October 6th Marked the 4th Year for The Roatan Bruce Show!
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What is
Mayor Dale Jackson Been Up To? A Lot!
Roatan
Bruce: A rough subject that I need to bring up, especially for the real estate
agents here on the island who must take their clients past an eye sore of a
dump area. Are there going to be any changes and if there will be, when will
that happen?
March 6th - RECO. Roatan, Bay Islands.
Kelcy Warren's company again won in a more than landslide vote to become the majority shareholder of RECO. Mr. Warren will have immediate and vital responsibilities to correct a failing electrical system on the island.
I spent the majority of two days at RECO to see the process through. I had a chance to speak to many of the top political and community leaders.
Mayor Dale Jackson: We are here today to try and resolve this once and for all. We are confident that this will happen. I have been neutral with this so far, but I feel Kelcy Warren is the right guy. He has invested in Roatan. He is one of our guys just like you. He has mixed well with the community and is well accepted. We are moving forward with supporting him on the RECO purchase today.
Roatanbruce: When a winner is declared today, is there a chance for more government interference in getting our power back?
Mayor Dale Jackson: I am quoting what Evan McNab told me today. He said he has the assurance from The Ministry of Defense that the general assembly will decide the partner either today or tomorrow. The town is alive today and we are going for it!
Governor Arlie Thompson: There are a lot of rumors going around that are simply not true. We know Mr. Kelcy Warren is best for the Bay Islands and we are supporting that 100%. We are hoping that everything will be solved today, if not, tomorrow for sure. We are very happy with what the Minister of Defense, the man in charge of this problem here on the island, had to say. He is giving us the opportunity to elect which company we want to purchase RECO.
Roatanbruce: Can you tell us exactly what will be occurring here today and what has led us up to this point?
Evans McNab (President of the RECO Board of Directors): What is going to happen today is the shareholders are deciding the future of a private company that is owned by the people of Roatan. Today there will be proposals. We already voted one time when we decided by a 99.9 percent turnout that the island people wanted Kelcy Warren as the new majority shareholder of RECO.
The government tells us they have a process they would like us to follow. They would like to present it to the people again. What we will do is ratify what we have already decided. If the quorum is here today (60% of the shareholders), it will get done today. If not, it will be completed tomorrow (March 6th).
What they are asking us to ratify is, "Do you want what government proposes or do you want what the people want?" It is going to be simple. We vote no if we do not prefer what government wants, or yes if we want the company they prefer. Once we have done that, we will vote again for whom we prefer to be the majority shareholder. It might sound repetitive, but the code of commerce declares that only the general assembly of RECO shareholders can determine the direction RECO will go and today they will do that.
Roatanbruce: The power is going off so frequently now. How quickly can the company that wins come in and remedy some of our electrical problems?
Evans McNab: Everyone who made presentations came in with immediate solutions. Kelcy Warren's group is ready to move. Everyone is ready to move. The rationing that is happening is not comfortable for anyone at all. We need to get generators in here that are efficient and reliable. Whatever happens today or tomorrow, there still needs to be a transition period where the new teams comes in and receives all the paperwork and documents to finalize the purchase and repay the government.
Roatanbruce: Do you think that the company that wins will send in new generators without waiting for the final paperwork to be cleared?
Evans McNab: They have to. They need to bring in immediate solutions (generators) to this plant. The leased ones that are here have to be moved out. They are finished. They are barely working and obsolete and have to be replaced. Once everything is completed, the balance of the operations will begin.
I then asked Mike Warren, Kelcy Warren's brother and legal representative during the purchase process, what they planned to do to get RECO up to speed as soon as possible.
Mike Warren: As what is reflected in the documents we have filed in response to the government proposal to purchase RECO, the first thing we have to do is act upon the short terms demands of RECO which is to get some more generation in here. The longer term plan especially with Roatan growing so rapidly is to bring in different technology from the piston drive equipment that they have here now with several other different technologies. One is a combined cycle combustion turbine drive generation process that takes the initial fuel and generates electricity with it. You then take the heat from that process and do another cycle extracting more energy out of that previously wasted heat. From that, you can generate very cleanly and efficiently.
Just one combined cycle combustion turbine that we are looking at is a 15 megawatt generator. The total demand at RECO right now is in the 11 to 12 megawatt range. Near term, we are looking at taking that kind of approach.
In the longer term, we are seriously considering adding renewable type energies to the mix. With the wonderful prevailing winds that Roatan is blessed with, we need to seriously consider taking advantage of that energy and pumping it into the power grid. The energy is free per kilowatt hour, but the equipment is very expensive. Also, windmills are like powerlines. Everyone recognizes that they are appropriate and important, and people don't mind moving next to one, they just don't want them moving next to them.
I then spoke to community leader Rosa Danila Hendrix and asked her perspective of the event.
Rosa Danila Hendrix: This is a party to the democracy
process. We are ready to show that when the people decide, the political
leaders have to know that they must serve the people that they represent
and who we put our confidence in when we voted for them. We are here to
confirm that we support and want Klyde Warren's Energy Investment Company
to take over RECO, not what the government says. We are looking for a
strategic partner for the company and we already decided that Kelcy Warren
is our man. The entire community is in completely favor of this happening.
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Just a day or so after the vote, I was told by reliable sources that Mr. Warren purchased substantial amounts of fuel and immediately ordered replacement parts to repair broken down generators that ENEE run RECO was not able to afford to do. Congratulations go out to Kelcy Warren and to Roatan which will soon have state of the art reliable and dependable electrical service for many years to come.
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New Board of Directors Elected
for Canaturh Bay Islands 2008
Julio Galindo was voted in as the new president of Canaturh Bay Islands on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at Casa Romeo's Restaurant in French Harbour.
After four successful years as President of Canaturh B-I, Romeo Silvestri was requested to stay on and was voted in to do so as Vice-President of the organization working directly with Julio Galindo.
Other members of the new Board of Directors include:
Secretary - Marco Galindo Jr.
Pro-Secretary - Camilla O'Brien
Treasury - Gary Chamer
Fiscal - Kyle Mc Nab
The Board also included Vocals:
1. John Edwards
2. John Kennedy
3. Delsia Rosales
4. Bruce Starr
5. Ana Svoboda
6. Samir Galindo
7. Christofer Cachat
8. Italo Tugliani
9. Ted O'Brien
10. Pasqualle Paonessa
11. Jerry Hynds, Jr.
Tourism is by far the most important industry of The Bay Islands and Canaturh is the Tourism Chamber of Commerce. Honduras has seen a 10% growth in 2007, mainly as a result of the expansion of Roatan's efforts to be acknowledged as one of the newest and highly desirable cruise ship ports in the Caribbean. Tourism growth has resulted in more than 32,000 additional direct and 40,000 indirect jobs for Hondurans.
More and more international airlines now fly non-stop to Roatan from places like Newark, N.J. (Continental) and the metropolitan New York City area. A second Continental mid-week flight has just been added from Houston in addition to their weekend flight. Delta flies non-stop from Atlanta and Taca flies non-stop from Miami.
The Mission of the Chamber is to pursue representatives of the private tourism sector and to coordinate those efforts with local and federal authorities to deliver a rich product to tourists around the world. This will generate more employment for all islanders and create a more prosperous and admiral image of Honduras.
Roatan and The Bay Islands will soon be a world class tourism destination. Canaturh plays an important role in that plan and through real actions, their efforts can be measured by tangible results. With the addition of Zolitur, (The Free Trade Zone Agreement) the region having this tool will bring prosperity and awareness to tourism, and The Bay Islands will now be able to successfully compete with other island from around the Caribbean.
Former President Romeo Silvestri recommends that the new Canaturh Board create new and deeper strategic alliances at international levels with other chambers in the US, Canada, Spain, Italy and other countries. He suggests that we learn from successful programs already creating prosperity on places like The Cayman Islands.
He also suggests that we continue to build diplomatic associations with the US, England, Italy, Spain, France, Japan and Taiwan to build new programs that will help our economic development by instituting avenues oriented towards educating our people, and locate financing for projects that will help our municipalities improve the quality of life for all people.
Roatan Bruce Interviews
The Super Bowl Report
By Bruce Starr
The Miracle Off-Broadway
The New York football Giants did what hardly anyone thought they would do back in September 2007 when they lost the first two games of the season. They went on to beat the mighty and invincible New England Patriots 17-14 in Glendale, Arizona, to become the 2008 Super Bowl Champions!
This date will go down in history for many reasons. The wild card New York Giant could only manage a 3-5 home team record in 2007 on their own "Broadway" stage at Giant Stadium in New Jersey. They were a team that not only went into Tampa Bay in the first game of the playoffs and beat them, but they then had to travel to Dallas to beat the heavily favored Cowboys and beat them. It was on the road again and to the frozen tundra at Green Bay when they beat the Packers to break an all-time NFL record by winning ten games in a row away from their home field territory.
What did they get themselves into by beating the best of the best in the NFL? They now had to take on the "Perfect" New England Patriots team who were not only favored by as many as two touchdowns to beat them, but they also had to play a team that had already beat them twice this year. They had to beat a team that was destined to become the very first to not only go undefeated (16-0) during the season, but were possibly soon to become only the second team ever to go undefeated in an entire year and win the Super Bowl. The only other team to do so was the 72 Miami Dolphins who went 16-0 and went on to achieve the first "perfect" season.
