There is going to be a whole lot of rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning insome areas, as a strong tropical wave crosses over Belize starting tonight and for the next day. The weather system entered the Caribbean Sea earlier this week and moved in a northwesterly direction. Chief Meteorologist, Ronald Gordon told the media that Belize is not under any threat of a tropical cyclone watch or warning and that the system has not developed into a tropical depression or a tropical storm. According to Gordon, there is little to no chance of the system becoming anything more than a tropical wave before it gets here, but the amount of rainfall it is expected to produce is significant.
Ronald Gordon
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist
“In my calculation and based on the forecast models, the axis of this wave will cross the country early tomorrow morning, between midnight and six in the morning. However, the effects of the wave – the rainfall will begin affecting the country from late Thursday evening to tonight, intensifying throughout the night into tomorrow morning. Rainfall model projections are suggesting that for the first twenty-four hours, that is from about this evening into tomorrow evening, we can get up to two to four inches of rainfall with locally higher values from this tropical wave. As the system moves west of the country, we expect rainfall to decrease on Saturday to about one to two inches, then for Sunday, a further decrease. Apart from the very heavy rainfall, intense thunderstorm activity and lightning activity, we can expect it to become very gusty, especially during thunderstorms, leading to very rough sea conditions. So, certainly, apart from the excessive rainfall watch that we have in effect at the moment, which would likely be upgraded to an excessive rainfall warning by this evening, we will certainly issue a caution to mariners to be extremely careful out at sea because we do know that once you get this burst of activity during thunderstorms, you can have very strong winds and rough sea conditions.”
The approaching tropical wave is expected to cause flooding in some parts of the country, according to the Hydrology Department. The department has issued flood alerts for certain areas and has advised residents in flood prone locations to be on the alert for the possibility of flooding and to take necessary action. Chief Hydrologist, Tenielle Hendy updated reporters on areas where they already see rising waters.
Tenielle Hendy, Chief Hydrologist
“We do see the Sibun River reaching bank full stage, and we also are looking at the Mopan River, but based on our 24 hour outlook that we have, there is a caution out to residents in the south of the country, for them to monitor the water level in their area. As well as, you know, we might not be getting rainfall in our country, and it traverses our territorial boundaries. Just remain vigilant and look at the situation in terms of flash flooding. We are seeing some elevated levels in the northern or northeastern part of the country. In terms of the Maskall area, we’re seeing where there’s a lot of water channeling its way in that area, so we put out a flash flood alert and the alert means that flooding is possible to be prepared for the twenty-four-hour outlook. We’re looking at the Rio Hondo, Macall Rivers, all the rivers coming off the Eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains, we see those having elevated levels going into tomorrow morning.”
Because the tropical wave is expected to cause flooding and perhaps damage to older buildings, NEMO will have officers on standby and will be prepared to coordinate the rendering of assistance. NEMO Coordinator, Daniel Mendez also advised that because we are now entering the peak of the hurricane season, it’s important for everyone to have a hurricane plan.
Daniel Mendez
Daniel Mendez, Coordinator, NEMO
“We see the tropics have started to become active. So the time to plan is now you need to have your plan ready. You need to know what to do. So we will continue to stress that for the rest of the season. So, it is really important to have to be aware and to listen to all of the warnings and the briefings that are coming out from the med service and the hydrology. National Hydrology Service as well. Um, as I said, uh, NEMO is on, is on standby as, as, as normal. Uh, we will continue to monitor and be prepared to render any assistance as is required.”
Marion Ali
“The carnival related activities that are planned for tonight going into the weekend – what kind of advisory or advice would you give to these people who have already planned their events for this period of time?”
Ronald Gordon
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist
“The forecast is indicating that we will have excessive rainfall starting from tonight persisting tomorrow morning, and there’ll be a slight decrease later tomorrow into tomorrow night. However, early Saturday morning, in particular, the forecast indicates that we will have a lot of rainfall. I cannot say for certain if during the event or I don’t know, it will march, so to speak, to the beginning, but we do know that there will be moisture lingering behind waves. It will be west of us by then, and we see moisture lingering behind. So it is really up to the individual and to the, the person preparing these activities to take the necessary action that they would want to take but it will be raining. There is a potential for excessive rainfall tonight and tomorrow. It’s increasing on Saturday. So the good news for the activities on Saturday is that the rainfall will not be as heavy.”
Since the beginning of the week, we have been covering this year’s Carnival Mas Camp every night ahead of the annual road march on Saturday. The events were lively, festive and without incident. That was until last night when a brawl between a trio of females left a fifteen-year-old minor unconscious. It is not clear what triggered the ruckus, but it ended when two women stomped out a minor and left her on the street unconscious. It’s a video that has gone viral on social media and prompted the Commissioner of Police to weigh in. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
A fifteen-year-old student is the victim of a vicious beatdown administered by a pair of women on Wednesday night, here in Belize City. Carly Smith attended the Belizean Jewels Mas Camp and was observing the revelers as they made merry to Soca music and dance. It was at that time that she was approached by someone with whom she had a previous altercation. According to her sister, the situation escalated rather quickly.
