PHILIPSBURG/ST. EUSTATIUS—The visit of the Dutch State Secretary of Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops is not expected to include a meet with the Leader of the Progressive Labor Party Clyde van Putten during his visit this weekend for the Statia Day celebrations. In an invited comment, Van Putten said that although he has learnt of the State Secretary’s visit to St. Eustatius for the island celebrations, he is not aware of any scheduled meeting with the Dutch State Secretary. “I am not aware of any meeting and have not been contacted by the Dutch State Secretary or his representative about any…
Author: The Publisher
By Rhoda Arrindell, PhD One day in 1982, I wrote an essay entitled “Waarom St. Maarten onafhankelijk moet worden” for Mr. Bijnsdorp’s Dutch class. Though I hated the class (not because of the teacher, but because I hated writing essays in Dutch), I was proud of that essay and my performance. Not only was I pleased with my good mark, but, for the first time, I had written on a topic I felt passionate about. You see, I believed then at the age of 16, as I do now, that independence is the only way for the people of St.…
Philipsburg — Parliament held two continuation meetings regarding the repercussions of the verdict by the European Court of Human Rights in the Corallo case for the country St. Maarten and the Ministry of Justice of St. Maarten and regarding the Status of Tax Reform on St. Maarten. The meetings were a continuation of public meetings #7 and #8, the letter being initially held on Monday, November 5, 2018. On Monday, November 12, the meetings proved to be another interesting display of parliamentary tactics and procedural moves, resulting in MP Rolando Brison calling for a motion against the chair of Parliament.…
PHILIPSBURG — The late Natasha Schmidt who was brutally murdered by her brother-in-law in the Dutch Quarter district on October 29, 2018, will be laid to rest today Wednesday in the Cul-de-sac cemetery. The 36 year-old mother of seven children was apparently shot several times in Dutch Quarter and was found lying on the ground by the police patrol who rushed to the scene of the incident. She was transported to the St. Maarten Medical Center in a critical condition but later succumbed to her injuries and died. The suspect in the shooting turned himself in at the Philipsburg Police…
PHILIPSBURG – The situation at the St. Maarten Academy PSVE (Preparatory Secondary Vocational Education) remains volatile now that the board led by former Justice Minister Roland Duncan has refused to remove principal Lavern Nelson from her position. Minister Wycliffe Smith (Education) has stepped in and produced a report that takes the school board to task. The tension between principal, teachers and other staff is sky high. While Smith’s report does not shy away from identifying the place of teachers and staff in the hierarchy of the school organization, he puts most of the blame on the school board and its…
PHILIPSBURG – The board of the Foundation for Academic and Vocational Education (FAVE) has to pay 94,000 guilders gross ($52,514) to guidance counselor and job training coordinator Zeynep Sabahoglu for firing her without a valid reason. The board also failed to ask permission for the dismissal and it did not award Sabahoglu compensation. The guidance counselor initiated a lawsuit against the school board after her dismissal. FAVE came with its own lawsuit, demanding that the court dissolves the contract without awarding the counselor compensation. Sabahoglu won both procedures. Sabahoglu started working for FAVE on August 1, 2009, and she had…
By Hilbert Haar The case of the dismissed guidance counselor Zeynep Sabahoglu by the Foundation for Academic and Vocational Education (FAVE) shows once more how irresponsible the board members of such organizations are when it comes to their responsibilities. While the court saw no other option than to dissolve the labor contract (based on “changed circumstances” and not on any reason presented by the board) it ordered FAVE to pay the counselor 94,000 guilders gross (around $52,000) in compensation. According to the 2018 budget, FAVE receives 12,893,092 guilders in subsidies from the government in 2018. That money is earmarked for…
GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten – Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), announces that there will be interruption with the traffic flow on the Cole Bay road due to work being carried out in connection with the road paving/patching 2018 project. Weather permitting, work will start during evening and overnight hours on Monday, November 12th, 2018. Motorists are asked to pay keen attention to the works for their own safety and the safety of the workmen. The project is expected to be completed within a few days. The community will be further informed as the road…
Photo caption: This year saw the joint participation of five law enforcement agencies in the 31st annual Sint Maarten’s Day Around the Island Relay Race. A total 22 men and women from the Sint Maarten Coast Guard, the Police Force of Sint Maarten (KPSM), Royal Dutch Marines, the Customs Department and the Public Prosecutor’s Office competed in 2 teams. As a unified team of colleagues the group ran this 11 leg route through the South and North sides of the island. In completing the relay race together the different law enforcement agencies showed their dedication, strength and teamwork which are…
PHILIPSBURG — Police patrols, Paramedics and Police Traffic Department on Sunday November 11th at approximately 08.35 a.m. were sent to Sucker Garden Road in the vicinity of the York’s property to investigate a traffic accident involving a four-wheeler with license plate R-189 ridden by a female. On the scene paramedics attended to the 18 year old victim identified with M.C.S. and transported her to the Sint Maarten Medical Center for further treatment but shortly after was pronounced dead. The victim died of the injuries she sustained during the accident. According to witnesses the victim lost control of the four-wheeler while…