How did the New York Giants perform this miracle? Why will February 3rd, 2008 go down in Giant folklore history? That is the day they went on the road again and soundly beat the best team in football history! The day they made quarterback Tom Brady who accumulated record after record in 2007, and said by many to be the best quarterback ever, look mediocre. Did it matter to the Giants that he threw more touchdowns in one year (50) than any other quarterback? Or that Brady was named the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year, Athlete of the Year, Sporting News Sportsman of the Year and the AFC Pro Bowl starter? I guess not.
What were they thinking when they beat the Packers led by American hero Brett Favre and now had to go against a Patriot team that scored more points (589) than any other team in NFL history, eclipsing teams like the 98 Minnesota Vikings who scored 556. Or that the Patriots scored more touchdowns this year than any other team…ever?
Did the Giants get put off by the fact that the Patriots beat their rivals by 315 more points this year than they gave up, winning by almost 20 points per game…every game? What about that the Patriots were a team filled with experienced Super Bowl players because it was their 4th Super Bowl appearance in 7 years, or that the Giants had to play a team that had six Super Bowl appearances, the highest of any NFL team in the last 25 years.
How were the Giants going to pull this off? How were they going to save face by playing the game with a young and Super Bowl inexperienced quarterback like Eli Manning who had failed to live up to expectations his first few years? A quarterback who was known to fall apart when the games most counted? How would they do it with running backs with names like Jacobs and Bradshaw?
So they beat teams like the Cowboys and Packers with tall receivers like Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, but could they continue to do it on the big stage now that the secret was out of the bag about a tall receiver like Burress being able to out jump the best pass defenders the Packers had to offer to win a championship?
What about aging Michael Strahan and the younger and inexperienced Giant defensive team that had come of age the last dozen weeks of the season? Could they continue to do what they have been doing against the mighty Patriot offense in front of billions of television viewers around the world?
The answer to all these questions is yes! They did that and more as the upstart New York Giants beat the New England Patriots for perhaps the greatest upset in Super Bowl history!
Oh wait! Was there another upset that could upstage this incredible, come from behind win against all odds? What team was that again? What was the name of the quarterback who changed football history forever? Oh yeah, that team was the New York Jets. The year was 1969, the very same year that the New York Mets beat the mighty Baltimore Orioles to win their first World Series. It was the same year that the New York Knickerbockers went on the become basketball champions of the world.
What was the name of that quarterback who predicted a win for the Jets that year when an American League football league team had never beat a National Football team before? Oh yeah. I remember now. His name was "Broadway" Joe Willie Namath.
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Life on The Bay Islands - Get as Creative as You Can in 2008!
After living here five years, some opinions about being on a tropical island in the far Western Caribbean have changed and some haven't. When people ask how I find life living full time on Roatan island, I still find myself telling them that their happiness is as unlimited as their creativity.
When I first arrived, it soon became apparent to me that the area was in need of so much. An advantage people have from an industrialized region is that whatever products or services that may be missing on the islands has been in use in other parts of the world for ages. I saw that there was no need to re-create the wheel because the same wheel has already been in use for decades elsewhere.
One example of this is my own experience discovering the area. When my wife and I first came down to Roatan, there was no one speaking English on the radio. Thousands of people had English music to listen to, but there was no talk, information, community news or even weather reports. The different English speaking communities were not connected or associating with each other.
If a storm was coming, maybe the lobster and shrimp fishermen knew it and then their family and friends, but many times, that is where the information stopped. In most instances, no one knew if a storm or even a hurricane was on the way until the weather hit.
Another example of using my own experience was noticing that there was very little advertising to the abundant English speaking market. I saw that there was a need to connect businesses such as construction, building parts, shipping and much more with potential customers. At the time, there was no consistent way for businesses to inform the new visitors and residents what products or services they had to offer.
I not only saw a need for English speaking radio, but because there were so many foreigners coming to the island to build homes, develop condominium projects, purchase cars or eat in restaurants, this was clearly the perfect opportunity to use my twenty years of expertise in sales and marketing to fill two needs at once. One was to be a Roatan talk show host and another was to be able to sell advertising on the show to keep a show on the air.
The ways to create a wonderful life for yourself on
The Bay Islands
are as unlimited as the imagination.
Even in real estate, the sky is the limit. If you are the kind of person that can see potential rather than follow in another creative persons footsteps, land that might otherwise stay unbuilt upon for years could instead be made into a resort, a condo complex with an unusual theme or niche market, or a marina.
For instance, there is a property out in the eastern part of the island that backs up into an incredible national reserve. One person might see it as isolated and unexciting while another could see the location as the ideal place on a white sandy beach to put an exotic, exclusive and secluded private resort complete with excellent diving, nature and wildlife for a Western Caribbean version of a "Club Med."
Another example of being creative and thinking outside the typical real estate box is a property I have seen that is closer to the central part of the island. It is presently a hill with excellent views and flatland that is next to a deep water bite. Instead of building a few homes on a hill, it would be a perfect location for a south shore dive resort and marina.
There are so many more examples of how to live life large on a tropical island. All you need to do is be a bit adventuresome and inspired. If living in a place with crystal clear clean water on a reef system second to none in the entire world isn't enough to make you think harder about what you have to offer, perhaps you could volunteer the rest of your days to helping others not so fortunate.
What is nearly impossible to directly help people elsewhere, is easy down here. The area is just now starting to begin the process of catching up to the rest of the world as far as health care and education is concerned. Are you health care savvy? You could help tens of thousands down here with your efforts, contacts and experience.
Are you looking for just the right place to share your education expertise and background? The Bay Islands and most of Honduras are in dire need of a revamped school system. The one in place now is barely serving 25% of the children's needs. Are you a teacher looking for an incredible adventure rather than just spending the rest of your working days…working away? Are you retired and want to help people with your unlimited experience? Come on down and join others who are already working to improve education so that everyone will be able to enjoy island life equally for decades to come.
The Bay Islands has something for everyone. You can be as creative as you want to build the exact type of life you have always wanted. The one problem is, once you come down here, there will be no overbearing government, community or boss to complain about who has stopped you from achieving your goals. You are your boss! You are your creative resource! If you can relate to these words, come on down and create a life, not only for yourself, but for your neighbors and community.
106.5 FM is now the English Radio Voice of The Bay Islands
For centuries, The Bay Islands in the far Western Caribbean was an English speaking area. In the last twenty years, the majority language has changed to Spanish on the island of Roatan. With a growing group of English speaking foreigners finding the island from around the world, the opportunity has finally come for the area to have an English speaking talk and music station. The English as well as the bi-lingual community from Roatan, The Bay Islands and Northern Honduras can now hear timely local news, weather, sports and important interviews as well as the best classic music this world has to offer 24 hours a day on the new 106.5 FM!
Five years ago, Roatan was a sleepy, quiet island with a population of perhaps 40,000 people with little or no construction or expanding of businesses. In the last five years, Roatan and The Bay Islands have experienced a real estate boom like no other in Honduras history. There are now 100,000 people on The Bay Islands with 65,000 people living on Roatan alone. More than 5,000 are English speaking foreigners.
Why is Roatan having one of the most dramatic real estate boom markets in the world? It has relatively low land, home and condo prices compared to other more developed Caribbean islands. Taxes are low and reasonable. Thousands of English speaking people have been coming to Roatan and The Bay Islands to find a piece of paradise already rich in English history.
Visitors and residents love the idea that these islands are still relatively undeveloped and unknown to the world up to this day. When I say undeveloped, a year or so ago, only 15% of the land was built upon. We do not have tall high rise hotels. There are no neon lights or signs. No McDonalds or Burger Kings.
Our island is plush, hilly and green. It is safe and will soon become one of the safest in the world as a result of changes in the law making the Bay Islands a Free Trade Zone. There are no traffic or stop lights. Our one main road island going from east to west experiences increased vehicle traffic for the first time.
Having one of the best and cleanest uncrowded white sandy beaches in the world with warm and crystal clear water all year round, how did we remain a secret? The divers who come here year after year do not tell others about us. They want to keep a secret and protect what they know is the most alive reef with incredible exotic fish to be found anywhere in the world.
Three years ago, cruise ships started arriving bringing two hundred thousand people per year to our island. Now our island is no longer a secret. The first steps of the boom have occurred as a result of the people returning to see more of the last of the undeveloped paradise islands left in the world.
Honduran advertising agencies are now first starting to notice the substantial and formally untouched English speaking demographic worth millions to billions of dollars in disposable income for their clients. To keep up with the information and entertainment demands of this growing market, The Bay Islands English speaking 106.5 FM radio station listeners can now hear Light Rock classics from 7 to 9 am, The Roatan Bruce Show, a mixture of interviews, news, R & B and Classic Rock from 9 am to 1 pm, cross over Spanish, English and Island music from 1 to 4 pm, Classic Rock from 4 to 6 pm, Kool Jazz from 6 to 8 pm and the worlds greatest love songs from 8 to 9 pm. Golden classics from Frank Sinatra, Louie Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and more from the 40's and 50's are heard Sunday to Wednesday evenings from 9 to 10 pm. The best music to dance to is heard on 106.5 FM Thursday to Saturday nights starting at 9 pm.
