San
Pedro Daily  |
Friday, July 24,
2009 Belize's Only Daily |
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ISLAND
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Development brings problems
 You ask anyone living on San Pedro,
Ambergris Caye for years and they
will tell you that the island has changed by leaps and bounds. The
island has developed from a small fishing village that depended on
kerosene lamps to a productive bustling town that finds itself
handicapped when electrical power is lost. It has gotten to the point
that homeowners like businesses find it essential to have a generator
as a backup power supply in case of emergency. And that’s exactly what
Wings Department Store did; install a generator for emergency purposes.
According to Wings’ Manager Monica Melwani, the management installed a generator to the back of the building as an electrical backup system in case power supply is interrupted on the island. “We decided to install a generator that will be used only if power is interrupted,” stated Melwani adding that, “but we did not install just any generator, we install an enclosed generator that is noise free.” But what do you do when a generator is next to your window? For next door resident Celi Jeanne Greif, there is no explanation that would bring her a sense of peace. Greif claims that the generator sits some 15 feet next to her daughter’s window and it is an inconvenience to her family. “I have a problem with the generator because it is too close to our window,” stated Greif. She added that, “it is also an inconvenience to my tenants.” Greif claims that continue to cause problems to her tenants they might seek other accommodations and that might bring a financial loss to her business. How did the generator get installed behind the building in the first place? Melwani stated that they got the green light to install the generator from the island’s Local Building Authority. According to Chairman of the Ambergris Caye Local Building Authority (ACLBA) Fidel Ancona, it was the board that approved the project. “We did not foresee any major problems because the generator is only for emergency purposes,” said Ancona. He added that, “it is a genuine concern but the inconvenience would be minimal.”  Both Ancona and Melwani stated that the
generator is enclosed to
muffle the noise as much as possible. The area where the generator sits
was inspected by various members of the ACLBA and after a meeting; the
board gave Wings the green light to install the generator. Ancona
stated however that, “we did allow a shift from the original plan
because the right thing was to keep the generator on top of the
building.” But why change it from the top to the back of the building?
Melwani stated that it was all about “safety” purposes. “We already had
a bad experience of a fire when at the time the generator was located
to the top of the building,” explained Melwani. She added that, “it is
difficult to get to a generator to the top of the building when there
is a fire, it needs easy access.” Last year Wings incurred a seven
million dollars loss after the store was partially destroyed by fire.
Wings from the offset followed proper procedure, complying with the requirements of ACLBA, so technically they are not in violation of any wrongdoings. Melwani claims that Greif’s complaint took her by surprise. Because the ACLBA has already approved the installation of the generator the matter has been passed on to the Central Building Authority. Greif has sought legal advice and explained that she intends to take the matter to the very last recourse. Greif has submitted a letter of complaint to the Central Building Authority who reviewed the matter yesterday in a special meeting. The outcome of the meeting will be reviewed by the ACLBA after which they will make the recommendation public. San Pedro Sun Dr. Arlie Petters
Grooms Generation Next
Dr. Arlie Petters – he is a Duke University
professor and
world class physicist with Belizean roots. And doing his part to give
back to the community, he established the Petters Research Institute in
his hometown of Dangriga. This year he flew in 11 academically gifted
high school students from the United States and England and chose 4
Belizean students to participate in a business leadership course - a
partnership between the Petters Institute and Duke University’s Talent
Identification Program. The training ends tomorrow but today was a
graduation of sorts and 7News was in Dangriga for it. Keith Swift has
the story.
Keith Swift Reporting, The fifteen high school students are from England, the United States and Belize. They are racially and ethnically diverse, and they are different ages – the youngest 15 and the oldest 18 with one common denominator: a drive to lead. Chanelle Garcia, California, age 17 “I hope to one day become a leader or someone who influences people.” The students who are considered the best and brightest spent two weeks learning in interactive sessions with one of the world’s best, Dr. Arlie Petters at his research institute in Dangriga. 
Dr. Arlie Petters, Exec. Dir. -
Petters Research Inst.
