Peter often cried “Wolf!” until nobody listened to his cries any more. The San Pedro Fire Department is faced with a similar situation where prank callers have been making increasing phone calls to the department. The department cannot ignore these calls which most of the time end up being pranks, disturbing their daily work routine.

The Fire Department is trying to find a way to capture these prank callers and having them prosecuted. Ambergris Today met with Fire Chief, Jerome Garcia, and found out that the amount of prank calls have been increasing. Mr. Garcia explained that last year, 2007 a total of 60 fire calls were recorded out of which 75% of the calls were prank calls (45 phone calls).

“We receive an average of 5 prank calls per month,” commented Mr. Garcia. “We cannot afford to go out and respond to these types of calls. We not only put our lives at risk but also the lives of others since we have to travel at excess speeds to reach our destination.”

Mr. Garcia would like to ask everyone on the island to please end these acts of mischief. “I believe that people who do these types of things obviously have nothing to do,” commented Mr. Garcia. “Many times I have come up with the conclusion that people call simply because they cannot see us sitting down outside of the fire station. They believe that we are just lazying around and decide to give us these false alarm calls.”

Under the Belize National Fire Service Act Chapter 137 revised Edition 2003; The substantive laws as of May 2003, Part VI section 22 Subsection 1 – states that any person who knowingly gives or cause to be given the Service or to any Police Officer a false report or alarm of the outbreak of a fire or other disaster commits an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or to both such a fine and period of imprisonment.

The Fire Department would like to make it clear to everyone that if any one is caught doing such calls they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Fire department is currently working on a system where calls can and will be traced so as to catch repeated offenders.

The Fire Department would like to remind all persons that in any emergency to please contact the San Pedro Fire Department at phone number 226-2372 instead of dialing 911 or the Police Station. Upon calling to make a report he advises people to state their name, give their address and state what is burning and to what extent.

By providing the above information you can help the Fire Department prepare for the emergency. Fire Chief Garcia would like to ask residents to kindly respect the fire truck and make way for it as it announces its presence on the streets.

So remember in case of a Fire or Emergency call the San Pedro Fire Department at 226-2372. Prank callers beware, if caught you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Belizean music artist living abroad, Oral Fuentes, was on the island this past week shooting his music video and Ambergris Today got an exclusive interview with Oral and also witnessed the actual video shooting at Blue Tang Inn.

Oral Fuentes was on the island along with his wife and a filming crew from Shamax Production from Belmopan shooting a music video entitled “Sum Lovin” from his Cd “Oral Culture”.

“We just finished shooting another music video in Belize City called Whey Natty Deh,” commented Oral. “The filming took place on Albert Street and we then came to San Pedro to film or next video called Sum lovin.”

According to Oral he chose the Blue Tang Inn because it had everything he wanted for his video. “Beautiful place, I loved the scenery, the beach, pool side and the room was exactly what we need to shoot this video and not to mention the friendly service which was provided to us,” stated Oral.

Several of the Oral Fuentes band members came to the band with experience playing other styles of music hence giving it its “funky reggae” style. Members include Oral Fuentes, vocal and guitar (Belize), Dave Nelson – Trumpet (Seattle, Washington), Zender Millar – Bass (Saskatoon, Saskatchwen), Jose Antonio – Drums (Chile), Joseph Ashong – Percussions (Ghana), Daniel Sarracent – Sax (Cuba), Geoff Assman – Keys (Saskatoon, Saskatchwen), Mike Kereiff – Trombome (Saskatoon, Saskatchwen) and Nigel Wright – Lead Guitar (Scotland).

And this is why Tanisha wants to put all of this turmoil behind her and is fighting to separate herself from Pageants Belize so she can start fundraising on her own and make it to the Miss Universe Pageant coming up in July. In fact, Tanisha has already started in her quest in getting prepared for the prestigious pageant. She has already made many contacts in Mexico and the US which will aid her is completing her wardrobe and all the accessories needed for the Miss Universe Pageant.