The station will also take a concept from many of the most successful
AM and FM talk stations in the United States and offer several one hour
promotional info-mercial like talk shows on Saturday morning. Starting
at 7 AM, interactive talk shows will be hosted by experts in the field
of law, real estate, travel, computers, cooking and "be your own
builder." Other show ideas are currently being considered. Some hosts
are soon to be named and others have yet to be decided upon. On these
shows, call-in questions will be answered by the experts for everyone
to benefit from.
Twelve on Roatan Can Hear Again
Two years ago, the first efforts to help hearing impaired Bay Islanders attracted over thirty people to Nurse Peggy's Clinica Espiranza in Sandy Bay. This effort was sponsored by Operation Honduras, a group of Rotary and church groups from Ohio who had been coming to Honduras for ten years. One of their projects was going to help hearing impaired people receive hearing aids.
Operation Honduras got together with the Starkey Foundation, one of the major hearing aid manufacturers in the world. Starkey committed to giving 1000 hearing aids to Honduras. Operation Honduras committed to distributing them through clinics and volunteers.
Diana Demke, a part time resident of Roatan from Kansas, was the volunteer who traveled with twelve hearing impaired people from Roatan to San Pedro Sula to receive their hearing aids.
Diana Demke: As far as we know, this is the first effort of its kind on the island to provide hearing aids for the profoundly deaf. The combination of Starkey Foundation, Clinica Espiranza and Operation Honduras made this all possible. Peggy's clinic did a lot of groundwork and provided the volunteers to make the initial examination and the testing of people. It was a huge project and it took a lot of work by a lot of people.
Two years ago when thirty patients were examined, the Starkey Foundation took inner ear molds. When it was time to distribute the hearing aids, we were not able to contact many of the people we originally tested. As a result, twelve people eventually went with me to La Cieba. Many thanks to the people at the Galaxy who gave us all passage to La Cieba. In San Pedro, we joined hundreds and hundreds of other people who also received hearing aids.
Roatan Bruce: What was it like to see these people hear again or for the first time?
Diana Demke: It was an amazing event to see so many people experience hearing again. There were dozens and dozens of people who were able to hear who never heard a sound before. I was crying the entire time. Some of these people were non-verbal children. They never attended school because they could not hear. The looks on their faces lighting up was incredible.
Roatan Bruce: Tell me more about the twelve people.
Diana Demke: Anyone who could benefit from the hearing aid got one. Eight were children, four were adults. The eight were children or young adults who were profoundly deaf. Of the four adults, three were verbal because they lost their hearing at later years in life.
Roatan Bruce: Now that these people received a new hearing apparatus in their ears, their education must start from ground zero no matter what age they are at.
Diana Demke: Yes, this is true. This is where we are putting out an appeal
to the community for anyone with a background in speech therapy or people
who are coming down to the island to visit, to either work with the children
who mostly come from English speaking families, or train others down here
to work with them after they leave. Please contact Peggy at Clinica Espiranza
for more information. (Contact me and I will forward the message.)
Partnership in the Cruise Ship Business?
On November 15th, 2007, President Mel Zelaya came to Roatan to join Congressman Jerry Hynds, Mayor Dale Jackson, Governor of the Bay Islands Arlie Thompson and Minister of Tourism Richardo Martinez for the ground breaking with Carnival Corporation representatives Graham Davis, the Director of Port Operations, Davis Candib, Armando Corpas, Director of Port Development and Jose DelGado, Director of Accounting (as seen in picture), the men who will be responsible for building the port.
When Giora Israel, the Strategic Planning Vice President of Carnival Corporation and PLC, addressed the crowd of community and political leaders, he proudly stated that, "When Mahogany Bay, Honduras' newest and largest $50 million dollar two cruise ship port facility opens on October 1st, 2009, we will truly be partners with the people of Honduras." He continued to say, "The Carnival agreement would benefit every islander. This will happen because Carnival Corporation had no plans to enter into the on-shore excursion, transportation or gift shop business."
It appears that Carnival has seen mistakes other ports of call have notoriously experienced when large scale cruising takes over the economic community. Although the results in the past have brought greater income for most people, would the natives of cruise destinations trade that ability to have more disposable income for a peaceful, clean and safe environment to live in? Are the residents in and around those ports of call happy with how those areas have progressed with "greater income?"
Mr. Israel answered some of those concerns by saying, "Not only does Carnival want to become partners in business where everyone benefits, we want to become responsible long-term residents who will guarantee that no garbage from the 20 acre development will be thrown in our waters or on our land." He also stated, "No reef will be damaged to create the new docks."
Carnival showed their local support by donating ten thousand dollars to the Roatan Municipal when it expressed their concern about not having the funds to continue with their plan to have everyone from the Coxen Hole area be connected to the sewer system. Carnival contributed that amount as the start of their commitment to see Roatan become a place for everyone to flourish!
Other facts about the soon to be port? Within five years, Roatan is expected to host 225 cruise ship calls with 500,000 passengers annually from Carnival Corporation ships such as Holland America, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises as well as Carnival Cruise Lines. Mahogany Bay will have a 35,000-square foot Welcome Center with retail shops, restaurants and bars. It will include a 60-foot-high lighthouse, a lagoon with cascading waterfalls and a nature trail.
RECO Purchase Just Days Away
Roatan residents have been treated to more consistent and reliable power for the first time this year. With the worst of the planned blackouts behind us, there is a true concern for the physical stability of the distribution system that has greatly deteriorated. Wind right now is our worst enemy for future blackouts. With enough diesel fuel and generation power to supply power for the entire island, it is the wind that can still easily bring the island into darkness at anytime.
The next step in this complicated process is to choose the right and appropriate owner for RECO. Seven companies are now in the bidding. They are from the US, Honduras, Mexico and the Cayman Islands. Leading the pack is Kelsey Warren, a man with both the financial capability to purchase RECO and a personal interest in the region as he recently purchased Barbarette Island just off the coast of St. Helene. He comes with extensive experience and knowledge of various power technologies as CEO of a power company in the US.
All proposals to purchase must be in by November 15th. On that day, a committee composed of several community and business leaders will be present to open the bids from each of the companies. Five days will be taken to analyze, confirm and compare all the bids. On the 20th of November, the first choice to purchase will be announced. That party will then have ten days to work out a contract. If all goes well, a new owner of RECO will be announced by December 1st. If a contract agreement cannot be reached by then, the second most appropriate bidder will be contacted to enter into a contract agreement.
How will the new owners be awarded RECO? The business must have two assets. One will be to financially be able to do everything possible to get RECO back on its feet as soon as possible. That includes being able to repay past debts as well as current bills. The second part is that the company must have a solid and comprehensive understanding of alternative and modern technologies that will hopefully bring Roatan into the 21st century. With the cost of oil presently knocking on the $100 per barrel door, it is essential that a new and less costly method of power be a part of Roatan's future.
This is by far the best opportunity for Roatan to get on its electrical feet. As was described by ENEE officials in a recent meeting, power has been the one main stumbling block that has prevented Roatan from achieving a full fledged pattern of growth. With electrical problems behind the island, it will truly be able to rise ahead and take its proper place as one of the top island tourist destinations anywhere in the Caribbean.
Maricopa County Police Increase
their Interest in Honduras/Bay Island Police
Captain Brian Beamish, Lieutenant Kevin Riddle,
Commissario Julio Benitez and Roger Marshall
A lot has happened in the last few years on our growing island. It has progressed from a sleepy island to a busy one. There is increasing traffic on our one road. Many more people have moved here. Many more people are coming from all over to work, find jobs, live and retire here.
There was a time when crime was difficult to stop. It resulted in the federal government eventually sending in more and better quality police. One of those police is The National Police Commissario of The Bay Islands, Julio Benitez. Having two years experience, one as a sub Commissario and for the last year as Commissario, he has attracted the help of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, one of busiest and most respected Sheriff's Offices in the United States.
Sheriff Joseph Arpaio sent down two teams of expert police in the last year to establish a sisterhood relationship between Honduras, Bay Island Police and their office.
Captain Brian Beamish from Special Operations and Lieutenant Kevin Riddle from the Central Investigations Division were part of a second wave of police that spent a month in Honduras training policemen in Tegucigalpa before coming here.
"Our original mission was to train 160 student police," said Captain Brian. "The big shift in the entire national police is for all of the police to be able to take care of all of the people all of the time. They will now be taking a real strong stand towards community and customer service. This is a fabulous approach towards law enforcement. We know that from where we come from. Sheriff Arpaio has been especially successful in the Arizona area with that kind of process."
"What we have done," continued the Captain, "is we have separated the students into two different classrooms. Each one of them is getting both sides of the training. One class under Lt. Riddle is about traffic accidents, accident reconstruction, the science behind it, the physics behind it and the methodology so that the street cop can take care of the accident scene himself. The other side of the training is in criminal investigation. We touch on everything from how to process a crime scene, the collection of physical and photographic evidence, all the way to sex crimes investigations and homicides. This is just a start."
"After two weeks," said Captain Brian, "the students then receive the other instructor. At the end, there will be a large graduation. There is more training scheduled for the beginning of the year (2008) and it is going to continue for the next several years. The next group to come down will be on anti-corruption. Our officers will bring with them the tools necessary to investigate any type of corrupt activity. We want to help restore that sense of pride to the police that will allow better working relationships with the community. We have the platform to do that here with Commissario Julio Benitez."
