Week of September 15, 2005                               Volume 7, #35 1. Families Go Fishing on Holiday Weekend 2. 50 Residents off to Cuba for Free Eye Treatment 3. Reef Radio Crowns Karaoke King! 4. Radioton For A Noble Cause 5. Mexican National Drowns in North Ambergris 6. Man Kidnapped and Beaten for Cocaine Stash

Families Go Fishing on Holiday Weekend Islanders celebrated the 10th of September with a day in the sun following the official coronation of Miss San Pedro and a parade through the main streets of town. The celebrations kicked off with Lety Lara being officially crowned as our new Miss San Pedro 2005; outgoing Miss San Pedro 2004 Roxanna Bradley handed over Lety her new crown, scepter and cape. “It is an honor for me to accept this title and it is a dream come true for me to represent my home town as Miss San Pedro,” commented Lety. Following the coronation, the newly crowned Miss San Pedro and the other 4 other delegates paraded through town along with their supporters. Throughout the day, people enjoyed lively music and tons of activities, including a bike race, at Central Park and at other establishments which put on their own entertainment. New to this year’s celebrations was a St. George’s Caye Day Fishing Tournament which focused on making the tournament a family event. Eleven boats participated and only family members were allowed to team up and compete; family members included grandparents, nephews, nieces and even grandchildren. The boat with the most pounds of fish caught at the end of the day was named the winner. Here are the results of the fishing tournament: *1st Place ($1,000) – Boat “Stacy” (Capt. Alberto Bradley & Roberto Bradley) 281.5lbs *2nd Place ($(500) – Boat “Freedom” (Ariel Valdez, Oscar Pinelo & Ivan Staines) 186lbs *3rd Place ($300) – Boat “The Rock” (Daly, Chito & Efrain Guerrero) 144.5lbs Other prizes given were for the ‘Biggest Fish” - $250.00 won by Leonardo Bradley with a 40-pound King Fish and a Junior Angler prize - $50.00 won by 4-year old Axel Canul with a 10-pound Tuna. Photo Caption: On the float with Miss San Pedro 2005 Lety Lara are Ines Reyes, Karina Rejon, Amarilis Peña and Chantelle Castillo 2. Bradley family weighs in 281.5 pounds of fish to take fishing tournament. 3. Axel Canul Junir Angler winner/ Leonardo Bradley with the heaviest fish/ The San Pedro High School Marching Band added rhythm to the parade. 50 Residents off to Cuba for Free Eye Treatment Close to 200 island residents visited the San Pedro Polyclinic II hoping to qualify for the Cuban government’s program, “Operación Milagros”, which provides Belizeans with free of cost eye medical treatment in Havana, Cuba. In two days last week, 3 Cuban medical specialists screened a total of 198 San Pedro residents at the Polyclinic to find out who will qualify for the free program sponsored by the Cuban and Belizean governments. A total of 59 hopefuls qualified for the program by Friday last week, and this Monday and Wednesday, 50 of these lucky patients left Belize for Havana for their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “After being screened last week, all those patients who qualified for the free treatment were notified immediately and told to bring in their passports or I.D. cards to obtain their visa for travel to Cuba,” Milo Paz Jr., San Pedro Lions Club coordinator told Ambergris Today. “There were no limits as to how many patients were looked at by the medical specialists, and the Cubans even extended their stay in San Pedro by one more day, qualifying a total of 59 by late Friday evening.” Two Ophthalmology specialists, Dr. Silvia L. Alvarez and Dr. Maria Natalia Lanz, along with an Optometrist, Dr. Francis Jonks, were sent to San Pedro last week by the Cuban Embassy in Belize to screen the island patients for the “Operación Milagros” program. Not only were these medical specialist professional, but they were also very patient and nice with the residents who came to check their eyes. “We couldn’t have accomplished our work without the terrific support from the San Pedro Lions Club, and their fellow members, Milo Paz and Baldemar Graniel,” Dr. Maria Lanz told our newspaper. “This will not be our only visit to the island, as we shall return to conduct follow-up check-ups on the patients who will be treated in Havana, and we shall also return to conduct another screening for Operacion Milagros in the near future.” So, there is still another opportunity for anyone who missed the one conducted last week. Already, more than one hundred Belizeans have benefited from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to receive life-altering surgery in Cuba, and now, Ambergris Cay residents can also be counted in those numbers. “Operacion Milagros” is a Cuban government crusade aimed at putting an end to needless blindness in the Caribbean. Belize is the second in a group of Caribbean countries that has been selected as beneficiaries of the benevolent program. The patients who flew to Cuba will receive treatment involving various operations, including surgery on cataracts, pterygium, strabismus, and other operable eye diseases. Cuba’s commitment in addressing eye problems was seen recently in Venezuela, where in just one year, 38,000 blind Venezuelans recovered their vision after going to surgery in Cuba. Photo Caption: Cuban doctors check patients.   Reef Radio Crowns Karaoke King! After four weeks of stiff competition, the island’s first ever televised karaoke contest came to an end on Thursday, September 8, with Carlos Montejo being crowned Reef Radio’s Karaoke King. In collaboration with Coral Cable Vision and Jaguar’s Temple Night Club the Reef Radio organized San Pedro’s first karaoke TV competition which gave the entire island the opportunity to witness the popular pastime that draws locals and tourist to the night establishments for musical entertainment. Twenty four hopefuls sang their hearts out but in the end only the most talented seven made it to the final round after four weeks of eliminating competition. Jaguar’s Temple Night Club was jam packed with fans and viewers were glued to their television set as they cheered for their favorite singer through three rounds of singing. The scoring was very close, according to the judges who awarded points for lyric accuracy, voice and over all performance. The final standings were as follows: *1st Place – Carlos Montejo -> $1,000, cellular phone by Smart & Bar-B-Q Grill (Castillo’s Hardware) *2nd Place – Melissa Muñoz -> $300 & cellular phone by Smart *3rd Place – Ernesto