7 News Belize

COMPOL: Tour Guides Need Better Security Screening
posted (June 27, 2019)
So far on the news tonight, we've had plenty of coverage from the town meeting last night in San Pedro. But one other item did catch our attention. Commissioner Chester Williams says that there has to be a more thorough screening of tour guides. That would seem to point to Mario Graniel, a tour guide who was targeted - and his client, Dr. Gary Swank was also killed as a result:

Chester Williams- Commissioner of Police
"It is also important that we take a most serious look at tour-guides. I believe that we should do more background checks on our tour-guides. We do get a lot of money from the tourism industry and we have to ensure we do what we can to preserve that, so that we will have tourist that feel comfortable and welcomed to our country."







Cameras Covering Pedro
Williams also discussed in greater detail the police's plan to cover San Pedro with security cameras. They are getting a 64 channel system installed - but only 10 cameras will be donated initially. He says they hope to eventually cover all the major points of arrival and departure on the island:…

Chester Williams- Commissioner of Police
"We will also ensure that we monitor the airways. The area where the plane comes in the airstrip; we want to put a camera there so we can monitor who comes on the island on the plane. And we will put cameras as well where the boat docks so that we can also see who is coming on the island and who leaves the island."

Police will be soliciting donations to increase the number of cameras.











Honoring Cops Who Care

And….while the news has been all about police operations tonight - our next story is about the life of service career officers have chosen.

Every day, officers put their life on the line to protect and serve. So to honor those selfless, dedicated and hard working officers, a Medal and Award Ceremony was held today at the Police Training Academy in Belmopan. 140 officers were awarded and several of them got their promotions. 7news was there. Here is more from a couple of the distinguished awardees.

This awards ceremony is part of a series of activities celebrating police week. There will be a Sports Day at the Yabra Green tomorrow at 9:00 and there will also be a uniform parade starting at 11:00 at the roundabout by UNO Gas station.





Ya'axché Celebrates Sustainable Farming

The Ya'axché Conservation Trust is a conservation NGO that safeguards the natural corridor which connects the forests of the Maya Mountains and the lowland areas of the Caribbean coastal plain.

Their area of management now spans 770,000 acres of Belizean territory in the Toledo district that is called the Maya Golden Landscape. But, as part of their outreach programs, Ya'axché also works with the Mayan communities in the south which are near to their area of focus to establish. They work with residents from those communities to establish sustainable farming practices, which mitigate the damage to the natural habitat, while providing livelihoods for the participants.

And, last Saturday, they held the 7th annual Ya'axché Farmers' Expo in Indian Creek Village under the theme, "Empowering communities, Conserving biodiversity, Connecting the world."

Their agricultural extension officers assessed the farms of the residents working with them to implement climate smart farming practices, and that's how they determined the top farmers for this year's expo.

After all the scores were tallied, Premacio Che of Silver Creek village was chosen as the farmer of the year. 2nd Place was Oscar Zuniga of Trio Village, and third place went to Orlando Cucul of Big Falls Village.

With video provided by Ya'axché, here's what the organization's executive director, and the winners had to say about how the push to sustainable farming in the conservation area has been going so far:

Christina Garcia - Representative, Ya'axche Conservation Trust "Ya'axche Conservation Trust works in the Maya golden landscape with 8 Mayan communities. We do not only promote protected areas management, but also community outreach and livelihoods. Our motto is really enhancing livelihoods within these Mayan communities, and what we promote is sustainable agriculture such as agro-forestry, inga Ali-cropping, and bee keeping. Today, Ya'axche is commemorating our 7th Ya'axche Farmer Expo, where we are acknowledging these smart agricultural practices that are being implemented in these communities, but also recognizing the farmers, these valuable farmers who work in the Maya golden landscape in adopting these agricultural practices."

"Today, we work with over 80 farmers, and their farming families, and we hope to continue this marvelous work in the Maya Golden landscape in the adoption of smart agricultural practices."

Premacio Che - Farmer of the Year
"I would like to thank Ya'axche for their great consideration, and I would like to encourage young people, if they have a piece of land, put it to good use, because one day, it will benefit them in years to come."

Orlando Cucul - 3rd place winner, Farmer of the Year
"Right now, I'm just happy that I have been getting encouragement from Ya'axche, to push me forward, to give the knowledge of being a smart farmer. Because, now and then, you look at it, we have this climate change, and we have to get smarter."

Gustavo Requena - Representative, Ya'axche Farmers
"We really were celebrating the farmers' and commitment to not just learn about these practices, but actually implementing them on their farms. And so, when we had the displays today, we saw farm produce that are coming from these climate smart farms, ensuring that there is the production of wholesome foods for the families, for the communities, and more importantly, these being produced in a manner that is sustainable."

Premacio Che won $600 cash and materials a prize. The second place winner, Oscar Zuniga received $400, and the third place winner, Orlando Cucul, received $200.





Ash Pollution in Chan Pine Ridge

Residents from the Orange Walk village of Chan Pine Ridge are complaining that for several months now, they've been affected by air pollution being generated by BSI/ASR's Towerhill Factory.

They say that they've lobbied both ASR/BSI, as well as the Department of Environment, to address the problem. But from their perspective, both have failed to come up with an immediate solution to address what they say is an urgent public health matter. And so, they're ramping up the public pressure in hopes of forcing these two entities to take the necessary action. The residents have formed the Chan Pine Ridge Environmental committee, and village resident Teresita Torres was chosen as the Chairman. On Tuesday, she spoke with our colleagues from CTV News about the efforts they've made to get relief for the villagers from the air pollution:

In response to inquiries from the press on this topic issue, BSI/ASR issued a comment saying said quote, "A team from BSI…was present at a Chan Pine Ridge community meeting, organized by Teresita Torres, on May 18,….BSI used the opportunity to share its air-emission mitigation efforts, investments over the past five years, and its Environmental Compliance Plan….BSI listened and addressed concerns raised by the residents…For us at BSI, the meeting was positive and signaled the beginning of an on-going dialogue with the community. End quote.





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