Oral Fuentes’ musical experience started in his home country of Belize, where he was involved with a multicultural band, ‘Caribbean Jam’, playing for many local and countrywide events. Since then Oral has traveled extensively to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Surinam, Guyana, USA, and the Caribbean.

Commencing his studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Cambridge, Ontario in 1989, Oral traveled and wrote songs with ‘The Warriors’ rock band and ‘Soul’d Out’ a soul/blues band, both from the Academy. Their route took them many times to New York and Nashville.

Oral moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1992. Since then, Oral continues to play with musicians from Saskatoon, showcasing at the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, and many other festivals and cultural shows.

Oral’s Caribbean and Latin rhythms include the musical styles of Caribbean & Latin beats, Reggae, Soca, Punta-Rock and Brukdown (both musical styles from Belize). Oral writes and performs his own songs.

Oral’s Culture Cd is for sale at Di Bush Toucan Gift Shop, located on Barrier Reef Drive, for more information on Oral Fuentes you can visit his website at www.oralfuentes.com or at www.myspace.com/oralfuentes.

Press Release – San Pedro Town Council – March 12, 2008 – In a Town Council meeting held on Tuesday, March 11, Councilor Juan Alamilla was unanimously voted Deputy Mayor for a one-year term. Councilor Alamilla graciously accepted this post which comes into effect immediately, Apart from deputy mayor, Mr. Alamilla’s work portfolio includes public utilities, town zoning and planning.

On Thursday, March 6, a team from San Pedro High School traveled to Belize City to attend yet another competition. This time, it was to participate in the Food and Nutrition Quiz Competition where it placed first in Zone B of the Belize District. This has them advancing to the National Food and Nutrition Competition for the finals to be held on April 11, 2008 in Belize City.

The San Pedro High School team, comprised of Alice Huang, Eni Gonzalez and Risela Rivera, competed against E.P Yorke and Anglican Cathedral College (ACC). The SPHS girls took an early lead in the first round in which they obtained the maximum number of points- (45 points). E.P Yorke was second with 40 points and ACC had 25 points.

Competition got tough in the second and third rounds for San Pedro High. At the end of the third round, E.P Yorke had grabbed the lead at 115 points. San Pedro High was second with 80 points and ACC was third with 70 points.

The fourth round proved to be the decisive round as Captain Alice, Eni and Risela dug deep and came up with a perfect round to come on top. In the end, the score was – San Pedro High – 120 points, E.P. Yorke – 115 points and ACC – 90 points.

Even though the competition featured three teams, the scores were very close. The two city teams have been Zone champions before and they knew how to prepare for this competition. The schools also teach food and nutrition at the CXC level and to compete with them, SPH students have to put a lot of effort after class, during holidays and even on weekends in order to be competitive.

San Pedro High now moves to the national competition where they placed second last year. Already Orange Walk Technical and Stann Creek Ecumenical wait for them and rumors are that it is possible that one of these three schools will win it again this year. Some of these students representing these schools already have the experience of competing internationally. SPHS captain Alice Huang was also captain of the national team that place second in the Caribbean regional tournament held in November 2007.

San Pedro High School has expressed how proud it is of Alice, Eni and Risela with their strong representation at the competition and wants to encourage them, along with alternate Pedro Garcia, to keep studying so that they can be national champions this year. San Pedro High also thanks Mr. Emil Vasquez for taking the time to coach the team.

A group of San Pedro painters will be attending the Joint Ventures Exhibition 11 to be held on Monday, March 17 in Belize City. This exhibition is to promote Art and motivate painters in Belize to be more creative.

The general public is invited to attend the exhibition of art of Belizean artists. Official opening of the Exhibition will be held at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, March 17 at 1:00p.m. The exhibition runs from Monday, March 17 to Friday, March 28, 2008 at the Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts. For further information please feel free to contact Terryl Godoy at 661-8867.

