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Specials and Events

Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5, LOVETV, PGTV, West Vision (Cayo) and CTV 3. Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and other specials

The San Pedro Sun

Freshwater Crocodile found on Ambergris Caye
On Friday, January 26th ACES (American Crocodile Education Sanctuary) departed on their usual evening crocodile excursion hoping to spot, catch, and tag an American Crocodile to add to their ongoing population survey, but what they ended up catching has left them baffled. Chris Summers, ACES Daily Operations Manager and Field Biologist, was educating guests while surveying around Captain Shark’s boatyard canal when he spotted a croc. He safely and humanely caught the crocodile, brought him inside the boat, and realized upon examination that what he had was a freshwater Morelet’s Crocodile which are only found on the mainland, not the saltwater species we have on the island. Though both species are native to Belize, the saltwater American Crocodiles can survive and thrive in both salt water and fresh water, while the freshwater Morelet’s Crocodile cannot. Morelet’s Crocodiles do not possess the ability to tolerate saltwater well and can rapidly dehydrate when exposed to these environments, eventually leading to death.

Misc Belizean Sources

MARIJUANA PLANTATION
At 2:00 p.m., on 2.2.2018, Police conducted a search about four miles in Blue Creek Village, Orange Walk District which led to the discovery of a marijuana plantation containing about 3000 marijuana plants ranging from 2ft. to 5ft. in height. No one was found in the area and the plants were uprooted and destroyed by fire.

Cleanup in Corozal
t was a pleasure once again to begin our New Year with the thoughts of continuing our clean up activities and campaign for a safer and cleaner Corozal. It could not have been more fun and exciting to have collaborated these efforts with over 50 of our young Corozal residents, including our Pioneers from Centro Escolar Mexico Junior College, Corozal Junior College Eagles Enviromental Club, Ryan Rivera (Oceana Belize - Corozal's Representative), Yvette Sanker Riverol - Moderator, CJC Eagles Environmental Club, Caribbean Youth Environmental Network, Bruce Steege and wife Colleen Steege, Connie (our apologies for leaving your title out) and everyone else that came out to help. There were many of you. YOU ALL ROCK! Thank you! Thank you! We collected a bunch of discarded tires from our bay, glass bottles, plastic and styrofoam.

BELIZE FISHING REPORT: Weeks of January 22nd through January 28th, 2018
Bonefish are always available for the bite and this week continued to prove that fact. Several anglers landed over thirty in a single day. The anglers are enjoying a quieter time at the lodge once again as we move closer to the start of our busy season. Lots of friends scheduled for visits over the months to come. Join us!

Belize Tourism Board at the Destinations Travel Show — in London, United Kingdom

Belizean Patriots: Nadia Evadne Cattouse
Nadia Evadne Cattouse was born in British Honduras on 2nd November 1924 (93 years old). Her father Albert Cattouse was a civil servant who went on to become Deputy Prime Minister of British Honduras. She is a Belizean-British actress, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her acting roles in many British television programmes including Play for Today, Crown Court, Dixon of Dock Green and Johnny Jarvis. As a singer in the 1960s she performed at Les Cousins folk and blues club in Greek Street, London, and appeared on television programs including the BBC’s Sing Along and Hootenanny. On the folk scene she was a contemporary of Julie Felix and Fairport Convention, and was called by Melody Maker "one of the giants of the folk-song revival in Britain". With Robin Hall and Jimmie Macgregor she made Songs of Grief & Glory (1967).Her album Earth Mother (1970) was partly recorded at the 1969 Edinburgh Festival. Among other compilations, Cattouse features on Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up (2005), singing "Long Time Boy", and on the 1972 album Club Folk 2 (Peg Records PS3), singing "B. C. People" and "All Around My Grandmother's Floor".

Kindy take note of Archeological site closures
SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2018. THE XUNANTUNICH, ATM AND NOHOCH CHEEN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESERVES REMAINS CLOSED DUE TO FLOODED RIVER CONDITION. ALL OTHER ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESERVES ARE OPEN.

Support to our Maya brothers and sisters of Southern Belize
We will always prevail!

The Reporter

Police make weekend drug seizures
The Belize Police Department has destroyed a marijuana plantation and arrested four persons for drug trafficking in separate incidents this weekend. During routine operations, Police searched an area about four miles into Blue Creek in the Orange Walk District, where they fund the plantation, which contained about 3000 plants ranging between two and five feet tall. Police uprooted and destroyed the plants with fire. Officers did not find anyone on the scene, so no charges were laid in respect to the plantation.

