The June 29th 2014 issue of The STAR (Cayo) is online HERE

This Week's Stories:

  • Guerra GoesTo Jail Again:
    A troubled Santa Elena man was today remanded to prison on gun and ammunition charges. Residents of Carmen Street in Santa Elena got a scare of their lives on Monday when Rodel Guerra, 27, busted out of his father's #14 Carmen Street house brandishing a 16 gauge shotgun and a pocket load of cartridges. The matter was reported to the police who promptly arrived on the scene just in time to see Guerra ridding himself of the shotgun and cartridges before fleeing the scene.
  • Getting Our Share Of The National Development Pie:
    As the unprecedented building of the nation continues, San Ignacio and Santa Elena are getting its fair share of the national development pie. A new cemented round-about is now in full operation at the junction of the George Price Highway and La Loma Luz Boulevard in Santa Elena. We can hardly remember what the area looked like prior to this major improvement. The entire length of La Loma Boulevard is properly paved complete with cemented sidewalks on both sides. Steel light poles with underground wiring have replaced those old and leaning wooden lamp posts with their spider web of crisscrossing overhead high tension electrical cables that once dangerously hung overhead along La Loma Luz Boulevard. Construction is now underway for the first ever two lane bridge across the Macal River connecting La Loma Luz Boulevard in Santa Elena to Joseph Andrews Drive in San Ignacio. A new roadway has been constructed through the Golden Orange orchard linking the new bridge with Joseph Andrews Drive.
  • THE DOMESTICATION OF A PEOPLE:
    By Leonides Sanchez, Punta Gorda, Toledo. The domestication of a people and how can we turn this dilemma around: In town where I live there are several cats around my house and yet I don't really own none. What I have observed is that while I am aware of the natural skills of a cat to be able to feed itself by hunting, they prefer to resort to begging and eventual stealing your food. I brought this up because our people are in a similar situation. The human being was gifted with a brain to be able to think and skills to be able to survive and overcome obstacles but somewhere along the way domestication interfered with the natural process. Now instead of our people resorting to their natural skills to do the feed themselves, they chose instead to resort to begging and eventually deprive others. This is a real situation. My question now is how do we turn this around so that our people can regain back their natural instincts to do for themselves? I believe that a new kind of education has to be introduced to the children.
  • Rotary Club is Refurbishing Park in Santa Elena:
    The Rotary Club of San Ignacio is planning ahead for the traffic on the by-pass coming to San Ignacio soon. Just a short block away from the new traffic circle in front of the La Loma Luz SDA Hospital,there is a community park sponsored by the Rotary Club. Club members raised concerns about the safety of children and families using the park since there will be a great deal more traffic on the Loma Luz Boulevard. The long term goal of the Club is to give the park a new look and upgrade the play equipment and features. The first step for the makeover of the park was safety. The park now has a sturdy chain link fencing around three sides of the area. This will keep children away from the busy highway of the future. This effort was funded by money for the Rotary District. The Belize Fence company gave the Club a very helpful discount on the fencing material and the Rotoract Club of San Ignacio members participated in put the fence in place.
  • Office of the Prime Minister Responds to Attacks on Justice Awich:
    The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has noted with concern the continued attacks by some lawyers on Justice of Appeal Mr. Samuel Awich. These attacks, using the Belize Bar Association Resolution as their springboard, are contemptuous and contemptible. They seek to scandalize the Belize Court of Appeal by alleging bias on the part of a member of that court, and may well be actionable by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Indeed, even from the English common law, it is considered contempt to "prejudice mankind [by speech or writing] in favour of or against a party before the case is heard" and the same principle is reflected in the laws of Belize where it is stated to be an offence to write or do anything "with intent to excite any popular prejudice for or against any party to [court] proceedings."
  • Mother, Daughter and Son On Dishonesty Charge:
    A 16 year old boy was today remanded to prison on burglary and handling stolen goods charges. San Ignacio police reports that at around 10:00 am on Wednesday, June 25, Esperanza Village resident Maybelline Flores visited the police station in San Ignacio where she reported that her house was burglarized two days earlier. The complainant informed that between 12:30 pm and 3:00 pm on Monday, June 23 someone entered her house as a trespasser and stole there from a black Nikon brand digital camera with serial number 4234359 along with an extra lens and battery charger.
  • TACKLING LACK OFYOUTH OPPORTUNITY:
    The lack of opportunity for the youth of Belize has been recognized for quite a while, yet results from efforts to deal with this problem are struggling and lack support. Whilst the economy of Belize shows little capacity to offer much, sport has an almost inexhaustible ability to bridge the gap between education and employment. In fact, sport can and frequently does open doors to successful careers, for those who grasp what's on offer. * Guided and directed youth can have significant impact on the success of communities, as well as on the future of the youth themselves * Using sport, as the basis for engaging with youth at community level, is a recognized model for promoting healthy lifestyle and producing successful adults and leaders of the future.
  • Sickle-Cell Anaemia:
    Sickle-cell disease (SCD), or sickle-cell anaemia (SCA) or drepanocytosis, is a hereditary blood disorder, characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various life-threatening complications. This sickling occurs because of a mutation in the haemoglobin gene. Individuals with one copy of the mutant gene produce a mixture of both normal and abnormal haemoglobin. This is an example of incomplete dominance. Sickle-cell disease may lead to various acute and chronic complications, several of which have a high mortality rate.
  • Public Advisory on Use of Specific Health Products:
    The Ministry of Health has received a public notification from the Unites States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), through the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization, on health products that consumers are advised NOT to purchase. Consumers are advised not to purchase or use the following products that are promoted and sold for weight loss on websites or in retail stores: Dr. Ming's Chinese Capsule, 7 Days Herbal Slim, Sliming Diet Berry Plus, Asset Extreme, SlimEasy Herbs Capsule and Meizitang Citrus.
  • Luis Suarez bite: Uruguay striker banned for four months:
    Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has been suspended from all football-related activity for four months for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. In addition, the Liverpool player, 27, has been banned for nine international matches, ruling him out of the rest of the 2014 Fifa World Cup. He will also miss the first nine games of the Premier League season. Uruguay say they will appeal, calling it an "excessive decision" for which "there was not enough evidence". Uruguay Football Association president Wilmar Valdez added: "I have seen more aggressive incidents recently.
  • Mexican Tijuana Cartel Boss Sanchez Arellano 'Captured':
    The Arellano Felix clan is one of the most feared criminal families in Mexico The Mexican army says it has captured the leader of the once-powerful Tijuana cartel, Luis Fernando Sanchez Arellano. In the 1990s, the cartel controlled much of the drugs flow from the northern Mexican city of Tijuana to the United States. But it was dealt a severe blow after the arrest of four of the brothers leading it and the killing of a fifth. Luis Fernando Sanchez Arellano is the nephew of the Arellano Felix brothers who originally founded the cartel. An army official said Mr Sanchez Arellano was captured on Monday afternoon shortly after the Mexican football team reached the last 16 of the Fifa World Cup by beating Croatia.
  • No Arrest In Venus Burglary:
    Five days later, almost four thousand dollars worth of items stolen, three persons interviewed, Zero arrests made. San Ignacio police informed of the receipt of a burglary report from Teresita Silva Johnson proprietor of Venus Store located at #6 Hudson Street in San Ignacio. The complainant informed that the store was secured at 9:00 pm on Saturday, June 21 and that upon checking at around 5:30 am the following day, the store was found to have been burglarized. Entry was gained through an opening pryed into the metal shutter attached to the front entrance.
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