The August 24th, 2014 issue of The STAR (Cayo) is online HERE

This Week's Stories:

  • Murder in Unitedville later identified as Victor "Niko":
    Just as the new day was dawning on Saturday, August 16, San Ignacio Police were called out to the village of Unitedville on the George Price Highway in the Cayo District, to investigate the presence of the lifeless body of a male person on a veranda. Upon arrival at the Unitedville residence of Quinton Middleton, 29 year old businessman, the police came upon body of a male person of Hispanic descent, face upward on the veranda. The deceased was later identified as Victor "Niko" Vargas, 37, Guatemalan, naturalized Belizean who resided in the village.
  • Who Will Be Queen Of The West 2014?:
    This year's September Celebrations was launched today at the Welcome Center in San Ignacio with the official presentation of the six contestants for the Queen of the West. Master and Mistress of Ceremony for the event were William Black and Melanie Usher who is also serving this year as the pageant coordinator. The welcome address was delivered by Queen of the West 2012, Miss Marcia Moody, who invited the public to come out on Saturday, August 23, 2014, to the Octavia Waight Center Auditorium to support their favorite contestant.
  • The Difference In Leadership Is As Clear As Day Is To Night:
    It's been over two months since the incident with PUP Belize Rural North Standard Bearer, Arthur Saldivar, occurred. It is alleged that he accompanied Melanie Coye to the Central Bank sometime in mid June to retrieve Coye's 1.6 million dollars as ordered by the court. The loot, it is alleged, was placed in two separate carrying cases, one containing $940,000 and the other $660,000. It is alleged that Saldivar made off with the bigger haul and had failed to turn it in to Melanie Coye, an allegation Saldivar denies in one breadth, while in the other, he speaks about the client owing him legal fees to the tune of 100% of the clients rescued funds.
  • GSU Nets Three Drug Finds In A Day:
    Members of the Gang Suppression Unit (GSU) were today conducting routine searches for illegal drugs, arms and ammunition in Santa Elena and surrounding communities. The operation started at around 5:30 a.m. this Saturday morning with a visit to the Jeronimo Thompson street residence, in Esperanza Village, of Mark Francis Peters. Present at the time of the search were Peters and three other persons. According to the GSU, when searched, Peters was found in possession of a black plastic bag, in his pocket, containing 13.9 grams of suspected marijuana.
  • Alleged Female Burglar Remanded To Prison:
    A 28 year old Belizean woman was today remanded to prison on a burglary charge. The charge stems from a report made by Gerald Armstrong. In a statement to the police Armstrong informed that his house located on Eduardo Juan Street in Santa Elena, Cayo was burglarized and stolen there from where small items amounting to less than one hundred dollars. Armstrong alleged that the incident occurred on Saturday, August 2. The investigation led to the arrest of Marciela Castellanos, 28, Belizean domestic.
  • Rugby: The First Four:
    The southern districts have seemingly stormed ahead in setting up rugby football clubs in Belize, and the first four clubs have appointed organisors and are busy attracting players and volunteers through their social media campaigns. * The Belize Rugby Board (Rugby Belize) has organized the country into two 'Districts' for domestic competition purposes; North includes Corozal, Orange Walk and Belize, and South covers Cayo, Stann Creek and Toledo *Hattieville United Rugby Football Union (part of the Hattieville United Youth Sporting Club), organized by Haddan Garbutt, is the headquarters of Rugby.
  • Be Your Spouse's Biggest Fan:
    If you're married, God has given you an incredibly important role: to be your spouse's biggest fan. It's a job only you can do in the way God desires, and your spouse desperately needs you to do it. We live in a world full of critics. We don't have to look far to find someone who will put us down. That's why every person on the planet desperately needs to be affirmed by someone on a regular basis. It's how God wired us. If you're married, one such person should be your spouse. To have a growing marriage, it's essential for you and your spouse to build into your marriage continual affirmation of one another.
  • Suspected Guatemalan Bandidos Attack:
    A 52 year old housewife from Bullet Tree Falls village in the Cayo District visited the San Ignacio police station where she reported an incident of robbery. The complainant, Betty Cruz, informed that she was with her wheel chair confined husband and a worker in the El Pilar Mayan reserve when at around 1:00pm on Wednesday, August 20, two Hispanic male persons showed up on her property asking for a drink of water. She told the police that while she was getting the water, three other men, wearing masks and brandishing assault rifles suddenly appeared. She said that the men spoke Spanish with a clear Guatemalan accent. The couple was relieved of one thousand dollars in cash, two chainsaws, an electrical converter, several security cameras as well as an assortment of food items.
  • Criminal Cases Falling Like Flies:
    A number of criminal cases, some serious, are being struck out for want of prosecution when a policeman, on interdiction, is not appearing in court to give evidence. This is the case with police constable Maxwell Valerio. Some of the recent cases being struck out because of Valerio's non-appearance in court are: i) August 4: Possession of a controlled drug, 6.5 grams ii) August 4: Damage to property iii) August 8: Possession of a controlled drug, 9.5 grams iv) August 12: Possession of Ammunition charges for ten .38 rounds.
  • Epilepsy:
    Epilepsy is a group of long-term neurological disorders characterized by epileptic seizures. These seizures are episodes that can vary from brief and nearly undetectable to long periods of vigorous shaking. In epilepsy, seizures tend to recur, and have no immediate underlying cause while seizures that occur due to a specific cause are not deemed to represent epilepsy. In most cases the cause is unknown, although some people develop epilepsy as the result of brain injury, stroke, brain cancer, and drug and alcohol misuse, among others. Epileptic seizures are the result of excessive and abnormal cortical nerve cell activity in the brain. The diagnosis typically involves ruling out other conditions that might cause similar symptoms (such as syncope) as well as figuring out whether any immediate causes are present. Epilepsy can often be confirmed with an electroencephalogram (EEG).
  • Third Annual Patriotic Paddle:
    Our Charitable Fundraising Event, the third annual Patriotic Paddle sponsored by BECOL is scheduled for August 30, 2014. The event is in honor of re-visiting the route of the "Flowers Bank 14" paddle to Belize City and in celebration of the decision to defend the Settlement. The Paddle starts at 8:30 am with a short opening in Flowers Bank Village after which we move off at 9am to Burrell Boom where we'll have lunch. Burrell Boom will be an entry point for paddlers wishing to join in the event. We move from Burrell Boom to Manatee Lookout in Ladyville which is also an entry point. We'll take a few minutes break there before continuing to Courthouse Wharf in Belize City. THIS IS NOT A RACE and all crafts are to paddle along together. Canoes and kayaks can participate in the event.
  • Venezuela Plans To Introduce Supermarket Fingerprinting:
    The government wants to introduce fingerprinting at supermarkets to stop people from buying too much of a single item. President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has announced a mandatory fingerprinting system in supermarkets to combat food shortages and smuggling. He said the system would stop people from buying too much of a single item. But the opposition in Venezuela rejected the plan, saying the policy treated all Venezuelans as thieves. Critics said fingerprinting consumers of staple products was tantamount to rationing and constituted a breach of privacy.
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