Kevin Riddle said, "We are excited to come over and introduce some of the things that we have in Maricopa County. We hope some of that will take heed over here and police will be able to learn new techniques, different ways of doing things and be open to change and hopefully implement some of it. It will make an incredible difference on the island."
Julio Benitez was onboard with the plan. When I asked Commissario Julio Benitez what his philosophy and plan was as far as his direction of the department of policemen under his direction. "I want to thank the police from Maricopa County," began Benitez. "I tell my police officers that the police are here for the community and belong to the community. We are here to serve the community. They are not here to serve themselves. I explain principals about law and how they can think about serving with quality."
"Everyone knows the police lack resources," continued Commissario Benitez. "Even still, the people need and want results. It is not enough, but we work with what we have. I will be putting aside the police that do not want to make the commitment to the community according to the rules. This week, all the top police officials will sign a commitment and agreement to supervise and have more control over their personnel. I have the commitment from the community. I don't want to just talk and do nothing. I have to talk and then do the things I say I am going to do."
The Roatan Bruce Show Fourth Year Anniversary
October 6th marks the fourth year The Roatan Bruce Show has been on the
air. Being the only English speaking (non-religious) talk radio show on
the Bay Islands, it is where listeners hear great music and get the latest
local news, community calendar, weather and interviews.
On this special occasion, I have asked different people to ask me questions
and interview me.
Interviewer - What do you most like about your interviews?
Roatan Bruce - Having interviewed all the top political leaders the last
few years, this has given English speaking listeners more of an understanding
of Honduran politics. I have had on former Honduran President Maduro,
current President Mel Zelaya, Congressman Jerry Hynds, Mayor Dale Jackson,
Utila Mayor Alton Cooper, Minister of Tourism Ricardo Martinez and Governor
Arlie Thompson. The last election provided me the opportunity to give
candidates running for office the first chance to provide English listeners
an insight into their reasons and desires for running for office.
Some of the other business and community leaders who continue to have
their recorded interviews heard on the roatanbruce.com website (heard
anytime from anywhere) are people like Julio Galindo, Marco Galindo, Canaturh
Bay Islands President Romeo Silvestri, the new Consul General to the US
Embassy Douglass Benning and the former Consul General Ian Brownlee. Lawyer
Italo Tugliani, a major contributor of the Zolitur "Free Trade Zone
Agreement" has also been a guest.
All of the top police officials in charge of security on the islands for
the last few years have been on the show starting with the former National
Police Commissario Suarzo, Jorge Carias, Carlos Mejia and the new National
Deputy Police Commissario Julio Benitez along with National Tourist Police
Chief Jaime Barahona. Also an ongoing contributor to the show is Municipal
Police Chief and Judge Joseph Solomon.
Interviewer - Did you have goals for the show when you started?
Roatan Bruce - My goal for the radio show was to contribute to the welfare
of the island as much as possible. I feel the show has had a major impact
in two ways. When I first started on the show, you saw people throwing
garbage out of the windows of cars, buses or vans as you drove behind
them. As a result of a three year anti-trash campaign by way of public
service announcements aired on the show daily, it is rare that you see
garbage thrown from vehicles today.
The second issue I have discovered along the way has been that the interviews
have created ongoing and important communications between police and the
community. When I first got to the island over four years ago, residents,
visitors and tourist were harassed by police. Many times, their papers
or even their vehicles were taken from them creating terrible problems.
It was us against them!
As a result of the ongoing interviews with top police officials, that
no longer happens. High ranking officials now make having good relations
with the community a priority. This has created greater trust and has
contributed to both sectors working closer together for the greater security
of all islanders. What is happening with the police and people in Sandy
Bay to increase their security is a perfect example of how the community
can work together with police to benefit everyone.
After a year of challenges since moving to 106.5 FM last August, the show
now boasts a much stronger transmitter and can be heard almost anywhere
on The Bay Islands and Northern Honduras. The show has Internet in the
studio making it more interactive. Any listener can now e-mail me from
their computer to roatanbruce@yahoo.com, instant message over Yahoo or
Hotmail messenger to roatanbruce, or text message from their cell phone
by dialing 9710 and in the message area writing "Roatan" and
then the message. The show will soon be heard around the world "live
streamed" and will have a fresh new website located at roatanbruce.com.
Please let me hear from you with comments or suggestions! I look forward
to serving the community with great music and important and timely news
for years to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deal Still Pending on RECO Purchase
Amidst all the scheduled brownouts, down generators for mechanical overhauls, cleanings and repairs, the sale of RECO is still pending. With a new infusion of money needed more than ever, it will still be at least sixty days or possibly as long as until the end of the year that it will be known who will be the new owner of RECO.
While residents for the most part remain in the dark about the future of their electrical supply, a meeting was called by Humberto Meza, the General Manager of RECO, who invited over a dozen of the islands largest developers, land and resort owners. This first of its kind RECO meeting with the community, it was held to give the electrical company an idea of the amount of energy needed to meet the anticipated growth of the islands resorts in the coming years.
In his initial statement to the group, Meza said, "The equipment is not in good shape and needs capitalization to fix them. The problem needs to be dealt will as soon as possible. The new owner needs to have expansion plans, be able to build greater infrastructure, come up with new technology and replace equipment."
Larger, more powerful and fuel efficient generators need to be purchased to replace the smaller, ineffective and aging ones in place now. A newly designed and refurbished distribution system to prevent island wide blackout in the future must be developed and implemented. All this can be done with a motivated and financially capable new owner.
"It was a fantastic meeting," said Canaturh Bay Islands President, Romeo Silvestri. "I invited ten of the members of Canaturh that represent 18 megawatts of energy over the next 24 months. It was very constructive. The General Manager of RECO and the Commissioner or ENEE from Tegucigalpa described in detail the realities of RECO. I was pleased to hear that some of the financial damages that RECO is dealing with are not a result of people stealing funds in the past, but because of wrong decisions or lack of decisions with the old Board of Directors. It is good to hear there is no evidence of financial misappropriations of funds."
"They gave us a questionnaire to help them best estimate our energy
demands in the future," continued Silvestri. "We expressed our
support for Mr. Kelsey Warren
He appears to be the best person who seems to be able to fit that position.
He already has a financial commitment in the Bay Islands (he purchased
Barbaretta Island) and he is in the energy business. We need people that
know how to handle energy."
He also has the capability and background to both satisfy all financial demands. As a CEO of a power company in the United Sates, he is aware of technological energy advancements to help Roatan not be so totally dependent on diesel in the next five or ten years, especially with the ever increasing cost of diesel.
Right now, Kelsey Warren has a sixty day, non-exclusive time to decide whether he will want to come up with the funds to invest in RECO. While the government knows about three other groups aggressively pursuing RECO, Canaturh Bay Islands and most of the others in attendance support the efforts of Mr. Warren to become the new owner. In their need to not depend on Mr. Warren as the only buyer, the government has opened up the bidding once again to private concerns.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Major League Baseball Pro's Look Back at their Little League
Days
"Little League made me the player I am today."
Jake Peavy
Pitcher - San Diego Padred, leading candidate for best picther
During my August trip to New York City, I contacted the New York Mets organization and asked for press credentials to cover their game with the San Diego Padres. Being new to them, they asked why I wanted to cover the game. I told them that our island in the Western Caribbean was doing whatever it could to help organize Little League baseball for every child that wanted to play.
With their permission, I was granted field access before one of their games. The players from the Mets did not make themselves available. Just when I started to think it was not going to work out to get interviews with the Mets, I decided to go to the other side of the field to see who would speak to me from the visiting team. The San Diego Padres, under much less pressure from the New York media, did make take some time out to be interviewed.
The first person I approached was twenty-six year old Jake Peavy, the top pitcher in the National League. He was brought up to the majors on June 22nd, 2002 after being drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 15th round of the 1999 amateur draft. In other words, he was not at the time known as one of the top players in the draft. His 16 wins to just 5 losses this year is one of the best records in the game. He has over 200 strike-outs already for the third year in a row and currently has the lowest earned run average at 2.10. He appeared in both the 2005 and 2007 All Star game.
I asked Jake and all the rest of the players and coaches I interviewed about their Little League memories and experiences.
Jake Peavy - Little League memories are my finest memories that I have about playing baseball. You are playing the game so innocently just for the love of the game and for having a good time. When I look back on it now, I got some good coaching and was taught well how to play the game to get me where I am today. It was a fun time in my life and the fondest memories I have about playing baseball was when I was 8, 9 and 10 years old.
Roatan Bruce - Is there any advice you can give to Little League players?
Jake Peavy - Baseball is a team sport. Cal Ripkin once said that being a great player and winning a World Series ring is important, but you have to be on a good team to win a championship and Little League obviously promotes that.
Roatan Bruce - Were you a stand-out player back in Little League?
Jake Peavy - I guess I was always one of the better players. I wasn't the kind of player that was a sure thing to get into the major leagues. I was a respected player in Little League, but nothing way above average.
Roatan Bruce - Tell me about how this year is going for you?
Jake Peavy - Everything is going alright. I am just trying to battle and give my team a chance to win every fifth day and I am doing an OK job at that for now.