GOB to host oil spill disaster consultations
In the upcoming week, the Government of Belize will gather with with non-governmental organizations and private sector partners for a consultation aimed at improving the country’s capability to respond to an oil spill. GOB, through the Department of the Environment in the ministry of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment & Sustainable Development, and Immigration (MAFFESDI), will host the two-day consultation at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel on February 5 and 6, with the end goal of improving the Working Draft of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. The Doe explained that the major points of discussion at the consultation will be the prevention,

Southern Villagers prepare to walk for justice
Residents of San Roman and San Jose Village are preparing to hold a peaceful demonstration tomorrow, calling for justice to be served in light of the gruesome double murder of Crisencia and Josephine Oh. The Walk for Justice is Scheduled to begin with a ceremony on the outskirts of outskirts of San Jose at 3:00 p.m., followed by a candlelight vigil at 4:00 p.m. at the San Antonio football field where the main activity will be held featuring short presentations from community leaders. The Walk for Justice Organizing Committee is calling on residents of the Toledo district to attend and join the fight to against violent crime in the district.

Breaking Belize News

Teen reports unlawful carnal knowledge
A 15-year-old Belizean student visited the Ladyville police station in the company of her mother and reported that on January 29, 2018 around 9:00 a.m., a man known to her had sexual intercourse with her. […]

Catholic Church lawyer pulls out of Section 53 appeal
The Section 53 constitutional appeal, which challenges an aspect of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex relations between consulting adults, may proceed without the Catholic Church after the church’s lawyer decided to leave the case. […]

Police find ganja farm in Blue Creek, Orange Walk
Yesterday afternoon, police conducted a search around four miles in Blue Creek village, Orange Walk district where they found a marijuana plantation. […]

Andrew Bennett back in court
The extradition proceedings for attorney Andrew Bennett, who is wanted in the US district of Puerto Rico for money laundering, continued in the Belize city Magistrate’s court this week. […]

Accused murderer and his family arraigned last week
Nelson “Mong” Henry, the man who was acquitted of the murder of Edward Lord Jr., is before the courts again, charged with unlawful imprisonment and aggravated assault. The victims reported that on January 14, Henry and others broke into their Burrell Boom home and held them against their will. […]

Security guard arraigned for stabbing co-worker
On Thursday morning, Kenrick Valencio, 34, a security guard was stabbed in front of the Novelo’s bus terminal in Belize city by his co-worker. On Friday, John Brackett, Valencio’s colleague, was charged for attempted murder. […]

Man who allegedly killed two sisters has a criminal past
Wilmer Escobar, 20, has been charged with the murder of the Oh sisters in San Jose village in the Toledo District. 7News has reported that a review of their archives revealed Escobar was sentenced to 6 months at the Wagner’s Youth Facility […]

Cool and moist conditions continue to dominate our weather
Mostly cloudy skies are expected today and tonight. Some periods of rain and a few showers will occur mostly over central and southern areas today. […]

Belize Coast Guard holding selection process for officers to attend Mexican Naval Academy
The Belize Coast Guard will be holding an Officer Selection Board on February 13 and 14, to select potential candidates to attend the Mexican Naval Academy entering summer 2018. Candidates must be citizens of Belize between the ages of 17 – 20, unmarried, fluent in Spanish and have no tattoos. […]

PM Barrow: UDP deserves to be re-elected
Prime Minister Dean Barrow, following the launch of the United Democratic Party’s (UDP) City Council manifesto, told the media that his party, based on their record, deserves to be re-elected. “The record is such that in fact the United Democratic Party deserves to be re-elected,” PM Barrow stated. […]

Blogs

#PANADERIA DON CHAPARRO RE-OPENS in Corozal
Great news Corozaleneos, Belize Scoop has confirmed that Panaderia Don Chaparro has relocated to a new location in Town. They are now located at 4th Avenue Corozal beside western Union. On February 2nd, 2018 Panaderia Don Chaparro was their grand opening and sold freshly selected pieces of sweet bread from all kinds all day. Panaderia Don Chaparro will be making freshly sweet bread every day such as Capricho, Cinnamon Rolls, sweet bun, Sweet Pizza dough, Cheese with sweet bread and others. They have been in business for some time in Corozal. They want to inform there customers about there new location. Now they have a bigger space to serve the Customers with better quality. Opening hours are from 6am to 12noon and 2pm to 6pm Monday to Saturday. Come by at the bakery if you haven't made it yet.

International Sources

Sudbury drug bust leads to arrest of man wanted for Belize murder, Toronto robbery
Jordan Bacchus, 28, sought for murder in Central America, was nabbed along with a woman during a drug bust in Northern Ontario on Friday. Greater Sudbury Police say it turns out the accused man is wanted for armed robbery by Toronto cops and has been sought by homicide investigators in Belize for nearly two years. Bacchus is wanted by cops in Belize for the brutal killing of Melvin Almendarez in May 2016. The San Pedro Sun has reported the 31-year-old local athlete was shot to death and then run over by a golf cart. Bacchus was taken into custody at the time on drug charges but was released 48 hours later. A week later investigators issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the murder but by then it’s believed Bacchus had fled the country and returned to Canada — even though he had surrendered his passport to cops.

