San Pedro Traffic Department receives Two Motor Cycles!!!!!!

This afternoon at a little after 2:00pm, Mayor Elsa Paz, along with members of the San Pedro Town Council, presented the San Pedro Traffic Department with two new Honda motorcycles.

5 inmates escape from Belize Central Prison

Five (5) prisoners escaped from the Belize Central Prison shortly after midnight this morning, April 12, 2010. These inmates were all housed at the Tango 10 building. They made good their escape by breaching security systems in that building and overpowering the Prison Officer posted at that location.

They are:
1. Terry Bainton, 30 years of Creole descent, weighs 150 lbs, and is 5’8” in height2. Dennis Quilter, 35 years of Creole descent, weighs 128lbs, and is 5’4” in height 3. Jose‐Luis Cocom, 30 years of Mayan descent, weighs 126lbs, and is 5”6” in height4. Juan Melendez, 45 years of Mestizo descent, weighs 140 lbs, and is 5’9” in height5. Jose Melgar, 22 years of Mestizo descent, weighs 102lbs, and is 5’6” in height The general public is asked to please be on the lookout for these prisoners and call the nearest police station or the Belize Central Prison at 225‐6229 or 225‐6191 with information regarding the sighting or identification of any or all of these prisoners.

Two San Pedro bartenders to compete at Taste of Belize 2010

On Easter Sunday, five San Pedro bartenders competed in the Traveller’s National Cocktail Challenge held at Central Park. With a crowd cheering on their favorite mix master, the contestants were put through a series of three elimination rounds.

The first round required each bartender to prepare three original cocktails based on three Traveller’s liquors. The second round was a speed round requiring the bartenders to prepare at least four cocktails from a list of seven specific recipes, and the last round paired two finalists against each other.

The finalists were asked to prepare two cocktails based on ingredients from a mystery box. The mystery box contained four ingredients and the bartenders were required to choose three of the ingredients. They were allowed 15 minutes to write their recipes and name their two cocktails and then 10 minutes to prepare both concoctions. Each cocktail needed to be prepared with different techniques such as frozen, shaken, stirred, etc.

Judges were on hand at all times gauging their scores on taste, technique, originality, presentation, showmanship, personality, punctuality, portions, procedures and garnishes. Scores earned specific points and the bartender with the highest score was the top winner.

During the Traveller’s National Cocktail Challenge there will be a total of six competitions held in regional areas of Belize. Each first and second place regional winners will automatically be entered in the Taste of Belize Bartender’s Competition scheduled for August, 2010.

Renan Rodriguez

Romeo Kotch

San Pedro bartender Renan Rodriguez of La Playa Lounge won first place and bartender Romeo Kotch from El Divino placed second. We applaud both these talented gentlemen and look forward to cheering them on at the BTB Taste of Belize competition.

Headline News: Man dead after attempted masked robbery

Shortly after 9:00 p.m. a single gunshot rang out in the Tres Cocos Area in Ambergris Caye. When police officials arrived at the scene around 10:00 p.m. the body of Lionel Aldana was found dead from a single gunshot wound. The body was transported to the San Pedro Police Department.

Initial police investigations reveal that two men were returning to town from hunting on the northern end of the island when upon reaching the Tres Cocos vicinity a log was seen lying in the middle of the road. The driver stopped the vehicle and got out to investigate. It is alleged that two masked men came out of hiding and the driver, fearing for his life, fired a single gunshot from his licensed gun. Investigations continue into the incident but reliable sources have confirmed that the driver is an employee of the San Pedro Town Council.

BWSL holds press conference

Belize Water Services Limited (BWSL) held a press conference today at 11:00 a.m. at the Conference Room at the Sunbreeze Hotel. Present for the meeting was the top brass of the utility company willing to answer questions based on the low pressure or lack of water that the island has been experiencing since the Easter holiday.

Chief Executive Officer for BWSL Alvan Haynes explained the situation. He stated that the underlying issue is the fact that BWSL has not been receiving their water quota from Consolidated Water Services Limited (CWSL), the company hired to supply BWSL with enough water supply to meet the needs of Ambergris Caye. However, according to Mr. Haynes, Consolidated has faced issues based on the fact that their membranes and filters have been fouled not allowing the utmost production of water for the island. Haynes went on to explain that because BWSL has not been receiving the adequate water supply they have had to ration the water to the island. During the press conference, BWSL explained that for the moment, and indefinitely, water will be distributed the best way that they can. Today, Friday BWSL started delivering water for four hours in the morning and will do the same for four hours in the afternoon/evening. If this system works, this is what they will be operating from now on until the near future.

The root of the problem is still to be identified and for the moment, Consolidated Waters has sent a water sample and their damaged membranes to a laboratory for assessment. In the meantime, based on their and BWSL speculations, BWSL has sent in a formal request to the Department of Environment to halt dredging and development in the area near BWSL's plant.