The next person I talked to was Trevor Hoffman, one of the best relief
pitchers of all time. First drafted on June 5, 1989 by the Cincinnati
Reds in the 11th round of the 1989 amateur draft, he was quickly drafted
by the Florida Marlins from the Cincinnati Reds as the 8th pick in the
1992 expansion draft. One year later, he was traded to San Diego for Gary
Sheffield where he has played ever since. He has appeared in six all-star
games. He won the1998 and 2006 NL-Rolaids Relief Award.
Roatan Bruce - What do you remember most about Little League?
Trevor Hoffman - It was the love of the game and I had some good coaches that made it fun. When it was fun, I showed interest in it and kept pursuing it. I think Little League is a great avenue for development and for some kids to eventually get to the big leagues. It was fun and I have memories of hanging out at the ball park all weekend long.
Roatan Bruce - Do you have a memory that stands out in your mind about playing in Little League?
Trevor Hoffman - When I made the all-star team and played with all my buddies on one team. Just to go out and compete at that age was great! That training helped me to get to where I am now.
Mike Cameron is a charismatic outfielder for the Padres. Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 18th round of the 1991 amateur draft, he recently played for the Mets in 2004 and 2005. It was interesting to watch his interaction with all the Met players as they were obviously glad to see him and he kidded with them quite a bit. He also had a running interaction with many of the fans in the stands before the game who were calling out his name.
With hundreds of people screaming for Mike Cameron's attention as he walked across the field, he stopped to talk to me when I told him I was doing what I could to promote organized Little League in our area. I asked him about his memories of Little League.
Mike Cameron - I remember getting my first spikes and glove and remember being nervous as hell before my first game. I played short stop back then. It was a learning experience for me. The best thing I learned about playing Little League baseball was the competition of it. I think it is a lot more drastic now than it was when I was playing. There is now a need to learn how to play the game of baseball. I had some good coaches so it was always fun.
Geoff Blum, 6'3" 2nd baseman for the Padres was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 7th round of the 1994 amateur draft.
Geoff Blum - I actually still keep in touch with many of the friends I made during Little League. The most important part was the sense of community when everyone got together and played baseball and that was pretty much how we got to know each other. Many friendships came out of it.
When I asked him what his fondest memory was, he said…
Geoff Blum - Winning. We had a pretty good ball club. Mike Sweeney, the first baseman for the Kansas City Royal was my team mate, so we did a pretty good job of beating other teams. The most fun was playing hard and winning. Growing up in Southern California, there is a myriad of quality talent out there, so we never got close to getting to the Little League World Series, but we did very well.
Brian Giles was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 17th round of the 1989 amateur draft. It says he is 5'10" tall in the game books, but I am 5'8" or so, and I was much taller than he was. Even at the size, he is one of the better hitters in the game. He even hit over 30 home runs in four different years.
Brian Giles - Little League is a great experience. It is one of the best times you will have as a ball player, and I can say that being here at this level in the major leagues. They were the most enjoyed times I have had on a baseball field. You can't play Little League forever, so my advice is for all young players to take it all in while you can. The time that stands out for me was when I hit two home runs in one game.
Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 17th round of the 1979 amateur draft, Bud Black is known around baseball as one of the finest pitching coaches in the game. He won 17 games in 1984 for the Kansas City Royals and has won over 121 games during his 14 year professional pitching career.
Bud Black - I had a great time in Little League in Longview, Washington. I learned not just about baseball, but how to be a team mate, team work and learning to be responsible about going to practice and getting there on time. I had great coaches who made the summer fun. They made the Little League baseball experience a great one.
We had a very good team my 12 year old year. We felt we could advance out of our district and into the state finals, but we suffered a devastating loss rather late in the 6th inning of a game and that win we needed ended up slipping away. It taught me that there is always tomorrow in baseball and as long as you give a good effort, you will never have anything to be ashamed about.
Roatan Bruce - Did you know you had special skills way back then?
Bud Black - No, I just knew I enjoyed going to the ballpark. I did not have any idea I would end up being a professional baseball player. I just enjoyed being at the ball park everyday.
These top players in the world of baseball prove that their little league experience was invaluable and important to them. They could not have advanced to the Major Leagues without it. They all looked back at their Little League days with a smile on their faces and one they would not trade for all the money in the world…
Roatan Inherits 67 Additional Port of Call Dates
Costa Maya took a direct hit from Hurricane Dean, a Category Five storm in August. As a result, our area will be the place several ships will go who can no longer go there. After a few weeks of inspecting the damage, the port of call for several cruise lines recently announced that it will not reopen until September 2008. That port, located on Mexico's Southern Yucatan, experienced significant damage to the cruise ship pier and other infrastructure in the region.
In a statement issued today by the developers of Puerto Costa Maya, they state they have been working closely with all pertinent government agencies to secure the necessary permits to immediately begin the reconstruction process.
Resembling an ancient Mayan city, Costa Maya is able to accommodate three ships at once and entertain visitors with their ancient and colonial heritage of the Mexican Caribbean. It is one of only six ports in the Western Caribbean to receive over one million passengers per year. Costa Maya has more than 100 workers conducting clean-up of the beach and small fishing village. Restoration of services, including phone lines and electricity, are already underway.
Roatan Mayor Dale Jackson said about the upcoming increase in the ports of call, "These additional ships will increase our gross income for the island by 30%. This will help if it is used right. Starting in the winter, we will have 1 or 2 ships in each day, everyday! This will help our island if we plan correctly. If we don't, it could hurt as much as it could help."
When I asked how he thought it could hurt, he responded by saying, "We have to remember that come next summer, we will have fewer ships again. We need to plan ahead for those slower times. We are working on getting a summer package of ships to the Western Caribbean in the future. The Western Caribbean is a safe place to cruise and to invest. We are working with tour operators from more and more countries to bring people to our area."
For the next year, cruise lines have already announced port replacements for Costa Maya. Carnival Cruise Lines will now send the Carnival Legend to Roatan. Royal Caribbean International is sending the Voyager of the Seas and will spend more time there extending its call time at Roatan and Progresso.
The Norwegian Cruise Line will now send the Norwegian Sun, which begins a new itinerary from Miami beginning October 27. It will stop at Roatan, Belize City and Great Stirrup Cay (NCL's "private island"). The Spirit will also start coming to Roatan.
Amid all the destruction, most of the tourist infrastructure on Jamaica, the Caymans, Cancun/Cozumel, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Martinique did appear to weather the storm in reasonably good shape.
No Hurricane Felix! No Problems For Roatan!
After being away for a few weeks, we were greeted upon our arrival by blue skies and balmy weather at the Roatan International Airport. We were also told for the first time about a powerful hurricane in the Central Atlantic that was lurking along the South America coast. Having heard all about Dean taking the hurricane alley route along the Jamaican Coast, Cayman Islands and the Cancun Peninsula, it was especially frightening to learn of a hurricane that was gaining in strength along this southerly route.
Three days out, Hurricane Felix had become a category 5 storm, the most powerful on record. It had 165 mph winds with 200 mph gusts. It caused flooding on islands like Aruba and Curacao along the north coast of South America, two islands not familiar with hurricanes, let along category 3 to 5 hurricanes.
As the hurricane progressed, it was gaining in strength, but continuing on its westerly path, rather than taking that familiar rise up towards Cancun. Two nights before, it appeared that our vulnerable island was looking at a possible head on collision with the storm. All indicators said it was heading right towards us.
That was when the Mayor's office announced a mandatory evacuation from the islands, especially for all tourists and people living in low lying areas and in poorly constructed homes or shelters.
Credit goes to the Mayor of Roatan, Dale Jackson, The Governor of the Bay Islands Arlie Thompson and the Congressman for the Bay Islands Jerry Hynds who organized plans 48 hours before the storm was to hit. Orders were announced on local radio and television stations to make sure that tourists on the island for vacation were evacuated.
Government officials have worked with local, national and international airlines as well as the President of Honduras, Mel Zelaya, organizing several jet airplanes to come to the island to help evacuate tourists. Around a 1000 people left by Monday night.
Islanders living along the coastline areas in structures that will not be able to withstand up to 150 mph winds and possible greater than 8 to 18 foot storm surge waters, were all asked to evacuate or go to higher ground to friends and family. Others high on the list of concern were people who have come from the mainland of Honduras looking for work and living in poorly constructed, makeshift homes. They too were asked to evacuate the island and were offered free passage on the local Galaxy boat service back to the mainland. Many chose to take advantage of the transportation offered to them and left. The problem was, the storm was continuing to head due west and if it stayed on that same path, would end up exactly where the people leaving the island were headed. That is exactly where the storm ended up.
Networks such as The Weather Channel, CNN and Fox were all covering the storm. The Weather Channel contacted me and asked me to report live on the air what precautions were being taken for the storm and to protect lives. The only problem was, in order to stimulate ratings, when we discussed Roatan, they showed pictures of people from Aruba and Curacao walking in flooded waters up to their waist.
CNN apparently reported Roatan was exposed to heavy downpours resulting in flood waters. The reality was, we were still experiencing partly cloudy skies and absolutely no winds. This caused families and friends to worry and fear for our lives. Who were they to believe? Pictures they were seeing on TV or us saying, "that simply is not happening."
We were truly blessed to have had absolutely no problems or damage from this storm. We hope people from the mainland recover from the harm they have suffered as a result of Hurricane Felix as quickly as possible.