SBC New Creation Taking "John: His Story" To Belize
The Steinbach Bible College New Creation Drama team is performing John: His Story throughout southern Manitoba as a fundraiser to bring the same play to Belize. Director Richard Klassen says this will be a totally new experience for the New Creation team as they would normally end their year with a tour somewhere in Canada. He adds the trip to Belize will be an excellent new mission opportunity. “We will be working with a number of church groups as well as Belizean Camping Experience and school groups in the country to do workshops and presentations, it will be great for us as a team to stretch us and it will be great for them because there are a number of alumni down in Belize that we can connect with and hopefully support and encourage.”

Maya civilization was much vaster than known, thousands of newly discovered structures reveal
Archaeologists have spent more than a century traipsing through the Guatemalan jungle, Indiana Jones-style, searching through dense vegetation to learn what they could about the Maya civilization that was one of the dominant societies in Mesoamerica for centuries. But the latest discovery — one archaeologists are calling a “game changer” — didn't even require a can of bug spray. Scientists using high-tech, airplane-based lidar mapping tools have discovered tens of thousands of structures constructed by the Maya: defense works, houses, buildings, industrial-size agricultural fields, even new pyramids. The findings, announced Thursday, are already reshaping long-held views about the size and scope of the Maya civilization. “This world, which was lost to this jungle, is all of a sudden revealed in the data,” said Albert Yu-Min Lin, an engineer and National Geographic explorer who worked on a television special about the new find. “And what you thought was this massively understood, studied civilization is all of a sudden brand new again,” he told the New York Times

Lasers Reveal a Maya Civilization So Dense It Blew Experts’ Minds
They were hidden there, all this time, under the cover of tree canopies in the jungles of northern Guatemala: tens of thousands of structures built by the Maya over a millennium ago. Not far from the sites tourists already know, like the towering temples of the ancient city of Tikal, laser technology has uncovered about 60,000 homes, palaces, tombs and even highways in the humid lowlands. The findings suggested an ancient society of such density and interconnectedness that even the most experienced archaeologists were surprised. “Everywhere that we looked, there was more settlement than we expected,” said Thomas Garrison, a National Geographic explorer and an archaeologist at Ithaca College. “We knew there was going to be more, but the scale of it really blew our minds.” Researchers found the structures by shooting lasers down from planes to pierce the thick foliage and paint a 3-D picture of the ground below. The technology is called Light Detection and Ranging, or lidar.

Videos

Dreams do come true! Island girl Michelle Perez, getting her first ice skating lesson in Boston, 1.5min. We were recently honored to meet Michele, a burn survivor from Belize, who dreamed of being able to skate. Thank you for letting us help you on the ice and for inspiring us all, Michele.

, 10sec. Here is a cute mamma and baby tapir caught in remote camera from the Gallon Jug area, Belize.

Maya Community come out in support of slain sisters, 10min.

Sweet Home Belize, 1min.

Building Off the Grid: Island Oasis, 42min. Beth wants a beach getaway on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Construction manager Ken Grissom and his crew attempt the impossible task of constructing an off-the-grid luxury getaway with the Caribbean water just steps away.

Geology of the Belize Barrier Reef (1992), 17min. Produced by the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, of Fisher Island Station, Miami, Florida.

Swimming with Sea Turtles - Belize It 2018, 1.5min. My dad and I snorkelling off the Silk Cayes, off the coast of Belize. This was in January 2018. We highly recommend it!

drone flight day three Belize, 8min.

Scuba Diving in Belize - 2018, 3min.

Life in San Pedro, Belize, 5min. Raised in San Pedro Town, AC. Here are some of the things involved in my everyday life! I love to travel but I also love my home

Zip Lining in Belize - Carnival Breeze Cruise, 3min.

T n T Dive Belize, 11min. Scuba divng in San Pedro, Belize with Eels ( Spotted, Moray), Green Sea Turtles,Sharks (Nurse, Reef), Eagle Spotted Ray. The Blue Hole. Red, White, and Blue Hole dive July 4, 2015.

Once in a lifetime visit to Belize laughing bird caye : Episode 1, 15min. In this Episode I visit Laughing Bird Caye, I went with 3 boat loads of my family and friends, to this rare treasure.

San Pedro Tigersharks vs Belize Hurricanes, 2.5hr. San Pedro wins 73-58