PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance sentenced a 17-year old boy on Wednesday to 40 hours of conditional community service and imposed 1 year of probation. The boy had fooled around with a pellet gun on Poinsettia Road on November 25 of last year; one of the pellets hit one of his friends in his arm. “That’s assault, using a weapon,” the public prosecutor said. But a social worker from the Court of Guardianship described the incident as ‘mischief.’ The boy’s parents were present in court and the boy read a letter he had written to his victim. It…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – The Common Court of Justice sentenced two men on Wednesday on appeal for fencing a large number of items in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Titus Leandro Maynard, 29, was sentenced to 180 days with 28 days suspended; Remi Leon Maynard, 57, was sentenced to a conditional 6-week jail term with 3 years of probation and 180 hours of community service. Between September 5 and September 21, the day the defendants were arrested, they had a large number of items n their possession that obviously stemmed from post-hurricane looting. Police found handbags, curtains, electronics, a laptop, a flatscreen…
Philipsburg — The Sint Maarten Christian Party is scheduled to hold its first Cyber Public Meeting on Thursday, February 22nd, 2018 at 7pm. As far as SMCP knows, this is the first ever public political meeting that will be held in Sint Maarten. What is the difference between a political meeting that is being broadcasted directly via social media and a cyber public meeting? The public meeting that is broadcasted live via social media is actually organized for a live audience. Candidates address the crowd and interact with a visible audience, who cheers the speaker whenever they deem fit. Questions…
GREAT BAY — Member of Parliament, Mr. Franklin Meyers, responded to the findings of the Minister of VROMI, Mr. Miklos Giterson, regarding the lease land on the ring road that was giving out by the previous administration’s Minister of VROMI. MP Meyers stated: “the people that know me well know that I will always fight for my people. For all my years in government, and as a business owner it has always been my highest priority to empower our people. I work with them, I believe in them, I have always promoted them, and I shall always be in support…
Dear Editor, It speaks to our political immaturity when the distribution of state lands takes center stage in the 2018 Parliamentary Election. It was only on the 10th October 2010, with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Maarten became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Most of us already know that the island of Sint Maarten-Saint Martin is the smallest land mass in the world to be shared by two different nations. Only 37 square miles are owned by France and the Dutch Kingdom, with Dutch St. Maarten on the South spanning only 16 square miles…
Philipsburg — The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA) issued a press statement directed to all political parties participating in the upcoming election containing a series of questions in regards to their parties manifestos. The statement reads as follows. As the election approaches, the electorate has not been informed about your intentions with regards to the governance, development and general direction you want to lead our Country in. The SMCP has published a manifesto but that unfortunately only includes statements with respect to how they intend to work, in government or in opposition, if elected. The important questions are…
By Hilbert Haar PHILIPSBURG –There is a distinct possibility that the land former VROMI-Minister Christophe Emmanuel granted in long lease to some of his close associates will be taken back by the government. The actions of the former minister have all the hallmarks of departure policy. The Common Court of Justice ruled already 15 years ago on a similar case – Court-Yard versus the Island Territory of St. Maarten. In a ruling dated March 1, 2002, the court considered as follows. “That shortly before a change of government substantively questionable or insufficiently prepared decisions are taken or promises are made,…
Dear Editor, I never thought I would live to see this day when politics on St. Maarten would reach to such a low and nasty level. Our political history on this island has always been known to be amicable. Persons may disagree about things and throw fake punches at each other. But what is happening in my country today makes tears come to my eyes. A young local son of the soil has become a target in a political campaign that has been nastier than anything I have ever seen before. From the moment that Sarah Wescot-Williams decided to thrust…
Dear Editor, The winds of colonialism still tend to pose a threat to life on some Caribbean territories. Who will stand for them if they will not stand for themselves. In September 2017, Hurricane Irma displaced the imagery of sand, sun and sea synonymous with favourite Caribbean destinations like the French-Dutch territory of St. Maarten, Barbuda, St. Thomas, British Virgin Island and Dominica. Instead, the pictures captured destruction, devastation and death. People would have seen these islands decimated by Irma, the many people who were rescued, the families who were separated from each other, and some who still remain displaced.…
PHILIPSBURG – The article stmaartennews.com published on Monday under the headline ‘How former Minister Emmanuel helped his friends to pieces of land’ contains a reference to the contract the minister granted to the Soualiga Infrastructure Company for repairs to the damaged walkway of the Prince Bernhard Bridge. The line ‘Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr. signed off on the project on November 30’ created the impression that the finance minister was part of the plot. This is however incorrect: the decision to grant the project is the sole responsibility of former VROMI-Minister Christophe Emmanuel. The Accountancy Act gives ministers the…
