PHILIPSBURG – The Supreme Court in The Hague wrote history on Monday with a ruling that establishes that imposing life imprisonment is possible in the Netherlands. Before this ruling, life sentences were routinely thrown out because they violated article 3 of the European Human Rights Treaty. Based on the same argument, the Common Court of Justice threw out the life sentences against Sherwan Roberts and Curley Allison Richards in Philipsburg on September 18, 2012. Instead, the court sentenced the so-called Regatta-killers to the maximum temporary prison sentence of 30 years. With good behavior, the two men will now be released…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – The Grandeur of the Seas arrived at the port in Philipsburg on Sunday morning under what looked like a fortunate omen. As the cruise liner of Royal Caribbean entered the port, it started to rain and shortly after a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky and the Grandeur of the Seas seemed to be at the end of that rainbow. That’s were the fortunate part of the omen ended because later in the morning the island experienced heavy rainfall, making it not all that attractive for cruise passengers to take a walk through the town. The Grandeur of…
Port St. Maarten — Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs Mellissa Arrrindell-Doncher on Sunday welcomed Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) and its ship Grandeur of the Seas back to the shores of St. Maarten calling the occasion a “great early Christmas gift for St. Maarten.” The Minister was joined aboard the ship by almost 100 persons selected as hurricane heroes by her cabinet. The hurricane heroes initiative came from RCCL executives who wanted to make the company’s return to the island a memorable one and an occasion that showed that RCCL stands with St. Maarten by recognizing some of those…
THE HAGUE – The court has to present an interim-verdict in the case against two police officers who were involved in the arrest of Aruban Mitch Henriquez in 2015; Henriquez died a few days after the violent arrest. New independent research by three professors pierces the investigation by the police, Sam Jones reports on Caribisch Netwerk. Gerald Roethof, the attorney for the Henriquez family writes this in a letter to the public prosecutor’s office. With the letter, Roethof reacts to the statements of three professors intensive care medicine on Saturday afternoon in the radio program Argos. The three conclude that…
The Insurance Company of the West Indies (ICWI) Brings Some Christmas Cheer to Children in Need. ~ donates to St. Maarten Vocational Training School for Christmas lunch ~ When ICWI was asked to support the St. Maarten Vocational and Training School host their annual Christmas lunch the insurance company didn’t hesitate. Despite their busy schedule in dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, ICWI Branch Manager Mr. Dwight Cunningham, made time to visit the school and talk with the School Director Mrs. Rita Bourne and some of the teachers. Mrs. Rita Bourne expressed her concerns about the school and explained…
Philipsburg — The Sint Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) and Carib Beer call on companies and NGO’s to send in events they are planning for 2018 for their National Event Calendar. By launching the calendar three months after hurricane Irma, partners seek to promote events to show Sint Maarten again is a vibrant place and recovering from the devastation. This year, special emphasis goes out to NGO’s and small scale community events. In 2016, SHTA launched its 2017 national calendar experiment. Inspiring design by local artist Loic Bryan encouraged showcasing of the poster in many public spaces. Next to a distribution…
Philipsburg — On Tuesday December 12th during a short ceremony at the Prins Willem Alexander School the Community Police Officer (CPO) Arcella Leonard, Shawn Crispulo from KPSM and Elvis Jamanika of the Nationale Dutch Police Force were honoured by the management and staff of the Prins Willem Alexander School for their hard work and dedication during 2017 and especially in the aftermath of hurricane Irma. They were all presented with a gift-certificate as a token of appreciation by the management of the school.
Philipsburg –On Thursday, December 14th the St. Maarten Police Force (KPSM) received the first two of six new vehicles to be added to its fleet.The new vehicles will be assigned to the detectives department as that department’s vehicles suffered severe damage from Hurricane Irma in September and were deemed unfit for driving. In addition to the two new vehicles, KPSM received three more vehicles for the detective department and one bus/van to be used for transportation. With the addition of the new vehicles the Police Force is in a much better position to provide the much needed service and security…
~ Overwhelmed by the support ~ Middle Region – Just two days after garnering 101 votes in a tightly-run Chamber of Commerce elections, Music Producer Bertaux ‘Mr. Rude’ Fleming on Sunday was recognized as a local hero in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. But it was not that award that has touched the ‘Night of the Hit Makers’ producer. He is overwhelmed and appreciative of the support he received in the Chamber of Commerce and the number of people and companies that extended congratulatory messages to him since then. Fleming, who will now spend the next three years on the…
Ladies and Gentlemen, This week no column from me. I doubt that anyone would be interested in reading the serious issues that I bring up, during a festive season. I could have waited another 3-4 days with this, but then everybody get stacks of holiday season wishes that need responses. Therefore, mine are here and now. I wish you the best of holiday cheer and a great time celebrating with friends and relatives. Since I’m alone anyway, I will pack a light suitcase and make a trip to my favorite Caribbean island, St. Tosia. My friend Capt. Nick Boulder will…
