I just drove by the school near the bridge. I really have no voice on this issue because of comments made about my concern with this issue in the past but..... we have 450 kids attending a school that sits over the lagoon with water at a higher level than the septic system, if there is a septic system. The stench today was horrible. I have no idea where the water to drink is coming from OR for kids to wash their hands. There are also many contaminated fresh water puddles. The wind is blowing from Corozal where cases of Dengue have been documented. Dengue mosquitos live in fresh contaminated water.Other bacterium and parasites live in contaminated salt water. These kids are at risk. Would some concerned citizen please begin to address these issues. And yes I believe in education and proper schools but it is totally immoral for the business community to allow this to continue. I would speak out more but I am too radioactive with these people. Again, today the smell was bad and if it smells like a sewer.....

Hello Pam

I have begun working in an aerial mosquito spraying program in order to squash any mosquito borne diseases that might put our residents at risk. It is a lengthy permitting process and comes at an inopportune time considering it seems as if every which way you turn some needy cause is begging for money. I have just started the research end of this quest and don't have anything to report yet.

I have contract dengue in the past (there are 4 strains) and it is very unpleasant. Malaria is a worry too.

If you are concerned about the situation at the Holy Cross school you can either ask the principal about the situation or you can contact the local Health Inspector and ask him to make an on-site assessment.

To put things into perspective, please remember that the description you made above describes many subdivisions on the island.

The swamps and lagoons have a certain smell that is evidence of the degrading of biological matter. The ground water in many areas has a strong sulphurous smell.

If the school is closed down the children, in many cases, will be spending their days in areas with similar conditions of the school area, the difference would be that they won't be receiving an education.

Sometimes you have to weigh up the different evils and choose the lesser path.

It sure is nice to be living in the North, sniff...Ahhhhhh smell that fresh air.
If you guys decide to spray poison on the island try to keep it on your end.
: )

First, I know the difference between swamp and sewer. It is sewer. I will contact the new health inspector.The previous one closed the school until remedial steps were taken. It is my understanding that the new one has said there is no health issue but I don't agree. I will check that out be cause it may only be a rumor.
Amanda, I have driven by other schools and none of them are sitting directly on open water with sewer issues.
I am not suggesting that the school be closed, I am suggesting that there is a health hazard that we should not be OK with.
I also think that complacency is one way of dealing with it. Its just makes me really sick that people are OK with the situation.

Mosquito borne diseases are a threat to everybody on the island and unfortunately sometime the threat becomes a high enough risk that preventative measures must be taken.

The Health Inspector should do his job and if you feel that he isn't you can contact his boss.

We live in the third world. Things are not perfect. We pick our pet projects and run with them to the best of our ability. If we expected to live in a perfect world this island would not be on the list.

I know that situations are not ideal, but we need solutions not just outrage.

Actually, I was hoping that my outrage would prompt someone other than me to take action. I may be wrong. Oh well. I have taken my share of heat on this and had hoped someone else cared about this issue. Hopefully I am wrong and kids will not start to get sick. We probably won't hear about it if they do anyway.

Amen, Amanda!

Two workers from Public Health were out here on Caye Caulker on Thursday of last week with their larve dipper (white plastic bucket end on a long stick) Must be checking for something although I haven't heard of any reported cases of Dengue fever here on Caye Caulker

Put out guppies! It has worked wonders in South America, Africa and now Mexico (just came back from Merida where they were even in a pond inside the hotel lobby). These small fish breed like rabbits and eat twice their own weight in mosquito larvae every day.

wait a minute - there are huge environmental repercussions with mosquito fish. There is never an ideal remedy for these types of problems.