GREAT BAY – The Cooperating Foundations for the Caribbean of the Dutch Kingdom donate an amount of Euro 500,000 for emergency relief to the Red Cross for the by hurricane Irma affected Dutch Caribbean islands St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. The funding organizations watched the devastation that Irma caused with horror. There is no option of sitting back and wait as in these circumstances currently funded Caribbean social initiatives financed by Cooperating Foundations cannot continue and proceed with their current important work. Because the Cooperating Foundations do not have the infrastructure for emergency relief help, they decided to make this amount available…
Author: The Publisher
GREAT BAY — Minister of Economic Affairs Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher on Thursday said inspectors of the Economic Control Department has issued stern warnings to businesses caught price gouging in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Minister also disclosed that business was caught selling items with no prices on the goods and some businesses were refusing to provide receipts. The law dictates that if these practices are found, the business in question would get a stern warning and has to correct the violations on the spot. Repeat offenders will be heavily fined. Supermarkets, tire repair shops, hardware stores and general…
POND ISLAND — In a press statement released yesterday on behalf of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) wherein the President, Alston Lourens, was quoted as saying that the SCDF fully intends to host the 2018 Carnival festival, mention was also made about talk of the Festival Village being used as a place to house displaced persons after hurricane Irma. Lourens was quoted as saying he is concerned about this approach and how it might affect the festival in April 2018. Apparently, the talk is about creating a Emergency Container Village to house homeless persons who are presently without…
GREAT BAY – President of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) Alston Lourens has stated that the foundation fully intends to host Carnival 2018. He recalled that Carnival 1996 is fondly remembered as one of the best ever following Hurricane Luis and the foundation is determined to repeat that feat after hurricane Irma. The board of the foundation has already met to assess the situation and will continue to organize the event in collaboration with its stakeholders. Eight booths in the Carnival Village have been destroyed but the board says it will discuss plans moving forward with the relevant…
Great Bay — Almost anyone or any group of people can remove excess waste that washed up along the shoreline in Philipsburg, but removing a 75-ton pontoon, that washed up on to the boardwalk, requires a special group of persons who are experienced in that particular field. Sometime during the early hours of Wednesday, September 6th, a pontoon, property of Bobby’s Marina miraculously made its way across the Boardwalk. Had it not been for the BVLGARI Jewel Store which was directly in its path, it could have ended up elsewhere with the possibility of causing severe structural damages. (See photo…
SXM Airport — The Spirit Airlines flight NK 8080 landed yesterday at Princess Juliana International SXM Airport as promised. The free relief flight, courtesy of the management of the Florida-based airline company, did two things today. It brought back home a group of St. Maarteners who were stranded in the United States and it took away passengers that were more than eager to capitalize on the free trip out of St. Maarten. While it remains unclear what the exact seating capacity was, from the number of persons that were seen at the entrance of the available point of entry at…
PHILIPSBURG — Minister responsible for Aviation Affairs Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher has re-iterated that no official date has been announced by government for the resumption of commercial flights into St. Maarten. The Minister stressed that travelers need to be careful with any information unless it comes from the official source, in other words, the government of St. Maarten. She said there is some confusion being created by, among other things, airlines announcing dates that they hope to resume service to the island. In some cases, airlines are allowing people to book tickets although the green light has not been given by government…
Point Blanche – Seven Seas Water quickly resumed its regular production of water for St. Maarten after the passing of Category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria. The company suffered minimal damages to its water production plants in Point Blanche, Cay Bay and Cupecoy through a combination of sound facilities construction and comprehensive storm preparation based on many years of successful operation in the Caribbean. Seven Seas Water is proud to report that it is meeting the water production requirements for its client. No damage to company production plants after hurricane Seven Seas Water has a proven track record of reliably…
St. Peter’s Hill — “To be honest, I wasn’t ready for Irma or even ready for what happened after it.” says 19-year old Linda Gibson, a former student of St. Maarten Academy who graduated this year, in an interview with TODAY reporter, Julie Alcin. St. Maarten Academy graduate recounts her personal experiences during Hurricane Irma “Even before it came, I was panicking. I wanted to go to a safer place, because I didn’t know if my house was safe – it’s made out of concrete but it’s old. And as the day came closer, my panic got worse. I couldn’t…
PHILIPSBURG – On Tuesday September 26th, Ludovic Poitou, Commander of the Thunder, PCB (Projection Building and Command) navy ship of the French Navy, currently based in St. Martin waters, invited dignitaries of Dutch Sint Maarten namely, Governor Eugène Holiday, Prime Minister William Marlin and Minister of Justice Rafaël Boasman. Joining them from the French side were Prefet Anne Laubies and 2nd Vice President of the community, Yawo Nyuiadzi, for a tour of the vessel, that has deployed human and technical resources on Fremch St. Martin since September 23rd . Based in Toulon, Thunder is a versatile warship of 199 m,…