Shala Smith
Shala Smith, Sister
“Di young lady and my sista had problems already and my sista, ih wahn go out just like everybody else. Ih gaan da di carnival practice and watch di carnival practice, di young lady dehn mussi sih ahn out soh and feel like dis da mih dehn opportunity fi do weh dehn haffi do with me lee sista. From weh I understand, my lee sista mi deh with my sister-in-law and my sister-in-law tell my sista mek ih go. She tell ahn ih noh wahn run from nobody.”
Shala Smith tells News Five that her sister-in-law attempted to restrain her sibling, but that was when the minor was attacked by the two women. The video shows Carly being pummeled by her attackers.
Shala Smith
“When dehn pull ahn back, Ms. Lady, dehn surround ahn. Dehn surround ahn and afta dat unu sih weh happen eena di video.”
Isani Cayetano
“What are the extent of the injuries that your sister suffered as a result of this beatdown?”
Shala Smith
“Only thing right now though, ih head really di pain ah bad. Ih seh ih head really really pain ah. From last night when I cohn cohn sih ahn, my sista di complain about pain. This morning, ah gaan da ih school, same thing di lady seh, go deal with ahn because Carly seh that she feel dizzy. From we deh da station, all my sista complain and da just wahn lay down, ih head di hurt ahn, ih head di hurt ahn. Da just mussi di stomping ah weh dehn stomp ahn, like weh yoh sih, ih pass out eena dat, and ih have bruise right pan di side ah face yah soh.”
What’s appalling is the fact that no one attempted to part the fight. Instead, bystanders kept egging them on, while others simply recorded the incident on their phones. The video has gone viral, prompting Commissioner of Police Chester Williams to issue a statement on what took place. In a social media post, the ComPol said, quote, it’s sad to see how lawless some in our society have become. When the women are fighting, the man stand there watching, videoing and encouraging them to keep fighting until it reaches the stage where the girl could have been killed. Where is their sense of empathy? Then we wonder why some of our children today are so violent. Nonetheless, we must send a strong message, those involved in the fight will be charged and those standing guard videoing and encouraging will be charged for incitement, end quote.
Shala Smith
“I wah defend my lee sista. I noh wahn seh Carly perfect because yes, Carly got ih lotta lee things dehn weh ih do out ya. Maybe if da mi wahn one ahn one with di lee gial, yes. But then two big, grown woman. Unu da two big grown woman. Soh now I could put myself with unu and I could tell unu, babes, ih noh wahn done ya. I wahn mek my sista press charges pan unu. Then di ma, you da wahn ma. You da wahn ma, you wahn jump eena wah fight fi knock wahn fight fi knock wahn fifteen-year-old. Dat da weh bun me more, I di tell you, sir, dehn people dehn don’t know.”
The search is on for a new auditor general, and the Public Service Union is demanding that adequate compensation be afforded to the successor of the post. In 2021, the government explained the challenges they encountered while attempting to source a replacement auditor general after Dororthy Bradley’s retirement. Subsequently, Bradley was reappointed under a two-year contract which expired on August thirty-first of this year. President of the PSU, Dean Flowers maintains that unless the government increases the salary and staff for the post, Belize will never be able to fill the position with a qualified individual. Here’s what Flowers had to say.
Dean Flowers, President, P.S.U.
“It is important that we ensure that no other head of department who does not have the requisite skill set is transferred over to be an Auditor General. But that this administration at least demonstrates to the Belizean people that they are serious about good governance. And it starts with ensuring that the search for an Auditor General, which should have started two years ago, A person is taken seriously, and that the newly appointed is properly compensated. We would have complained about the quality of justices that we were getting in the judicial system. Immediately, the Belizean people were told you have to pay a chief justice. quarter of a million dollars to ensure that we get better people in the judiciary. And so we’ve seen those salaries gone up. What more office should be better and highly compensated than the Auditor General post? Compared to a two billion budget, quarter million for an Auditor General is really immaterial .And so I would hope that the government of Belize Will ensure that the salary for the Arta general is increased to ensure that we get a suitable, qualified and an experienced person, whether from Belize or within CARICOM, but we need somebody with competency who can transform that department and properly train the public officers in there because even that.Leaves a lot to be desired, believes, needs to now transcend or move into producing financial statements that are internationally recognized public sector accounting.”