“They are selected on the following criteria: you need very high gradesand then we look for things like motivation, we look for emotional maturity; that includes being able to handle stress. The last two weeks to me was a period of training in both the theory and the practicalities of being a leader and for us a leader is a catalyst for change. These young people in the program, I see future Prime Ministers, future CEOs.” And to test these future CEOs, the students were divided into three groups of five and given projects. Chanelle Garcia, “My group was personally focused on oil and energy and right now we know that Belize is currently in debt and we’re trying to figure out the best way to provide energy for you guys and we took into consideration other alternative energy sources but it is kind of expensive so we focused more on oil.” 
Michael Coombs, London, age 17
“Obviously this is a growing concern in Belize about how much oil there is, how the profits can be used to benefit the whole of Belize’s society and it was really interesting to take such a controversial topic and such a deep topic and only just skimmed the surface and try to understand the methods of avoiding the curse of oil in this country.” Benjamin Picolo, Florida, age 17 “My group dealt with marketing and technology. We actually dealt with the problem of the lack of reasonably priced computer equipment and computer repair services in Belize. We tried to tackle that so if computer components were being manufactured or if computers were manufactured in Belize we could really cut costs for consumers and developed that possibly give some to charity also.” 
Mischa -Von-Derek Aikman, Belize,
age 15
“My group is dealing with marketing technology. We’re actually branching off an idea from Dr. Petters that he actually plans to implement next year. We are planning to import computer components from the US and then assemble them in Belize which will allow us to sell these computers at extremely cheap prices for the Belizean people and also at the same time it will allow us to donate approximately 20% of our computers to the community and that is extremely important being that 33% of Belizeans are below the poverty line.” Dr. Arlie Petters, “I would love for them to apply a lot of the leadership principles in their day to day life when they get back to their respective high schools. Many of them are Presidents of student organizations so I can imagine them passing on this knowledge to other students.” These students say that in just two weeks they’ve learnt a lot. Xux Ek Novelo, Belize, age 15 “To be an effective team member you have to focus and you have to give your remarks and you have to give good feedback.” Michael Coombs, “The DTIP program really focuses on not just learning a structured syllabus but also a real sort of emotional understanding which was a really great experience to have.” Mischa-Von-Derek Aikman, “Yeah I think especially in Belize we are in need of real leadership and we learnt one thing that if leadership at the top is distorted and not organized and structured then you can’t expect any more of those coming up and learning from those leaders. So I think it is extremely important for those like peers and I in this age group for us to start from now to build the foundation.” And so what will be the future of these future leaders? We asked. Keith Swift, “So where will you see you in ten years?” Benjamin Picolo, “That is a question I still don’t know. I’d like to go to college first but anything is game, the sky’s the limit.” Chanelle Garcia, “In ten years hopefully I’ll be someone, a good leader of some organization whether it be non-profit, political, or anything that can help people around the world and make a difference.” Xux Ek Novelo, “Well either a lawyer, a doctor or a entrepreneur.” Keith Swift, “So we will see you at Price Waterhouse?” Darran Pagan, Washington DC, age 17 “Well I hope so, I’ll be a partner in that firm.” Greg Launter, Kentucky, age 17 “I have no idea, hopefully something in the business world but as of now I am undecided.” Ahjaii Shetty, Florida, 16 “I am undecided but hopefully again maybe something in the business world, maybe an entrepreneur.” Dr. Arlie Petters, “Look at these young people, they represent to me the future of Belize. Their capabilities not only sit with in our country but to me they perform extremely well on this international scale. I am proud of them, there are future Prime Ministers here, there are future CEOs of businesses here.” And for Dr. Petters, that future looks bright. Present at this morning’s ceremony was Foreign Affairs Minister and Attorney General Wilfred Elrington along with officials from the BDF and Ministry of Transport and NEMO. Adrian the Doc Martinez also performed.CH7 LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
Planned Power Outage- Saturday 6AM- 12 Noon- Feeder : 4 Zone : 1 Affected Areas : Angel Coral Street, Coconut Drive, Sea Grape Drive, Holiday Land, Mosquito Coast and Boca Ciega. Notices and letters wanted! Email to editor@sanpedrodaily.com
THOUGHT
OF THE DAY
I voted Republican this year; the Democrats left a bad
taste in my mouth
Monica Lewinsky
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