2010 ended, and 2011 began with football in deep crisis in Belize. The fomenting discontent in the sport had led the newly appointed Minister of Sports, Hon. John Saldivar, to make a personal fact-finding tour of the country, to get a first hand idea of the problems faced by sports in general and football in particular. What he found was most troubling.
The marked success in athletics for 2011 came from the joint effort of the coaches, athletes, supporters, sponsors, the Belize Amateur Athletic Association (BAAA) Executive and stakeholders.
After two consecutive years of foreigners walking away with the big winner’s purse, trophy and most of the station prizes, cycling fans are itching to see a Belizean rider bring back the Krem New Year’s Day Cycling Classic championship to the Jewel. On January 1, 2011, Costa Ricans Marco Salas and Juan Rojas cruised in together a full 18 minutes ahead of the first Belizean rider. We don’t want that again. Before that, in 2010, it was Guatemalan Carlos Hernandez taking top honors, followed by 4 more foreigners before the first Belizean rider arrived a minute and a half later. With the emergence of David Henderson, Jr. this year as a dominant force, fans are hoping that the Belizean field will be more resilient in meeting the challenge from the foreigners. Aside from Henderson, who recently won the Alpheus Williams Classic on December 11, other top ten finishers in that race who will carry our hopes on New Year’s Day include Kyne Gentle, Byron Pope, past two-time Krem Classic champion and record holder Marlon “Diesel” Castillo, Greg Lovell, Luigi Urbina, Allen Castillo, Darnell Barrow, Tariq Cano and Jose Choto. (Marlon’s record, set in 2009, is 3:29:55 for the 93-mile journey from the Corozal Free Zone to Central American Boulevard in Belize City.)
In terrible sadness, the family of Sylvan Roberts, Jr., 34, a resident of Santa Elena Town is making preparations for his burial after he was fatally shot when two burglars invaded his home on Friday, December 23, 2011.
Petroleum leads Belize’s major domestic exports with BZ$248.7 million worth of exports reported for January to October, the first 10 months of 2011, according to information just released by the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB).
“We noh stop work”... Stephen Okeke, proprietor of Joy Juices and independent mayoral candidate, has shut down his Cemetery Road juice station and today handed his landlord a notice effective the end of January 2012, claiming that he has decided to shut down that outlet, which also served as his main production station, because of multiple robberies and burglaries at that location, and because of general security concerns.
Ian Alamilla, 35, a Belizean who has been living in the United States, has been sentenced to 25 years in Illinois prison for the 2010 murder of his estranged wife Tara Alamilla, which occurred last April. Three months ago, in October, Alamilla had made a blind plea of guilty to the charge of murder and he received his sentence on Thursday, December 22, 2011.
As we went to press, reports here are that Eugene Thompson, 26, arraigned on June 2 for the Sunday night, May 16, 1982 Mafia-style slaying of Salvador Castellanos, 30, was quietly released a few weeks ago. No official reason was disclosed, but our reports are the police may feel they lack enough circumstantial evidence to present a prima facie case.
Government’s legal defeat in the case of the 2009 nationalization of Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), and its defiant stance, refusing to let go of the company in the face of the court’s ruling of unconstitutionality, led to the dramatic renationalization of the company in the second half of 2011. Just a few weeks ago, BTL declared $15 million in dividends to shareholders—the bulk of which went to the Government of Belize, which will apparently await the court’s ruling on how much it needs to pay former shareholders for the company.
Well, I am glad to see everyone preparing for Christmas and all the bashing that has been associated with it. The only thing I can’t stop wondering about is, how everyone is preparing for the Christmas - food, clothes, home makeover, so much so that businesses have hijacked the celebrations.
I write to respond to the Editorial in your Wed. Dec. 21, 2011 Issue. It said “The irony of our counsel today is that, fundamentally, we have always had a problem with homosexuality at this newspaper. But, especially in the third millennium, we have directed our anger at pedophilia, not adult homosexuality.” It also subtly chided the Church for being silent on pedophilia while vocal on homosexuality.
BELIZE CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS 1971. The results of the elections held on the 8th December, 1971, for members of the Belize City Council are published for general information.
