along with them." Dental Week Comes To An End The week long, countrywide activities to commemorate Dental Health week, ended today with a dental fair in Belize City. The Dental Health Department along with other organizations who have an interest in maintaining healthy teeth were on hand to provide the community with dental tips and proper oral care. Senior Dental Surgeon, Dr. Rafael Samos, spoke on how many times you need to visit your dentist and what you can do to brighten your smile. Dr. Rafael Samos- Senior Dental Surgeon, MOH"We encourage each person to visit the dental clinic at least twice a month so let's do the maths if your age is twenty multiply that by two and that is the amount of visits you owe me for this year."Reporter"Between those visits, how would you advise in terms of brushing teeth, flossing teeth that kinds of thing." TD 9 Brings A Lot Of Rain Yesterday we told you about slow moving Tropical Depression #9 that crossed over Belize from the Yucatan Peninsula. While the satellite images now show a disorganized depression, Chief Meteorologist Dennis Gonguez, says Belize can expect cooler weather since a cold front is surfacing in our horizon.Dennis Gonguez - Chief MeteorologistThe remains of tropical depression #9 continue moving eastwards, however, there is a cold front that's entering the Yucatan Peninsula tonight and eventually crossing Belize before dawn tomorrow. Cold air from this cold front will wrap around into the remnants of tropical depression #9 and that will impede its redevelopment for a couple of days and subsequent to that the cold front will lie on Sunday evening near to the northeastern Honduras and the remnants of tropical depression #9 will also be at the tail end of the cold front at near northeastern Honduras. The more tricky part comes on Monday when the cold air breaks up over us and whatever is out there starts moving westwards us on Monday. We are not sure what it will be. Presently all the intensification models are forecasting that - it will not reach anywhere. Tropical depression #9 will not redevelop. However we still have to be cautious that something could happen at the tail end of the cold front because typically this time of the year that is the scenario that occurs - that we get systems developing at the tail ends of cold fronts." Mexican National Charged For Drug Trafficking Orange Walk Police have confiscated quite an amount of drugs over the last days. In the first report, police were conducting a patrol on Tuesday this week on the Yo Creek/San Lazaro Road when they intercepted two Hispanic male persons. Both men were riding a motorcycle and when stopped officers noticed that one of the passengers pushed his left hand in his left front pocket and pulled out a shiny object and threw it to a side. Police retrieved the item which was an aluminum foil and opened in the presence of the men. Authorities found it to contain a powdery white substance suspected to be cocaine. Both men were informed of the offense and detained. They are fifty-six year old Alfredo Antonio Perez, a Mexican Laborer of Botes Quintana Roo in Mexico and fifty-year old Leonardo Gonzalez of San Lazaro Village. The drug weighed a total of 6.5 grams. Both men were charged with drug trafficking but since Perez took full responsibility, he was the only one remanded to prison. Three Men Charged For Robbery And Wounding At CZL Magistrates Court Daniel Mendez, thirty year old Belizean cane farmer of Concepcion Village in Corozal, is tonight recuperating at home from several injuries. Mendez was attacked by three male individuals while walking home on Friday night after purchasing some groceries at a Chinese Store. The good is that the 30 year old was able to recognize his attackers who hit him several times; fracturing his nose and causing him bodily pain.After being identified by Mendez, 21 year old Celedonio Pinelo, Belizean construction worker, 34 year old Herminio Rodriguez, Belizean Laborer both of Concepcion Village, Corozal District and Manuel Flores were jointly charged for the crimes of robbery and wounding. Of note is that Flores is on the run. As for Pinelo and Rodriguez, they both men appeared before the Corozal Magistrates Court yesterday where they were offered bail to the sum of $3,000 plus a surety of the same amount which they met. The Reporter BEL Assists CARILEC Member Utility with Hurricane Restoration Works Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) gas announced that it will assist Bermuda Electric