(No) Free Zone (Yet) Update
Congressman Jerry Hynds and all the members of Zolitur are committed to making the Free Zone a reality in the near future. Knowing that not having already established this treaty months ago has hurt some investment possibilities, new steps have been taken to make it happen.
At a recent Canaturh Bay Islands meeting at Casa Romeo's Restaurant in French Harbour, Canaturh President Romeo Silvestri addressed members about the positive steps being taken by Zolitur to push the agreement forward.
Romeo Silvestri: As of Friday, July 27th, the lawyer Italo Tugliani was officially hired and will be sponsored by the four municipalities, the Chamber of Tourism and the Chamber of Commerce, to legally put the "Bi-Laws" in place. A corporate image logo has already been created. An executive office is in place complete with promotional materials, telephone and internet service."
Corporation agreements are in place with The Galaxy Wave, The Utila Princess and the Henry Morgan Charter flights to collect an "Eco" Tax. This tax is $1 from local travelers and $6 from international travelers. We are at an impasse with Inter Airport as to their fees to collect these taxes. None of the other groups are charging to collect. One of the biggest problems has been the organization did not have any money and could not collect money. Agreements now are in place to collect these fees.
We are also working on an I.D. system to identify members of Zolitur, people just passing through or people not counted by the census. We are awaiting a "go-ahead" by the attorney as to how to do this most effectively and legally.
A question was asked by a member…Is there is still time to get counted by the census?
Romeo Silvestri: Yes! Absolutely! The current census is just a start. It is to see how many people we are. It is also the perfect way to isolate the law breakers or people that have no I.D.'s, have police records or are running from the police. We are not trying to run anyone out, but it is known that people have already left their jobs and the island because they do not want to be found out as a result of this effort.
The Galaxy is a perfect example of how we will benefit from the new Zolitur agreement. If a person does not have an I.D., they cannot travel on the Galaxy. Anyone who doesn't have anything to fear or is not a law breaker is welcome to the island. We are wanting to protect the life we already have here. We also don't want companies coming over here taking away business from someone who has already been here.
We have recently sent everything to the government to be analyzed. We are not at this point authorized to distribute this information to anyone until we see what the leaders with voting capabilities decide on.
Another member asked…Are they that powerful to be able to over ride what we want in the agreement?
Romeo Silvestri: They are the government. We respectfully submit what we want in the agreement. If what we decide upon is against their interest, they will try to rid that request from the agreement. Everything is decided by three major Ministries, Tourism, Environment and Finance and our group of eight majority votes. They include the four Mayors, Canaturh, Chamber of Commerce, The Governor of the Bay Islands and the Patrionata.
A Tragedy Hits St. Helene
On a hot and sunny June 21st day, a group of fifteen teenagers and young adults took their small boat from St. Helene to do what they have been doing their entire lives, their parents have done their lives and their parents have done their lives. They went diving off Barbaret Island and came ashore to find coconut water or mangoes. On their way home at about 1 pm, the Barbaret security guards came at them in a boat with a 200hp motor engine and rammed them not once, but twice killing 2 boys right away. A third boy died later in a La Ceiba hospital while another remains in a coma. Still another might lose one of his eyes.
On Friday afternoon, July 6th, Congressman Jerry Hynds along with Mayor Dale, Jackson, Governor Arlie Thompson, San Jose Guardiola Mayor Perry Bodden and Wally Bodden, representative of St. Helene, called for a meeting of Americans and Canadians to come together at 4 pm on Coral Cay to discuss this tragic event.
All the political leaders stated right from the beginning that Bay Islanders have in no way directly blamed the new owner of Barbaret Island for the loss of lives of the three teenage boys from St. Helene. They wanted the Americans to know that the ensuing demonstration that blocked the streets of Coxen Hole came about as a result of what was said on Spanish television blaming Americans for the event. The Congressman stated that, "Energies were misdirected such as when demonstrations blocked the cruise ship streets leaving everyone with the question….what did the cruise ships have to do with the problem in Helene?"
Governor Arlie Thompson restated that, "The National Police took quick action in arresting the three Spanish people who were on the security speedboat. They were captured and immediately taken to jail. Two days later they were in court. The sentencing takes place in two months. Everyone wants all Americans to feel safe and secure. At no point did the incident in St. Helene have anything to do with American people."
Mayor Perry Bodden told the audience that, "They were working on having strong security in the East End." He emphasized that, "No one has any problems with American people and that without the American people who lived on the East End, there would not be any of the progress being made there. Americans are needed there to do better. He was glad to have all Americans and wanted them to know his door was open whenever he was needed."
Wally Bodden stated that when he arrived on St. Helene a few hours after the accident, "There was over 100 people gathered together to storm Barbaret and burn it down. I was able to deter the people from doing the wrong thing. My son was running the boat with fourteen other boys and was seated next to one of the boys that died. For years, I was warning the authorities that these men were going to kill someone. The last time was two weeks before the crime."
Bodden continued saying, "Locals were hoping that when the new owner took over the island that he would hire other guards. That did not happen. These three men are going to be traced so that once they get to the mainland, that they are not lost in the system or released."
The first member of the audience to address the meeting stated that, "Being bi-lingual, how frightening it was to watch the local Spanish news station the following nights as they incited Spanish speaking people by reporting how Americans were all responsible and that as Americans, we have the government paid off."
The second person to stand up stated there was a lack of information to all Americans and there was a need for an hour of news just for Americans or English speaking people on the local channels. After the event, Congressman Jerry Hynds committed to appearing on the Roatan Bruce Show the last Friday of every month whenever possible.
The Congressman stated that, "Local Spanish news does not report the entire story. It is not news but opinion. They did not report that the men were captured and in jail. When radical people take over a street by the cruise ship dock, I call that terrorism. They are trying to terrorize our island. What they did has nothing to do with the reality of Roatan."
A third person stood up and said there was a lack of information and
communication. To
hear about the St. Helene incident from the US Embassy and how poor it
was for the image of Roatan just was not right.
The Governor stated that, "It is wrong for the reporters to try to throw the problem onto Americans. I must tell you all that I met with all the families of this tragic event last week. None of these English speaking and understanding people at any point held Americans responsible for this event. In fact, they were waiting to meet their new neighbor."
Congressman Jerry later said, "The new owner of the island is only partly responsible because he is the owner. How much knowledge did he have? He bought it less than a year ago. He probably spent less than ten days there since. Kelsey will tell you that when he is around, there security guys are different. They are hardly to be seen or noticed. I was told about this guy before. I told the Mayors that when Kelsey comes next time, we will meet with him and tell him what is going on so he can do something about it. Before he returned again, this event happened."
Bruce Starr is the host of The Roatan Bruce Show now heard on 106.5 FM
weekdays from 10 am to 1 pm across the Bay Islands and Northern Honduras.
He will soon be heard on Heat 101.1 FM, a new all English station playing
classic hits 24 hours a day starting in May. Please visit his website
at roatanbruce.com or contact him at roatanbruce@yahoo.com with your comments
and suggestions.
Roatan Bruce Interviews
Scott Fried - Broadway actor visits Roatan
to talk about HIV
"Playing someone else was always easier for me. After nine or ten years, I was successful at being someone else, being in a costume in front of other people, but I was not really affecting the world in an important way."
In his life, Broadway actor, dancer, singer Scott Fried did not feel he made a difference until he started as a volunteer helping others with a crisis that has already killed 134 people that he knows. That crisis is HIV/AIDS.
Roatan Bruce: Tell me about your life and how it led you to coming here?
Scott Fried: To find that special place, I left the theatre and started volunteering as a speaker on HIV in New York City. I taught kids the virtues of abstaining from sex and having safe sex, not just because our parents told us to, but because safer sex was important. As a result of my theatrical background and being able to project to the back of the room and have my message heard, I started making money speaking about HIV and AIDS.
I did not explore or accept the fact that I was gay until I was 24. I lived in a closet until I was able to admit it to myself. All the feelings, thoughts and secrets that I tried to stuff away I took with me on my very first unsafe homosexual encounter, my first gay sexual relationship. Nineteen years ago, a man gave me his phone number and asked me to give him a call. I went to see him. Then one November night, I thought to myself, people like me don't do this. This is cool! This is wrong! This is dangerous! Add in drugs and/or alcohol and less sense was to be made of my actions that night.
HIV/AIDS was on the cover of every magazine in those days. I still said to myself, "I am not one of them. We blamed that problem on other people like prostitutes and crack heads. I did not fit into one of those groups, so I didn't see that disease as a disease of behavior. But it is a disease concerning the way we take care of ourselves and others, or how we don't.
Fearing I could not keep this man's love, I had unsafe sex with him. Two weeks later, after that very first unsafe homosexual experience, I woke up with a wild flu. I did not know what it was.
One day six months later, I heard the test counselor say the words, "sorry, but you have HIV!" After thinking a thousand things and having a thousand feelings, starting with and ending with my mother and my father! My mother's face, my father's voice! My mother standing there with a rag in her hand, from my father calling out to me from a distance, "What have you done…what have you done!?" Then I heard a voice in my head say to me, "Are you ready? Are you ready to take the ride of your life? Are you ready to find a blessing in the curse that you think your life has been? Are you ready to become the man you can be now that life has thrown you a curve ball? Not just for you, but for anyone you come in contact with?"