Thirty-seven-year-old Andrew Alexander Smith pleaded guilty to theft after racking up a bill of one thousand, two hundred and seventy dollars from a stolen Belize Bank credit card. On August twenty-third, Lucilla Garcia, a retiree from Orange Walk, reported to Belize that while shopping at Golden Bay Store, she lost her purse containing a Belize Bank ATM card, as well as an Atlantic Bank ATM card, among other personal items. When she visited Belize Bank on September second, to cancel the card, she discovered that the card had been swiped multiple times in Belize City, at Mirage Store on Albert Street and Twins Supermarket on Saint Thomas Street. Smith was subsequently arrested, and he appeared unrepresented before the lower courts this morning. Despite being remorseful, Smith was remanded to the Belize Central Prison where he awaits sentencing.
When it comes to performing at the highest level of basketball in Belize, Darwin “Puppy” Leslie, cannot be counted out from that conversation. At the peak of his career, Leslie was deemed the best of the best, following in the footsteps of Keith “Superman” Acosta. But, apart from one documentary series that was produced almost ten years ago, there is not much information out there about Leslie’s accomplishments, his contributions to society, growing up in an impoverished community, and the role a God-fearing mother and disciplinarian father played in his life. His achievements on the court are too many to mention in one news item. But, in this month’s installments of Belize on Reel, we will be looking at Belizean athletes who have gone above and beyond in their respective disciplines. Today, News Five’s Paul Lopez sat down with Darwin “Puppy” Leslie for an extensive interview. Here is some of what he learned about one of Belize’s basketball icons.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
When having a conversation about the basketball greats in Belize, names like Milton Palacio, Clinton “Pulu” Lightburn, Keith Acosta, and many others come up. Darwin “Puppy” Leslie is no exception.
Darwin “Puppy” Leslie
Darwin “Puppy” Leslie, Belizean Basketball Icon
“Puppy came from Queen Square with a next famous guy, Orson Picart. WE had the performing arts. We used to go to Bliss and act. My act was I was a puppy. I had to get in a puppy costume for my role and Orson Picart had a turkey costume. Orson Picart being the clown that he is, when we went back to Queen Square, he started to tease me about the puppy.”
That name would remain with him throughout his entire life, even as he performed at the highest level on the basketball court. Leslie was born in 1981 in Belize City. He started playing basketball in his early teens on a blacktop basketball court at the then Princess Royal Youth Hostel on Dolphin Street.
Darwin “Puppy” Leslie
“Being on that basketball court was everything. Then I had my little brother with me as well, Jacob Leslie. So it was always me and him getting whipping for being on Hostel without basketball shoes and if anybody know hostel at that time it was raw tar. So we was out there midday and that tar would be popping, like the actual street. And we were out there barefoot playing.”
A quick search of Darwin Leslie’s name on the internet won’t produce much information about his significant accomplishments as a basketball player. That search may yield some statistics on his six years playing in the National Elite Basketball Tournament during which he won back-to-back championships with the San Pedro Tiger Sharks, garnered the finals MVP award and was declared the “big dog” of the league. But his collection of trophies and awards speaks for itself. He dominated in under-fourteen and under seventeen tournaments. He also dominated in the senior tournament with the Christian Ambassadors, where he was awarded regular season and finals MVP. From there, he moved up to compete in Belize’s semi-pro league.
Darwin “Puppy” Leslie
“I had the best time in basketball because I had a chance to play against all the old greats. It was like flipping over the card to Darwin and those younger guys. But I played against Bovell, Shabba, Keith Acosta was named superman. Could you imagine that a man playing basketball name superman. So, you know he is flying over the court. He was the guy I wanted to be like and see if I could compete against him to even overtake him.”
Puppy Leslie’s younger brother, Jacob Leslie, is another prominent figure in Belizean basketball. Jacob Leslie recalls his brother’s first year in the semi-pro league, specifically one match against Keith “Superman” Acosta. Jacob was studying in the U.S. at the time.
Jacob Leslie
Jacob Leslie, Co-Owner, Belize City Defenders
“There was a game he was going to play Keith Acosta and I came back to Belize because I wanted to see that game. I went to him before the game and I said, you are the best player in the country. They are saying he is the best player in the country, but you are and tonight you are going to show them you are the best. I remember one play where Keith Acosta was guarding him at the top of the key and I was excited and he pulled a move and dunked the ball and that is so etched in my memory, from that day I said, you are it. They have to pass the mantle to you. I think in that game he scored like thirty-five points. He still lost, but I think he put the basketball world on notice that I am here.”
At the height of his career, Puppy Leslie was very popular among young, aspiring basketball players. In 2007, he began mentoring those very youths in the Belize Bulldogs basketball program that was started with current Belize City Mayor, Bernard Wagner.
Darwin “Puppy” Leslie
“I realize that playing semipro, travelling to all six districts, a lot of kids the say Puppy, a lot of kids the take pictures after the game, a lot of kids the wait with their parents until I come out the shower. I was like, what? So, I started teaching what I know along with Rasco Reece and Rupert Brown. We did that program for ten years, every Saturday with funding from Belize Bank.”