Featured Artists include: (* from San Pedro)
Nelson Young
Terryl Godoy “Man at Work” *
Marcos Manzanero *
Curvin Mitchell*
Fido
Johnny Cain
George
Carrie
Pamella Braun
Leo Vasquez *
Pedro Cruz
Henri Dunster
Kurt Cruz *
Gilvano Swasey
Eduardo Alamilla “Papo” *
Chris Emmanuel *
Edgar Gomez
Frank Cadle *
Omar Sanchez
Brads Stedman
Anna Alamilla
Michael Gordon
Eluterio Carrillo
Daniel Landero
Melody Sanchez Wolfe *

Arts Galleries & Frame
Rachael Heusner Art Gallery
Belizean Arts *
Island Excursions *
Lee Art Gallery
Fine Arts Gallery *
The Angelus Press Ltd.
The Gallery *
Rene Art Gallery *
ABC Framing

Ambergris Today had a chance to experience a flavorful lunch this past week at a nice and cozy little place called the Blue Moon Restaurant. We discovered that this newly opened restaurant has a very inviting atmosphere with a unique view. To one side is a view overlooking Central Park and the busy street of Barrier Reef Drive and to the other is a magnificent view of the Caribbean Sea. The restaurant hovers above the beach and offers a very relaxing and refreshing atmosphere to dine.

But besides a great view and atmosphere, Blue Moon restaurant offers a great menu that everyone will enjoy. We were greeted by the owner and Chef Mr. Marwan Haddad whose pleasant personality makes you feel at home. He started us off with a Ceviche Del Mar as appetizer which was a combination of conch, shrimp, lobster and octopus all mixed together with onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lime and their secret seasonings. We were pretty quick to dig in and it was done faster than we could say Hmm, hmm, Good!

While waiting for our food, we noticed that that everybody at the restaurant got the same special attention of Chef Marwan that day and not only us, because we were doing the review. The chef then brought us some entrees that got our mouths watering.

We couldn’t make up our mind on what we wanted to eat, because everything looked delicious, so we all decided to make it a buffet and tasted a little bit of everything. The first meal on the table was a Beef Taco Salad which comprises of a fried tortilla bowl filled up with refried beans, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, ground beef and topped off with cheese and sour cream, yummy.

Next was Fried Shrimp which came with an order of French fries and a side of coleslaw. The shrimp also came with a deliciously home-made tartar sauce that gave it that extra added touch. We had tasted lots of shrimp dishes before, but these deep fried, battered shrimp were among the best we have tasted on the island. Really!

Mr. Haddad hails from Damascus, Syria where he grew up enjoying the food of his grandmother which he says is the best cook ever. He explained that he learned much from his grandmother and you can tell that his cooking is influenced by tastes from his native home.

The third meal on our “buffet” was the Milanesa de Filete – fillet fish served with their special salsa, white rice, two salad side orders (steamed veggies and a garden salad). Then our last but definitely not least meal on our lunch line-up was the Bar-B-Que Brisket Sandwich that instantly became the number one choice amongst the staff of Ambergris Today. The brisket meat was slow-cooked to perfection for hours and its taste was simply divine for those meat lovers. The sandwich came with an order of fries and the Brisket Pan Sauce which we couldn’t help but dipping the sandwich into before each bite! The food all tasted as good as it looked and can definitely be considered finger-licking good.

Blue Moon Restaurant offers a variety of dishes to choose from which includes a daily list of specials: For example, Wednesdays they have Meatloaf and Salbutes, Fridays its Fish Fillet and Chicken Burritos and on Sundays Roast Chicken and Beef Burritos, just to name a few. They are all guaranteed to get your taste buds going.

We asked Chef Marwan what his secret was to such delicious meals and he replied, “With all the fresh produce on the island I just add a little helping hand and let nature take its course, nothing fancy just good food.” He has been in the business for 53 years and a chef for about 38.

So now you know; if you and your family want to enjoy some fresh breeze and good food with a beachfront view, come over to the Blue Moon Restaurant located on the beach above Big Daddy’s Night Club. It’s a small place that’s big in flavor and right in the center of town. It is open from Wednesday through Monday from 11:00a.m. until the food is all gone! For reservations or takeout call 226-4502. And remember to tell them that Ambergris Today sent you!