Light Company Limited (BELCO) and Anguilla Electricity Company Limited (ANGLEC), who suffered damages caused by the passage of Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gonzalo on October 11 and 17. Bermuda and Anguilla are members of the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC). In Bermuda, over 80 percent of its customers were without power while Anguilla's electrical infrastructure suffered extensive damage. Brazilians re-elect Rousseff as President Brazilians have re-elected Dilma Rousseff as president with more than 51 percent of votes in the closest election race in many years. An official count showed her rival, candidate Aecio Neves, taking just over 48 percent of the vote. In her victory speech, Rousseff said she wanted to be "a much better president than I have been until now". She faced protests last year against corruption, record spending on the football World Cup and poor services. She has been in power since 2010 and is popular with poor Brazilians. Eat more eggs for a healthier Belize says Poultry Association The Belize Poultry Association is striving to debunk the old stereotype that eating lots of eggs is harmful because it raises cholesterol levels. General Manager of the BPA, Orlando Habet, told The Reporter on Sunday that traditional research failed to make the distinction between good and bad cholesterol when determining that too much eggs is bad for you. "Eggs actually raise the good cholesterol which decreases the negative effects of the bad one," Habet said. He added that traditional research was also based on consuming an unrealistic consumption of eggs. The American Heart Association explains that by itself, cholesterol can't dissolve in the blood and must be transported through your bloodstream by carriers called lipoproteins. which got their name because they're made of fat (lipid) and proteins. Cuba responds to Ebola outbreak with deployment to West Africa Cuba has responded to the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa with a deployment 91 health workers. The medical experts are joining 165 of their colleagues already working in the region to halt the spread of Ebola. Although Cuban government officials say the majority of the health workers being sent to West Africa are veterans of previous tough postings, the risks that Ebola presents are unique. MOH wraps up Dental Health Week The Ministry of Health closed off Dental Health Week on Friday with a health fair at the Central Health Region compound. The health fair featured information from the dental health unit as well as several other MOH departments, including the Water Analysis Unit, and the Health Education and Community Participation Bureau (HECOPAB). The fair also featured booths from health related non-governmental organizations, including the Belize Cancer Society and the Diabetes Association of Belize. The Belize Times Ebola Scare I was for the most part, incommunicado when the main shock from the Ebola quake hit Belize. I returned to the country on Sunday morning but immediately began feeling aftershocks. I had spent the past week in Cuba where internet access was at best, sporadic. I grabbed whatever I could read because it seemed that something big had happened, or had almost happened. From what I could gather a health care worker (to this point unnamed) who had handled a blood sample of Thomas Duncan the Liberian man who died from Ebola in the US on October 8th, was on board a cruise ship and was attempting to enter Belize. Now given what we know about Ebola, which is little enough, one can understand the apprehensions and concern felt by not only Belizeans but Mexicans and citizens of every other country, including the US. Upon arriving in Cuba, the first questions asked were, "have you been to Africa" and "have you been to Texas"? I'm not sure what procedure would have followed had I answered in the affirmative but I imagine it would have been immediate quarantine. Mr. Barrow is in deep trouble In September of 2005 the great leader of Venezuela Hugo Chavez was able to realize one of his dreams and aspirations for the region. Venezuela holds one of the world's largest proven reserves of black gold-oil. Mr. Chavez, who grew up from humble beginnings to become the most popular modern leader of his nation, was of the vision that his nation's oil wealth should be of some help to the struggling countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. Such a vision found its way into his government's policy. That foreign policy initiative was the Petro Caribe program. Under the program Venezuela would sell oil at reduced prices and more than half the price could be held back and treated as a loan. In the case of Belize, the arrangement was for Belize to pay only 40 percent of the low selling price for Venezuela petrol. The remaining 60 percent was to be treated as a loan to Belize. That money, instead of being paid was to be used by Belize for worthwhile development projects and after 25 years would need to be repaid. The interest rate was ridiculously low at a mere one percent. Viva Hugo Chavez and the people of Venezuela. 