Caliz -> $200 & cellular phone by Smart *The other contestants making it to the finals were: Jaime Manzano, Noel Wiltshire, Virginia Melendez and Rolando Albeño. Due to the popularity of the event, Reef Radio has expressed its intention to make the Karaoke TV Contest a yearly event immediately following the Costa Maya Festival. Photo Caption: 1. Carlos Montejo crowned Karaoke King. 2. Melissa Muñoz wins second place and Ernesto Caliz takes third. Radioton For A Noble Cause $20,091.95 For Katrina Victims in the U.S. “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” “Do unto others as you would want them do unto you.” “It is in giving that you receive.” And what goes around comes around.” With phrases like these and others, amateur radio broadcasters Ernesto Nasa Caliz and principal teacher Angel Nunez both kept coaxing Sanpedranos and residents of San Pedro to call in and pledge their contributions of support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. For some eight straight hours volunteers of the Lions club, the Red Cross and the Honduran Community took to the streets and went door to door to receive the kind contributions of the San Pedro community. Soon it was five thousand dollars and Nasa and Nunez set a ten thousand dollar target. By three in the afternoon they had reached that target and Nunez played with the idea of a “quinceañera” which is a lovely fifteen-year-old young lady. By four thirty p.m. the team of volunteers along with the large number of radio callers had reached the fifteen thousand mark. And there was only thirty minutes remaining when the radio hosts challenged San Pedro for the twenty thousand dollar final target. And believe it or not, by five o’clock on the dot the exact target was $20, 091.95. (Twenty thousand and ninety one dollars with ninety five cents. And the friends at the Lions Den went wild with enthusiasm. Several areas contributed with heart and soul and that included Pescador Drive along with Angel Coral Street. Another large sum came from Barrier Reef Drive. Then there were sizeable contributions from San Juan area, San Pedrito, Boca Del Rio, San Pablo and DFC. Many phone pledges came from a few hotels, dive shops, tour agencies, bars, lumber yards, butane gas agencies, transport shipping lines, one hardware store, boutiques, food vendors, gift shops, golf cart rentals, and the town council. A few volunteers complained that they received negative attitudes from a few Americans along the coast, but the hope that this was a San Pedro project kept their spirits going. Some businesses got free publicity at the Lions Den where Super Furia kept the crowd alive and the barbecue kept the crowd up beat. It was a super day in San Pedro, one filled with high spirit and unconditional love. All who helped felt proud they did and those who did not, well they have their reasons to do so but will have another opportunity some other time. For now, all we can say is Kudos to San Pedro for you did it again. This time it was the little one helping the bigger one. What goes around comes around. San Pedro, you have many reasons to be proud. Mexican National Drowns in North Ambergris A team of forensic experts arrived from Belize City last Saturday, September 10, to identify the decomposed body of a Hispanic person that was found around 9:30 a.m. last Friday, September 9, in a lagoon situate west of the Tres Cocos area of North Ambergris Caye. According to the police, the body was found nude, but with no signs of violence or distinguishing marks. The dead person was described as having short black hair, of medium built with a round face and short nose. Police believe the man to be in his mid- 40’s. On Saturday, the body was identified by the forensic teams as that of Mexican national, Ramon Andres Ramirez, a massage therapist, who had recently moved to the Buena Vista area of North Ambergris Caye. Distinctive dental features confirmed the identification. According to police, Ramirez was reported to have left his house last Wednesday to go jogging. He is believed to have drowned. No signs of violent contact were associated with the deceased. He has been interred in the San Pedro Town Cemetery. His family is expected to arrive in San Pedro from Mexico early this week. Man Kidnapped and Beaten for Cocaine Stash San Pedro Police arrested boat captain Elbert Swift last week in connection with a kidnapping report made by 23-year-old resident James Swan, who claimed that three men of dark complexion assaulted him and took 2 kilos of cocaine from him. Late Thursday, September 8, 2005, Elbert Swift, captain of the boat Delila, appeared in the San Pedro Magistrate’s Court, where he was charged by Magistrate Eric Fairweather with kidnapping, aggravated assault, and wounding. Last Tuesday, San Pedro resident James Swan told police that sometime between 4:00 – 4:30 p.m., while he was standing on a pier in an area called “Zaak-Bajo,” three dark-skinned men approached him in a boat. According to Swan, the men jumped out of the boat, held him up at gunpoint, and ordered him inside the boat. Swan was then tied up and taken off the island to a remote area north of San Pedro. The men took him to an area which is located on a separate island, north of San Pedro Town, but on their way there, the blue and white 30-feet skiff in which they were traveling ran out of fuel. The men were able to transfer to another boat, belonging to a brother of one of the three kidnappers, which was parked in the area. Swan told police that when they arrived on the island, the men proceeded to beat him up and demand that he handed over drugs in his possession. Fearing for his life, Swan said that he handed over 2 kilos of cocaine to the men, after which they dropped him back to San Pedro and made their escape. Subsequent Police investigations led them to confiscate 2 blue and white skiffs, one a 30-foot skiff with a 40-horsepower engine, and the other a 30-foot skiff with a 200-horsepower engine. As of press time this week, Elbert Swift, the captain of the boat Delila, was the only person charged with the kidnapping, assault and wounding of James Swan. The two other persons that Swan claims to have been involved have not been arrested or charged. According to police, Swan will not be charged with anything because they did not find him in possession of any drugs. Photo Caption: Two skiffs were confiscated during investigations. AMBERGRIS TODAY Dorian Nuñez 501-226-3462 San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye Belize, Central America ambertoday@btl.net