We've been reporting regularly on the land dispute in the city involving a UDP city council park and a private landowner with UDP connects trying to chisel in on the public parcel of land. That one has since been resolved in the public interest, but now there's news of another similar type of case in Orange Walk. This one is a little more dynamic because the house of the UDP in Orange Walk East is divided in the run - up to a hotly contested convention in that area. And that's where Orlando Burns comes in. He's the former UDP Standard Bearer who's using PUP friendly media to allege suspicious moves with a public basketball court. He suggests dubious motives on the part of his former political ally and the title for the basketball court. And he also suggests that the family of the new aspirant for the East Elodio Aragon Jr could be trying to chisel in on the land.
He told CTV-3 in Orange Walk that after he resuscitated the court, it has fallen into disuse because the East Sport Committee could not certify who held the title for the land:..
Reporter
"Who owns and where is the paperwork?"
Orlando Burns
"I cannot tell you for sure who owns it because I have not seen any paperwork, not the old one, not the new one, not the one I was promised - none. We haven't seen anything."
"We have been told and it's a rumor that there is a private citizen trying to get it for private use. We don't know if we go there if somebody is going to tell us we are trespassing - we don't know."
"This is a public park where my children played basketball and a lot of children from the east play basketball and its time that people stand up and stop looking about politics and who is involve. It doesn't matter who they are giving it to. I think it's wrong and I stand up for that and this is not about party and politics or who or what. I am bringing this up to the media because it has happened for so many months and I haven't heard anything official. So, I just want the people to know that all our work is basically down the drain. If you pass by there you would see the growing bushes back up. It's going to look pretty soon like it was."
Reporter
"You mean abandoned?"
Orlando Burns
"Right."
We'll keep following the story.
Email
Print