But, behind the spotlight of being the best of the best at basketball in Belize, was a young man who grew up in an impoverished community. His father and mother were the bedrock of the family. They made sure discipline was instilled in the home and that each of their six children sought God.
Jacob Leslie
“My father was very strict in budgeting and finances and made sure the money is in order. My mother was the spiritual leader of the family. So my mother made sure we go to church, Sunday school, youth services and that molded us as men. So, it is natural for him to be in a position to give back, to make impact, because that is what Christianity teaches you right.”
Darwin “Puppy” Leslie
“We use to take our chamber pot, and I am being as real as I can be, it uses to be under the bed, we put it in a bigger bucket and after a couple days we go to the kennel. So that was tough. I remember having the one-man bathroom over the kennel, we use to use those, right in Queen Square.”
Darwin Puppy Leslie officially retired in 2019 from the National Elite Basketball League. He is an unsung hero, with no stadiums named after him, no national awards presented, no substantial, tangible recognition despite his many contributions to raising the level of basketball played in Belize and mentorship. And if you ask him, Puppy will tell you that God always has a plan.
Darwin “Puppy” Leslie
“When I think about my life, I think about they came a certain time where I don’t have any control over my life. Right now God is taking full control of my life. But I know for sure I am someone sent here to give service to humanity. I know that a fact and I can say that with confidence.”
It has been a few months since the Joint Unions’ Negotiating Teams met with government representatives and there are a few matters under review. One is a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Government of Belize and the Public Service Union (PSU), the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers (APSSM). That was signed in May. But there’s a new one on the table, about which discussions will commence shortly. Following the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hydel gave reporters a summary of what was discussed.
Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister
“We have a Revenue Enhancement Committee at work. We have a cost savings committee at work. We have a pension reform committee at work – all these committees are working very hard and so we should be getting reports from them pretty soon. We also had a consultancy on the government pay and grade, trying to modernize how that is done. And there is an interim report that’s been provided, circulated to the members and they will have intensive discussion and deliberation on that. Revolutionary stuff is in there.”
Reporter
“What are some of the considerations that will have to be made for a new collective bargaining agreement?”
Cordel Hyde
“Well, we are not there yet. In a matter of months or so, the unions will present to government their plan, their proposal and we will then – government’s side will then look at that and see what’s workable, what can be done in the short term, what will take some time, what’s the sticking points, what are our priorities. So we’ve only just started to kind of like talk through a timeline, talk through how this will be done. In terms of the meat of it, we’re not there yet, where the unions will work in earnest over the next eight weeks to come up with, those points and then we will deal with it from there.”
Another issue that the JUNT is looking at is how the government can cut its costs and enhance its revenues. In May, three aspects were worked on, including the re-establishment of the Cost Savings Committee, the Revenue Enhancement Committee, and the Pensions Working Committee. Today, the committee reported back to the joint unions and the government on where they are with the recommendations that were previously made. Public Union President, Dean Flowers updated us.
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“In late September, early October, we should receive reports. interim reports from those committees and hopefully then, moving into the end of the year and into the new fiscal year, we can see implementation of some of those recommendations as well as hopefully new recommendations that will see us become a more efficient public service as well as efficient in our revenue conduction. The adjustment in the pay scale, of course, is always a conversation. I think that it is no secret that the joint unions have written to the government of Belize to say that it is time for us to look at the entire salary restructuring exercise. I believe it was about two weeks ago, a consultant funded by the IDB came to look at the current pay scale, to look at where we are, there were stakeholders’ consultation, and there is a preliminary report that has been sent to the government, which they are currently reviewing. We’re hoping we’ll get a chance to review that as well to see how we can not necessarily revise, but I would say do away with what clearly is an outdated compensation scheme with 20 pay scales that has been in existence for so long. It does not align with the current trend in developing and developing countries and where the compensation package is concerned. Too many anomalies exist and too much discretionary power also exists in every aspect from hiring to what ultimately that compensation package will be. And so, that exercise is tied to the pension reform.”
Today, another subcommittee was formed to look at the retirement of public officers from the service. The Minister of the Public Service, Henry Usher says this will look at improving the efficiency with which public officers receive their retirement benefits. In addition, he said that the classification of the grading of public service positions is being investigated.
Henry Usher, Minister of the Public Service
“Quite often in the media, we’ve heard about persons not getting their gratuity or their pension to time, and we’ve been putting a lot of effort on that, but we wanted to more focus on that to make sure that when public officers retire, that they can get their benefits more efficiently. So, those are some of the areas we discussed today. We also looked at a recent review that was done. By a consultant that was brought in by the IDB to look at the modernization and the classification the grading of our public service positions and I think that is very important we shared that report with the union and I’m sure that we will have a further discussion on that at the next meeting.”
