Progress Committee discussed risk for public safety with Theo Heyliger PHILIPSBURG – “If action is not taken soon, the prison situation can turn into a serious risk for the public safety.” Chairman of the Progress Committee Sint Maarten Nico Schoof said to formateur Theo Heyliger in a meeting on Wednesday, April 25th, 2018. “The alarming situation at the prison calls for immediate action, not only on Sint Maarten but also in The Hague as well.” The Progress Committee is presently in engaged talks with the various stakeholders in the justice chain as a part of its quarterly monitoring of the…
Author: The Publisher
Great Bay — His style was unmatched, his lyrics tantalizing and he had the charismatic personality that made the crowd go wild with excitement every time he appeared on stage. Those were just some of the attributes that resulted in King Vers winning the Power category when the curtains went down on the 2018 Soca Rumble competition on the night of Tuesday, April 24, 2018, in the Festival Village. King Vers, real name Darin Hodge, is known for his catchy song titles like Yap Yap, Head Gone, Pressure, Get On Bad and Powder & Watta are all very popular hits…
PHILIPSBURG – The sentencing hearing of tattoo artist Rikinaldo Francisco Murray did not go according to plan on Wednesday afternoon because the 46-year old defendant lost it when he realized that he was also going to be sentenced on appeal by the Common Court of Justice. Murray kept interrupting the judge while she was reading the verdict. When he got up from his chair, guards entered the courtroom and took him back to the holding cell at the courthouse where he continued arguing even until after the guard locked the door on him. The appeals court upheld the verdict of…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance acquitted 24-year old Joel L. on Wednesday morning of stealing and fencing a car, in spite of the fact that the defendant failed to explain many details. The prosecutor demanded 26 days of imprisonment – the time the defendant spent in pretrial custody – and 100 hours of community service for fencing. On December 15 of last year, a man whose car was stolen two weeks earlier, spotted his vehicle driving in Dutch Quarter. He alerted the police and shortly afterwards, officers stopped the car and arrested the driver. Joel L. told the…
PHILIPSBURG – The Council of Ministers has approved the draft ordinance study financing. “It is the first legislation the ministry has produced since 10-10-10,” Minister Jorien Wuite (Education) said at Wednesdays’ Council of Ministers press briefing. Currently, the ministry is still working with the island ordinance and the study financing implementation decision. “It is completely outdated and reflects discrepancies in our policies,” the minister said. The draft ordinance covers all aspects of applying for, receiving and paying back study loans. “The overall goal is to regulate execution practices but the main objective has always been to afford young talented St.…
PHILIPSBURG – The Council of Ministers approved the advices for school repairs on Tuesday. Minister Jorien Wuite (Education) said on Wednesday that funds can now be made available for repairs to four schools. The Foundation secondary Education (SVOBE) gets $233,000; the Seventh Day Adventist School $288,000; the Catholic School Board $400,000 (for St. Dominic and the Sr. Marie Laurence School). The money is earmarked for emergency repairs to ensure proper preparation for the hurricane season, Wuite said. The focus will be on repairing doors, windows and roofs. A final report from the schools is expected in three months, following the…
PHILIPSBURG – Efforts are underway to officially install the St. Maarten national commission for Unesco, Minister Jorien Wuite (Education, Culture, Youth and Sport) said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. Names have been submitted to the Governor at the suggestion of Unesco-St. Maarten Secretary-General Marcellia Henry. The commission will consists of the minister, her secretary-general, the head of the Foreign Relations department plus experts in the fields of education and natural and social sciences, media and communication. There will also be youth representatives. The members are appointed for three years. “Once the commission is made official the first meeting…
PHILIPSBURG – A research team from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden is in St. Maarten to conduct a study into the island’s mosquito-population. “The objective is to identify the number of various mosquito-species,” Minister Emil Lee (Public Health) sad during Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. Specific diseases are carried by specific species, the minister said. “Understanding which mosquitoes are on the island gives us a better idea in terms of the diseases the population is at risk for.” Minister Lee met with the Naturalis-team – consisting of students and supervisors. “That was also an opportunity to talk about…
PHILIPSBURG – “The difficulties in getting a simple memorandum of understanding executed about cooperation between the hospitals on the Dutch and the French side of the island “highlights some of the challenges of cooperation between the two countries,” Minister Emil Lee (Public Health) said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. The minister met with representatives of the ARS – Agence Régional de Santé – and its regional director for St. Barths, Saint Martin and Guadeloupe Valérie Denux to discuss the agreement. “It was a positive meeting with an assurance from the new director to take the results of our…
PHILIPSBURG – The draft budget 2018 contains an intriguing statement about the Pointe Blanche prison in the sense that it speaks of the “renovation and expansion” of the facility, while the Council of Ministers earlier announced that it had opted for the construction of a new prison. Minister Cornelius de Weever (Justice) offered some clarification at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. “The Council of Ministers has in principle agreed,” he said. “We need a new prison, but that project takes its own trajectory. In the meantime, what are we going to do? Are we going to spend more than…
