Skydivers donate to San Pedro Town Library and Be Kind Belize

The Boogie in Belize skydivers are back on the island for the seventh time. As per usual, the organizers of the annual excursion to Belize encourage participants to contribute to the education process on the island. Each participant is encouraged to gather educational and fun items which would later be donated to different organizations on the Island.

This year, the recipients of these goodies were the San Pedro Town Public Library and Be Kind Belize, both institutions that cater to children and furthering education.

The first donation was presented to Colette Kase of Be Kind Belize at the Sun Breeze hotel on Tuesday February 15^th. Items donated included dozens of cuddly stuffed teddy bears, note pads, markers, pens and crayons among others. Colette graciously accepted the gifts and expressed that some of the donation will travel to the country in the villages where the children do not readily have access to donations of the sort.
The donation to the San Pedro Town Library was a result of the REAPER annual Sky Divers Poker Tournament held at Pedro’s Inn on Sunday February 13^th. Starting at 7:00pm, there were a total of 39 players who bought into the game at $200.00 each, leading to a bucket of $7,800.00. At the end of the game, Mad John took first place, Mike B took second, Kerry and Nick took third and fourth respectively. The payout was $1,800.00 to 1^st place, $1,000.00 to 2^nd place, $700.00 to 3^rd place and $400.00 went to 4^th place. The remaining 3900 went to the San Pedro Public Library. There was an additional $225.00 collected in the form of donations from patrons at Pedro’s Bar that night.
On February 15^th, a check in the amount of $4,100.00 and $25.00 cash was presented to Ms. Ira Acosta of the San Pedro Town Public Library, along with a huge variety of donated items brought by the visiting skydivers and supporters.

Among the items donated were notepads, pens, markers, crayons, stick glues, a digital camera, one laptop and a huge variety of other school supplies. Ira accepted the donation and explained that some of the moneys will go towards much needed Air Conditioners for the library, help out with the daily up keeping of the library as well as with programs that will benefit the children that make use of the library.

As part of the donation, the San Pedro Town Library has agreed to produce monthly reports showing how the funds are being used.

National Agriculture & Trade Show Dates Announced

The National Agriculture and Trade Show Committee met on the 14th of February 2011, as part of its ongoing preparation for this year’s show. The dates of the show are April 29th & 30th, and May 1st. The theme for this year’s show will be “Agriculture: Securing the Future for a Better Belize.”

Statement on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

Belmopan, February14th, 2011. The recent revelation surrounding the sale of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the domestic market is underscored by the need for the Bureau to take immediate action to protect the interests and rights of consumers.

As the entity responsible for legal metrology we do not refute these revelations, neither should we be mistakenly viewed as upholding acts of deception that deprive the average Belizean consumer. In an effort to address this issue the Bureau is expeditiously pursing the following:
*In the immediate term the Bureau expects very shortly to pursue measures to provide additional assurance to the consumer as it relates to purchases of LPG in the domestic market.
*In the medium term the Bureau will seek financial support from the Government of Belize to purchase metrology equipment that will assist with monitoring the LPG industry in terms of weights and measures or quantity and quality of LPG mixtures imported.
*In addition the Bureau has been able to secure technical assistance from the PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) of Germany through its Technical Cooperation arm for Latin America and the Caribbean. The consultancy which is expected to commence in March 2011 will pursue the following objectives:
*Conduct a thorough analysis/assessment of the status - use and needs of standards and application of metrology as appropriate - of the LPG industry in Belize
*Assess product quality and safety
*Evaluate current storage and distribution methods in Belize
*Evaluate and assess suppliers’ facilities and infrastructure - plant and equipment
*Seek recommendations for the development of standards applicable to this sector
*Provide guidance on minimum level of investment (capital and technical) necessary of the Bureau for conformity assessment. This includes testing, sampling, inspections, certification and accreditation.

The Bureau acknowledges that this is a serious problem and we are addressing the issue in the quickest and shortest time as resources permit. At the same time, the Bureau reminds the general public that the pursuit to protect consumers cannot be shouldered by one single entity but rather requires active participation by the public and coordination among all relevant regulatory agencies.

ABC Pre-School parents create Valentine art with children

Valentine's Day is super special for many reasons...at ABC Pre-School, parents were invited to join their little ones in creating some beautiful artwork honoring the day of love. Parents got into the crafting with glue, paper, crayons, scissors and more...helping their sons and daughters to make beautiful memories...

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!

Kelly McGuire celebrates his annual Birthday Bash and releases new CD

Internationally re-knowned artist Kelly McGuire was back on the island for his annual “Birthday in Belize Bash” as well as to release his new CD entitled “King of the Island”. The San Pedro Sun caught up with Mr. McGuire down at Athen’s Gate to listen to his new CD and get a rundown of what he had been doing since his last visit.Kelly McGuire made his first journey to San Pedro about eight years ago. How this happened was quite interesting. He won the Independent Artist of the Year award, an award given by the Texas Country Music Association, and as a result his video was posted online. Unbeknownst to him, he was being viewed widely. That soon changed when he received a phone call from Ebbe, who introduced himself as the entertainment director of Fido’s in San Pedro, Belize and requested that Kelly fly to San Pedro to do a concert. Mr. McGuire admitted, “At first I thought this was some sort of a timeshare scam – I was very skeptical – however within a couple days, I received another call with a confirmation number. My tickets had been purchased.”
Kelly hopped on the plane and landed in Belize and after a short flight; he was in San Pedro for the first time. He did a couple shows on that visit. The last day of his visit found him sitting on the beach in front of the Royal Palms, where he started writing a song about a guy he had met on the island. The gentleman was from Colorado and owned a charter boat which was parked behind BC’s bar called “Boat in Belize”. That song was finished on his plane ride back to Houston. That year, Kelly returned about four times and did various shows for Fido’s.

With each visit, Kelly found himself writing more songs. Before he knew it, he had a collection of tropical island type songs which were later compiled to become the “Boat in Belize” CD. This however, was not Kelly’s first CD. His first CD, titled “Red Fish Island” was released in 2000, and it was comprised of sailing, boating and island type songs. His second CD was a country album that had couple singles featured on the Texas Music Charts.

Boat in Belize was Kelly’s third CD, which in 2008, received the award for Album of the Year at the Texas Music Awards. Kelly has continued to make several trips to Belize throughout the years, and every time he is here, he awes the audience with his magnetic vocals and catchy lyrics. Apart from performing in Belize, Kelly has performed at venues throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

On this trip, Kelly stayed on the island for ten days and had four performances at Fido’s, leading up to his final performance after Super Bowl Sunday, and featuring well known local artists as well. The release of his CD “King of the Island” is as a result of years of writing and visiting. He told The Sun that most of the songs were written while sitting on a beach some where in Belize. The CD expresses his emotions and the way his fans make him feel every time he visits and performs on the island. With songs such as Daddys and Daughters – an audience favorite and Nautical Man, this CD is sure to be a favorite.

The artwork for the CD was done by well know local artist, Walter Castillo, and was created to reflect the lyrics of the song “King of the Island” and Kelly’s relationship with San Pedro. With inspiration from his travels and personal experiences, listening to Kelly can make you fall in love all over again with San Pedro, Belize.