Roatan Bruce: The message here is, no matter what age you are, whether you are 12 years old or 52 years old, no matter whether you think of yourself as a good person or a bad person, a smart person or an unlucky person, if you are not careful and participate in unsafe sex, it can happen the very time you do it. No matter what you think about the other person, that they look OK, they look healthy or safe, they can easily be the person who can give you that disease that will change your life forever.
Scott Fried: You are absolutely right. That decision to have unsafe sex starts in a world where we grow up feeling that we are not enough. That is the place where the seed grows that eventually results in making unsafe and life threatening decisions. It can happen that first and only time you have unprotected sex regardless of whether you are drunk or stoned. Drugs and alcohol change a rationally thinking mind to do things it wouldn't do sober.
Roatan Bruce: So here on Roatan, young people have to learn to make decisions in life most times without the guidance of both parents. They live in a place where they can get drugs cheaply and want to be accepted by their peers. This makes for a frightening combination that has led to such a high HIV rate.
Scott Fried: Boys need to respect girls, sexually, emotionally and mentally. Boys need to grow into men that don't cheat on their woman. Boyfriends need to respect and honor the woman in their life and tell the truth about whom they are and by using a condom, especially if they know they are infected. Boys need to become men who get tested.
Bruce Starr is the host of The Roatan Bruce Show now heard on 106.5 FM weekdays from 10 am to 1 pm across the Bay Islands and Northern Honduras. He will soon be heard on Heat 101.1 FM, a new all English station playing classic hits 24 hours a day starting in May. Please visit his website at roatanbruce.com or contact him at roatanbruce@yahoo.com with your comments and suggestions.
The
Free Zone is not a Free Zone for all after all!
June 28th is the new starting date
"The Free Zone will be for the people who live
here with businesses pertaining to tourism."
This statement sums up who will benefit financially from living in the Free Zone. It has changed substantially from what was originally stated in the document that was agreed upon last November at Coral Cay. To find out more, I interviewed Governor Arlie Thompson at a recent Canaturh-Bay Islands meeting.
Roatan Bruce: Tell us about the changes occurring in the Free Zone in just the last few weeks? Today, May 28th was supposed to be the day the Free Zone was to officially and legally begin. What has happened to that deadline?
Governor Arlie Thompson: We were very disappointed with what is going on right now. We were hoping that we would have to wait on the Central Government to begin and not us. Now they are waiting on us to complete the census. In order for the Free Zone to begin and operate properly, the census had to be taken across all areas of the zone.
At first, a lot of people did not want to take part in the census. Maybe they thought they were going to be shipped off the island for one reason or another. Now they are beginning to realize that they will not be able to work in the future because the law states clearly that businesses will only be able to contract people who are residents of the zone. To be a resident of the zone, you have to be censused and have a coronet that will prove that.
Unfortunately, the census has not yet been completed in both the Jose San Guardiola District and Guanaja. We have received a thirty day extension meaning it is now set to start right around June 28th.
Roatan Bruce: What about the people that have been skipped over for one reason or another by the census takers?
Governor Arlie Thompson: To help people to continue to partake in the census, people have until June 7th to do so at two locations. The municipality of Roatan has opened up two offices. One is located in the courtyard by the Municipal Police station in Coxen Hole and the other is located in French Harbour in the Jared Hynds Library.
Roatan Bruce: What has happened to the initial Free Zone concept that no one within the Bay Islands would be paying income tax, sales tax or importation tax?
Governor Arlie Thompson: That was the first proposal that was submitted by our Congressman. Of course, Congress did not give him the final approval he wanted. They have since only agreed that it be for businesses determined to be tourism related. Individuals will not benefit from the new law. The by-laws have included as many commercial, industrial and logistic services as possible that can all be related one way or another to tourism.
This law was created to provide investment into our islands. It was also established to have greater security. There will be control of weapons on the streets. It was also done to control the immigration of people to our island. We cannot stop people from coming to our island but we can regulate it. We can find out where they are going and what they are going to do here. The "free" part is just a bonus for us and we should not focus so much on that.
The ordinary person will be able to purchase certain things in the zone from the people that have the right to import goods with no importation taxes. We will be able to somewhat benefit from that. Zolitur (Free Zone board) will be there to make sure the savings they receive will be handed down to the public.
Roatan Bruce: What about the investor with a corporation from around the world who has come down here to purchase land or a condo? How will they benefit with the new law changes?
Governor Arlie Thompson: It depends what their corporation is set up for. If they have a corporation to establish a tourism based business, they will fully be able to enjoy all the benefits of the Free Zone. If it is just to purchase a home or condo, or come to retire and stay for a few months out of the year, they will not qualify.
Roatan Bruce: This is quite a drastic change from what we thought the original agreement was going to be.
Governor Arlie Thompson: As I said, the original agreement was not approved by congress. Not even me as a local or you as a foreigner can import anything free of duty if you do not have a corporation or business actively involved with tourism.
The Census - The Building Block of a Free Tourism Zone
May 21
Being just days away from the official start of the Free Zone on May 28th, how will the lives of the everyday person on the Bay Islands be effected?
You can be assured that in the coming weeks, I will have many Free Zone experts on the radio to expand on the changes that are going to take place. This week, I spoke to the President of Canaturh Bay Islands (the Tourism Chamber), Romeo Silvestri, a contributor to the writing of the new Free Zone ( ZOLITUR, the acronym in Spanish).
Roatan Bruce: What can people expect in the coming weeks and months?
Romeo Silvestri: The first thing that the people living on the island needs to do is to respond in a positive way to the efforts being made by the over one hundred people out across the island assisting in the census. That is the very first step to being able to take full advantage of the many benefits that will be offered to us. We ask that you answer all the questions being asked of you. It is the only way we can get a database to find out how many we are and who we are. If you are not included in the census, you will not be able to appreciate the benefits to be offered. We need the cooperation of the people and for everybody to be registered to effectively plan for the sustainable future development for the island.
Roatan Bruce: Let's talk about taxes. Which ones will be in place after May 28th, 2007?
Romeo Silvestri: Those registered and counted by the census will no longer pay income tax, sales tax or customs importation taxes. None! Everything that is stated in the new law will be applied. We will no longer have to pay or collect certain other taxes. After May 28th, people reserving rooms in our hotels or resorts will no longer have to pay 16% taxes. They will only have to pay a 4 % tourism tax and that 4% will go to help us promote and publicize our tourist destination. The 12 % sales tax will no longer be in effect. Also, a 4% Capital Gain tax will be charged against the profits made on a sale of property.
Roatan Bruce: So that 4% tourism tax that is collected will stay on the island to help us promote our islands. It sounds like everything we will be doing, the census, the information gathering and the collecting of a database, will be for the good of a lot of people already on the island. There are so many renegade type people who don't want to be registered, listed or counted. They will not want to participate. But in this particular instance, it will very much be to their advantage and a good thing for everyone already living on the island.
Romeo Silvestri: That is the whole idea. We don't care about the renegades or bandits who don't want to be a part of the system. But what we want to do is to protect our good island people and foreigners who live and invest on the island. We need to find out how many good, law abiding people are here.
The Bay Islands will also become a "No Gun" Zone. No one will be allowed to carry guns in their car or away from their home. Properly registered guns will be allowed on your property and home, but it will be against the law to take the guns off your property. The gun will be taken away and one year in prison will be a mandatory sentence should anyone be found with a gun off their property. That will include machetes.
Much more to come about the ZOLITUR Free Tourist Zone in the following weeks!
The RECO Sale?
May 7th
In very recent days, the electric power has been on 24 hours a day. This is a very welcome change to what has been the last few months. A couple of weeks ago, unwanted blackout episodes in the middle of the night reminded us all that we were not out of the woods yet. Were the blackouts over as we were promised or was the struggle still on?
The new temporary General Manager at RECO, Umberto Mesa Casco, met with me to share the latest information from the electric company. He spoke enough English for me to understand his message to me. I asked him for a progress report.
Umberto Mesa Casco: At the moment, we can supply the demand of electricity to the entire island. We are presently working on projects to help improve the distribution system. We need more capital for further improvements. I estimate that we need five million dollars of additional investment to invest in plant generators, switching stations and distribution system.
Our present debt is Bank of Atlantida 45 million Limperas, RECO owes ENEE 85 million L and HondoPetrol is owed 15 million L. There are others. The total amount of debt is 170 million L. RECO's assets are 220 million L.
What has been most troubling are the blackouts in the middle of the night. Luckily, it has not been as hot during the day or at night lately, so when the power did go off, it was not quite as unbearable as it could have been. During my last trip to the states, I picked up a battery powered fan and that seem to allow us to get our sleep.
Roatan Bruce: That gives us a good idea of the accountability of RECO. I have come to recognize that there will always be an occasion power outage, but why were we still having lengthy blackouts when you promised that there would be no more power outages?
Umberto Mesa Casco: I state again the power outages are finished. There have been some minor failures of the distribution system. We have been working on it.
(After thinking the worst, I later found out the blackouts were caused by problems that occurred in isolated areas where it took hours just to find the location in the middle of the night under darkness.)
Roatan Bruce: Tell me about the future for RECO. You have told me there needs to be at least a five million dollar investor. Are there companies or private investors interested in purchasing RECO?
