PHILIPSBURG — The Young United Women Book Club has issued a press release on the importance of Reading and wishes the Students, Teachers and Parents a successful School Year 2018/2019. When we read together, we learn things not just about the book, but also about the people with whom we read. The Young United Women Book Club writes in their press release: “We all know the first weeks of school with our students can truly set the stage for the entire year. When we read, we learn new things. And when we read together, we learn things not just about…
Author: The Publisher
Cole Bay — An unknown incident, more than likely caused by a large vessel, caused significant damage to the Nature Foundation Coral Reef Restoration Program. During inspection dives the two primary coral nursery structures sustained major damage and some coral fragments were affected. Foundation staff replaced the nursery to a safer location and replaced coral fragments at a new location. The Foundation started to populate its first coral nursery structures again after most of the previous coral nurseries were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Foundation has slowly started to implement its ‘Fragments of Recovery” coral restoration…
PHILIPSBURG — Over 2000 students and teachers across seven Catholic elementary and high schools will start the school year with recycling on campus. The goal of this project is to promote in-classroom sorting and separation and get kids involved and aware, at an early age, with the concept of recycling. GreenBox launches this project in partnership with Meadowlands as a pro bono and pilot project, one of many more projects to come. A total of 80 classrooms will be equipped with the three individual sorting bins for plastic, paper & cardboard and cans & glass. Once these bins are full,…
Philipsburg — The Bureau of the Ombudsman has embarked on a project geared towards the Academic High schools on St. Maarten. The project, entitled “The Best School Ombudsman”, seeks to involve high school students in the pre-exam/exam classes in the role of the Ombudsman and to bring greater awareness of the function as well as the institution of the Ombudsman. The students will have consultation sessions (weekly) at their respective schools which is only open to students, teachers and parents of each respective (participating) school. While the students will be able to take concerns, the actual complaints will be referred…
PHILIPSBURG — The general joint controls as announced in a prior press releases between the law enforcement departments from the French and Dutch side of the island consisting of the Gendarmes, the Custom Department, the Voluntary Corps Sint Maarten (VKS) , the Royal Dutch Marechausee and the Police Force of Sint Maarten (KPSM) continued on Thursday August 9th through Saturday August 11th 2018. The first controls started on Thursday August 9th at 10:00 p.m. and lasted until 01.30 a.m. on Friday August 10th. These controls were held simultaneously at four different locations border crossing locations with the following results; a…
Philipsburg — The Ombudsman recently concluded a Systemic Investigation, initiated after the hurricanes of September 2017, regarding the state of preparedness of the government of Sint Maarten pursuant to the National Ordinance Disaster Risk Reduction and the Disaster Management Plan for the hurricane season 2018, and lessons learned. After providing a Preliminary Findings Report, the Final Report was submitted on August 7, 2018, to the Prime Minister, who is in charge of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The Ombudsman concludes in her report that: ’Notwithstanding the enormous activities engaged by government in the aftermath of the hurricanes, the structural absence…
CAY HILL — On Friday, August 3rd, 2018, the Mental Health Foundation (MHF) presented Shola Scott, a journalism graduate, and Sara Bharwani, a student from Learning Unlimited, with their prizes and Certificates of Appreciation for participating and winning the “Within The Dark” Competition. Mental Health Foundation, the leading secondary health care provider offering psychiatric and psychological mental health services to the inhabitants of St. Maarten and neighboring Islands, believes that good mental health and emotional health enhances the ability to cope with life’s struggles and help improve medical conditions and recovery. Therefore the project, Within the Dark, was created to…
By Hilbert Haar My life as a global nomad began on June 26 when I stepped on a plane in Grand Case headed for Paris. Reality did not kick in immediately: I traveled with my wife Myriam from Paris to Amsterdam with the Thalys, then moved on to Lelystad where my daughters live. Ever since I have left my beloved St. Maarten I have been in the three cities mentioned above, in The Hague, Dordrecht, Namur, Gembloux and Spontin (all in Belgium), Warsaw and Moscow. That’s where I’m at, at the time of this writing and this is where, in…
FRENCH QUARTER/PHILIPSBURG — The St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation has again taken its rice distribution across the border to assist residents of French St. Martin, who are also in need. The foundation donated 500 bags of “Love Rice” to 500 families in French Quarter on Sunday, August 5. Each bag of rice contains 10kg (22 pounds) of rice. It is estimated that the rice will benefit 1,546 family members. The distribution was held in front of the Cultural Center building in French Quarter. A total of 45 volunteers got another opportunity to practice leadership skills, gratitude, respect and love when…
PHILIPSBURG — In continuation of the investigation KES, a Mazda Miata car and a Ducati motorbike were seized by the Asset Recovery Team Sint Maarten with assistance from the Korps Politie Sint Maarten, on Arch Road today, Thursday, August 9, 2018. During the first action of the Asset Recovery Team on Thursday, July 26, 2018, a car was seized and a house was searched on Meadowlands Drive in Cul de Sac. T.M.M. (1989, Sint Maarten) and O.L.M.H. (1984, Sint Maarten) are main suspects in the investigation. They are suspected of among other things money laundering, forgery and tax of evasion.…