3-in-a-row for Rigo Vellos as he wins Mr. Belize title Since winning the Mr. Belize bodybuilding title in 2012, Rigo Vellos has dominated the arena and on Friday October 17th 2014 he continued to rule by winning his third consecutive title. Vellos won the Light Heavyweight category and advanced to the Overall Category against the winner of the Masters and Middleweight Categories, Clayton Greenidge, and Lightweight Category newcomer Oyinkro Okpobodor who settled for 2nd and 3rd places respectively. SCA & BHS lead high school volleyball The St. Catherine's Academy girls are undefeated as they lead the high school volleyball competition with 5 wins, while the Belize High School girls also have 5 wins and a loss at the Stars' training gymnasium last week. The SCA girls completely dominated the Pallotti High School girls: 25-2, 25-2 for their 5th win on Tuesday evening. Kevanna Sebastian hammered the Wesley College girls last Wednesday for their 3rd win, and with Karen Quan, Mya Musa and Juel Lewis serving up aces they dominated 25-4, 25-4. The Belize High School girls posted their 5th win against the Anglican Cathedral College girls last Friday: 25-11, 25-3. Verdes FC, BDF & Wagiya win in PLB football openers Verdes FC bombed San Ignacio United 4-2 at the Norman Broaster Stadium; the Belize Defence Force stopped FC Belize 2-1 at the Peoples Stadium, and Wagiya stomped the Paradise Freedom Fighters 2-0 at the Toledo Union field in Punta Gorda in the Premier League of Belize football tournament openers on Sunday, October 19. Richard "Cheety" Jimenez struck first for Verdes, blasting in a low level cruis missile past goalie Gerardo Vanegas in the 20th minute. Joel Guzman equalized for San Ignacio in the 29th minutes but Vanegas could not stop Nahjib Guerra's left foot shot in the 46th minute as Verdes took a 2-1 lead into the break. US "disappointed" at Belize decision regarding possible Ebola victim The boys in Belmopan are worried over the initial reaction of the United States to the Government of Belize's decision to refuse a couple including a woman suspected of having the Ebola virus, from disembarking from a cruise ship that had moored on Belizean waters ... Minds VS Hands - Art by Inga Woods hadow and light dance. Will you seek balance? Even in this tense and tight environment, one can forge out a tiny space of reflection and create big works. A new artist completely burst a reflective space in the art ... Current and Future State of Tourism in Belize The World Bank estimated that tourism arrivals in Belize in 2000 were 196,000 visitors, with total spending of US$111 million. The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) estimated that in 2013, a total of 294,177 tourists visited the country. This reflects an annual growth of between 4-8%. The Center on Eco-Tourism ... IN MY PERSPECTIVE - Don't be so cocky! One of the proudest moments in my life was in June of 2013 when I learned that the Belize Jaguars football team was coming to the United States of America to play in the gold cup in Salt Lake City. Like most Belizeans I felt proud and this ... Do The Right Thing! "I didn't tell you to go and mek so much pickney", "I am not your pickney pa", "I can't mine yu", "I am not yu man", "Money nu the grow pan me", "A nu de se nobody till wa mont fra now", and "A done gi yu ... MORE RAIN IS COMING!!