Umberto Mesa Casco: Yes. There are many that are interested. We have invited many to submit their proposal. The man who bought an island near Roatan is interested. The best proposals we receive will be submitted to the people of Roatan.
Roatan Bruce: Do you know the timing of when the sale will take place?
Umberto Mesa Casco: May!
Roatan Bruce: Are you still cutting the power of companies or persons not paying their bills?
Umberto Mesa Casco: Yes, we are cutting the power of people who are not paying. Even the people who owe a debt from years ago, we are doing the legal requirements to cut their power as well. In addition, we are reviewing the tariffs we are paying for diesel fuel and we may not be able to hold down the prices.
Roatan Bruce: How are the generators we have doing?
Umberto Mesa Casco: We have had to borrow a 5 MG watt generator in order to do maintenance on the other generators. The big units are still working, but we need to do an overhaul.
Now that the power has been more consistent, it seems like ages ago that we were under siege with RECO. The island needs to have many more weeks, months and years of consistent energy for everyone. What will be the cost to make that happen?
Little League Baseball Comes to Roatan
April 23
On Tuesday April 17th, a group of islanders and foreigners met to discuss how they could use their talents, contacts, skills and abilities to finally organize the first island wide Roatan Little League Baseball for 8 to 12 year olds.
I was a baseball fan from as far back as I can remember. My dad took me to Yankee games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. What made it even more special was that my dad worked for Rupert Knickerbocker Beer, the sponsor at the time of the New York Yankees. That meant that not only did we get to go to games, but we sat right on top of the Yankee dugout. I don't usually like to date myself, but I was very privileged to watch Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford and many others playing ball in the prime of their baseball careers.
When I came of age to be in the little league, I jumped at the chance. The area I grew up until I turned nine years old did not have fields or leagues, so played in a parking lot with black gravel. Little League was a wonderful experience for me. Being comparatively small up until my senior year in high school, I remember how disappointed I was to usually not be chosen to play in the more competitive league. The way I remember showing them they made a mistake was by being picked as an all-star in the league I played in.
Little League gave me the first and only chance to play organized, competitive baseball against friends from school. I liked everything about it, especially being a part of a team, learning from coaches and wearing a uniform even with the name "Centuck Kosher Meat Market" on it one year.
Even though I wasn't overly talented or skilled at any one sport, I did play many sports from ice hockey to football and basketball. This is the way I remember spending each and everyday after school. Sports kept me off the streets and out of trouble when I was growing up.
When living just outside the Boston area for several years, I used to stop and watch the little league kids play on my way home. One afternoon, I saw a kid struggling while trying to hit the ball. Since the answer to his problem was obvious to me, I asked the coach if I could take the child aside to coach him for a few minutes. As it usually is with kids, with just a little direction, the next time the child was up to bat, he blasted the ball. After I did this a few more times with different kids, the manager asked me to be his coach. I said sure!
I went on to coach three years. We usually did very well each year, usually with a group of three or four girls on the team instead of the standard one. The girls were open to learning and usually became the best or most improved players. That was a lot of fun and very rewarding.
I talked with several people over the years on Roatan such as Luey McGlothlin, Stephen Wesley, Clive Ebanks and others about what it would take to get organized sports going on the island. It all came together when I very recently visited the Sandy Bay Orphanage administered by Brad Warren. When he showed me a room filled to the top with boxes and suitcases full of donated uniforms, bats, balls, cleats, hats for eight teams and 120 kids, I could not believe my eyes.
Brad next showed me an incredible baseball field that with a few days of work, any child would be proud to play on. With the assembly of responsible and community minded men to be coaches, more pieces of the puzzle came into place. With my ability to eventually broadcast the games on radio and television, the final factors where there to meet the needs of any child that wanted to play organized baseball. The very last necessity was for very talented kids to travel and play other areas and be noticed on an international level. This was now possible. Could a talented Roatan team someday play in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania?
Little League try-outs will be in May. The first games will take place during a short season starting in June. It will be a very exciting time for Roatan and The Bay Islands.
The New Clinica Espiranza - The People's Clinic
April 2
Dr. Patrick, a major contributor to the well being of island families these last few years came on the show a few days before the official grand opening of Clinica Espiranza on Saturday, March 10th. The new clinic is located just east of Anthony's Key Resort in Sandy Bay.
Roatan Bruce : Tell me a little about you and the role you have played with Nurse Peggy.
Dr. Patrick : I have been an emergency medicine in Phoenix, Arizona for thirty years. I have been semi-retired for the last two years. Semi-retired to me means doing the kind of work I want to do rather than the work I had to do. I still work at emergency services at a teaching hospital in Phoenix in a major trauma center doing primarily pediatric emergency medicine.
I thought I was going to relax a bit when I first came here two years ago, but I have found plenty to do. It has been very exciting and I have made a lot of friends. I think we have been able to do some good things in the community.
Roatan Bruce : So many people have come to relay on you, Dr, Raymond and Nurse Peggy these past years at the different locations. Tens of thousands of people have come for medical aid. My good friends Dave Wilbur is quite a hero on the island. He basically built the clinic and Shelly Katz from Toronto donated the windows to help complete the clinic. Tell me about what we would see if we were walking through the building?
Dr. Patrick : What we have is a 4500 sq ft., two story building. The first floor is mostly complete. We are already seeing patients there for the last few weeks. Chuck Laird and his family were most generous in donating space to us in the Sonrise Hotel just down the street from the clinic these last two years. We now have three or four times as much space as we had.
Roatan Bruce : Tell us the history behind Nurse Peggy and the clinic of past years before the Sonrise?
Dr. Patrick : Miss Peggy is an American nurse who semi-retired here five years ago. She had previously been doing service to the people of Honduras for the last twenty years. When people from the island realized that they had a nurse living in their midst, they started appearing at her back door. She soon found herself running a clinic out of her kitchen.
She never turned anyone away nor did she seek compensation for herself. She got some people to donate medication she was giving out. After a period of time, she moved the clinic downstairs to the apartment beneath her home and ran it out of there for a few years. It was then that the Sonrise offered her the use of their building. They have been seeing around 600 or more patience per month there ever since.
Roatan Bruce : We now have a state of the art clinic right here in Sandy Bay.
Dr. Patrick : Yes, Peggy has been out seeking help from a diverse group of people with varied backgrounds who have contributed to this effort. We have 3500 families on our list of patients that are registered with the clinic. What I have been the most impressed with is the quality and dedication of the Honduran doctors. They are well trained and concerned about their patients. What they lack is resources. They need tools and medications to take care of people. We need to find them the tools for them to use.
Many people from all facets of life have contributed time, money, ideas and support in multiple ways. It is truly a clinic of the people. It is a Honduran adventure. I am simply an advisor. Dr. Raymond, the Medical Director, is a native of Roatan and Miss Peggy has been the focal point of this project. It could not have been done without all the many people who were such an important part of this incredible project.
Islanders
Seeing Clearly Now!
March
12th
I was asked by the former Governor of the Bay Islands, Jack Clinton Everett, to announce the arrival of a Lions Club Medical Eye Brigade to the island on my radio show. It sounded like a good idea and I was glad to let people know they were here. Doctors came to give eye tests and eye glasses to anyone who needed it. The next day, I went to the downtown Roatan Hospital where it was all taking place and found an exceptional group of 24 people from Muskegon, Michigan hard at work on a program that will help islanders have better vision. They were there from March 5th until the 8th, from 8 am to 5 pm. I spoke to some of the volunteers.
Bob Shallo: This is our 25th mission that has included stops in past years to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico and other Central America countries.
Roatan Bruce: I had no idea the scope of what you were doing before I came to see it for myself. I am glad I did. I see boxes and boxes of glasses.
Bob Shallo: We brought over 8,000 pairs of prescription glasses and another 2,000 reading glasses and sun glasses. My group up in Michigan spends three hours every Saturday working to get the glasses ready. Someone drives 90 minutes each way to be a part of it. The Lions clubs sponsors collection points around the United States where people who outgrow their glasses can donate them. First we sort, fix and clean them. Then a lens reader tells us what the prescription is and we label them. We put them in plastic bags, number them and then enter them into computers. When we come to a place like this, the doctors exam the people and when a prescription is needed, the computer comes up with the appropriate glasses for that person from the thousands we brought down.
Roatan Bruce: There are glasses for people of any age?
Bob Shallo: Yes! When Clinton was working to put this together with us, he told me there were a great amount of school age kids that needed glasses. Kids glasses are hard to find because kids tend to break glasses rather than outgrow them. We still came up with a lot of them.
Roatan Bruce: Most kids probably don't even realize that they have a sight problem. They are so used to the way they see, they don't know it can be any better. That is why getting the word out that there are eye exams is so important and necessary.
Bob Shallo: We can bring the doctors and we can bring the glasses, but we never could have done it without Clinton organizing it from this end. He brought all the people and school children to us. It is truly a team effort that is making our trip here so successful.
Jack Clinton Everett: It is something so needed. I had all the media spread the word that these doctors would be here doing such good work.
Bob Shallo: These six doctors will each see over 100 people during the day. We will attend to more than 700 people each day or almost 3000 islanders this week. We as Lions Club members are here to serve. This gave us the opportunity to serve others.