��.Belize City braces for more cement streets disaster Weather conditions across the country are expected to deteriorate over the next few days with heavy showers and possible thunderstorms as Tropical Depression Nine moves west-southwest over the Yucatan area of Mexico and Belize. TD9 formed in the Gulf of Mexico late Tuesday night about 160 miles ... Rotten from the start� These pictures are of Election Day 2012. The disgraced and corrupt Elvin Penner is seated in the black vehicle. He was reportedly signing notes which indicated how much each person would get after they have voted. They then ... YOLANDA AND KIM Word started going around within the past four weeks that the Government of Belize may have contributed as much $300,000 towards the recent travels and engagements in New York and London of Special Envoy for Women and Children Kim Simplis Barrow. We even heard that the hotel ... Pablo Marin - incompetent where it matters Conspicuously absent from last Friday morning's emergency press conference called by the Prime Minister Dean Barrow to calm public anxiety over the country's possible exposure to Ebola was the head of the Ministry of Health, Pablo ... REFLECTIONS ON THE PUBLIC SQUARE - The UDP Government: Fast Asleep On The Job Over the past few weeks our focus and attention has rightly been on specific issues of national importance such as BORDER SECURITY, the ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS AT CHIQUIBUL, and the latest EBOLA SCARE. Each of these issues requires preparation, planning, dialogue and attention to detail. This is the responsibility of ... Ministry of Health drops the ball - Too much talk and no action! Almost two weeks after Ministry of Health officials had promised the nation that they would get things right for Belize to be ready in case the deadly Ebola came knocking on our doors, they proved just how unprepared ... Hon. Julius Espat writes Auditor General on Petrocaribe loan Mrs. Dorothy Bradley Auditor General Dear Madam, Re: Loans of US$18,031,336.00, US$76,331,016.00 and US$19,944,954.00 in 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 contracted from ALBA PETROCARIBE Belize Energy Ltd. (APBEL) As you are aware the Government of Belize (GOB) on the 2nd October, 2014, tabled a loan motion before the National Assembly seeking a resolution ... Auditor General responds to Hon. Julius Espat on Petrocaribe loan Hon. Julius Espat Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Forest Drive Belmopan Dear Chairman Espat, This is to confirm receipt of your letter dated October 8th, 2014 regarding the referenced loans from ALBA PETROCARIBE Belize Energy Ltd. (APBEL). At the last sitting of the House of Representatives the motion was introduced for consideration and ... Hon. Julius responds to Auditor General - Loan Motion-Petro Caribe Auditor General Attention: Mrs. Dorothy Bradley Dear Madam, Re:Petro Caribe Loan Motion Thank you for your response of October 17th, 2014, to my letter of October 8th, 2014, regarding the captioned matter. You should recall that by the terms of my letter I raised two concerns arising out of the pending motion: (1) Patrick Jones Dry and cool weather conditions blanket Belize Atmospheric conditions over Belize are currently supporting mostly dry conditions. Little or no rainfall is expected over mainland Belize and her coastal waters heading into Monday. Sunday afternoon and Monday morning will see sunny skies. Overnight Sunday will see partly cloudy skies. Winds during the forecast period will be northerly to north-westerly at 5 to 15 knots, producing choppy sea conditions. High temperatures today will peak at 81 degrees Fahrenheit along the coast; 84 degrees Fahrenheit inland and 75 degrees Fahrenheit up in the hills. New member for the San Ignacio Rotary Club The Rotary Club of San Ignacio has a new member. During a special meeting of the club on Friday, October 24, Linda Kimble was officially installed and pinned as the newest Rotarian. The induction was conducted by the Acting President of the San Ignacio Rotary Club William "Bill" Butcher. Kimble was sponsored by Rotarian John Acott and the visiting Governor of Rotary District 4250 Jose Mauricio "Chepe" Rodriguez was given the honor of pinning Linda as the newest Rotarian. Blogs AMAZING Photos of San Pedro Belize's MASSIVE 2014 Halloween Night- Part One Awesome, awesome AWESOME pictures that speak for themselves - and show you how very seriously Ambergris Caye takes Halloween. If you love a good party and you love dressing up, I'd start planning for 2015. It's not easy to win the costume contests around here� Take a look. They are in no particular order�and there will be LOTS more coming on Facebook for days to come. SO MANY GREAT SHOTS! Thank you Steve. Diwali Celebrated in Belize Every year the Indian community in Belize come together to celebrate Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights. So what is Diwali? Diwali as described on Google is "a Hindu Festival of Lights, held in the period October to November. It is particularly associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and marks the beginning of the fiscal year in India." For us, the Belize Indian Community, Diwali is a very festive season with excitement and celebrations that start a few days prior to the day itself. My experience of Diwali has been slightly different than the way it is celebrated in India, since I reside on the western side of the world. However, the Belize Indian Community does follow the traditional aspects of the Festival of Lights and accommodates the celebrations for us to enjoy it. International Sources Paul Nabor: on the passing of a national treasure Garifuna singer and Belizean national cultural treasure Paul Nabor (January 26, 1928-October 22, 2014) died on 22 October 2014 at the Punta Gorda town hospital. Nabor had been hospitalized in January 2014 for pneumonia and dehydration, had been in poor health for some time, and on October 12 suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. From the coastal village of Barranco, Toledo District, Belize, Paul Nabor (born Alfonso Palacio) or "Nabi" was best known as a singer and writer of Garifuna paranda songs, a ballad form accompanied on guitar and percussion. Like many Garifuna men, forced by socioeconomic circumstance to migrate in search of work, Nabor lived his life between Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Nabor had been a boxer in his younger years (his assumed name comes from his days as a pugilist). At home in Belize, Nabi was a fisherman, sailor (in his hand-built dory), traditional farmer, herbalist, and Garifuna buyei or priest and spirit medium, presiding at d�g� rituals at his dabuyaba or Garifuna temple. Spanish-Canadian filmmaker Katia Paradis' award-winning documentary Three Kings of Belize (Amazone Films 2007 - see below) offers a touching portrait of Nabor, along with brukdown accordion king (Wilfred) "Mr. Peters" and Maya traditionalist Florencio Mess, two fellow masters of Belizean roots music. Exploring Belize and Guatemala One Geocache at a Time Whenever you get the chance to travel somewhere new, do it. If you add geocaching to the mix, trips become even more adventurous and rewarding. I had the opportunity to travel to Central America and explore two fascinating and beautiful countries: Belize and Guatemala. Along the way, I geocached underwater, through a rainforest and next to a smoking active volcano. Here are six amazing geocaches that I found and believe all geocachers should add to their bucket list. First stop was in Belize where the people are friendly, the way of life is chiller than an ice cube, and the geocaching is a blast. There are only 110 active geocaches in the entire country of Belize (yes that's right, 110.) Videos Video: Caves Branch Cave Rescue, Guide Training, 3min. Caves Branch would not be what it is today if it weren't for our tour guides. We take each guests safety very seriously. Our guides are all trained to international standards to provide each person the highest degree of personal safety while on our adventure tours. As you can see in the video our guides go through some pretty extensive training. This training exercise was done on our Waterfall Cave Expedition. So, when you take an exciting tour with the guides from Caves Branch, you can rest easy knowing that you are in experienced and qualified hands. Video: Hol Chan & Shark Ray Alley Snorkeling, 8min. In Belize for Danny and Joy's wedding and had the chance to do some amazing snorkeling! Video: Romantic Activities in Belize for Honeymooners, 2min. Despite its small size, Belize so many activities to offer, even to newlyweds spending their honeymoon. There are several romantic activities that couples can enjoy while in this beautiful country. For its small size, Belize offers a surprisingly wide variety of romantic activities. From the lush jungle in the west to the Caribbean white sand beaches in the east, the people are friendly with English as their first language. Formerly under the British rule, Belize is easy to navigate. Activities packages transport visitors seamless from jungle to sea between resorts. Video: Belize Honeymoon, 1.5min. Caye Caulker Video: Hawksbill sea turtle feeding on sponge among angels. Belize 2014, 4min. This is a video of a Hawksbill sea turtle feeding on sponge among angels. Belize Aggressor III. October 2014. Video: Belize scuba diving and beach, 10min. Video: Belize, 2min. Feliz cumplea�os padre!!! Video: Belize, 2.5min. Snorkel trip to the Barrier Reef in Belize, October 2014