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Up Mp Lake Says Government Not Getting Away From Its Responsibility On Public Schools

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – United People's (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake said on Thursday that Government is not getting away from its responsibility by getting the private sector more involved in the maintenance of public schools.

MP Lake pointed out that some people in the community are interpreting the "Adopt-A-School" plan in the "Ready to Work for You" 2014-2015 Governing Programme of the UP-led coalition the wrong way.

"It's nothing new Read more

Civil Servants Attend Advanced Database Management Training. St. Maarteninfo Updated To 199 Human Development Indicators

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Several civil servants from the Government of Sint Maarten recently attended advanced database management training in New York, USA related to the National Database St. MaartenInfo.

The database has also been updated and now will be able to process 199 indicators pertaining to Human Development from 10 different sources and over 2000 data values.

The aforementioned is essential for country Sint Maarten to have information at its finger tips when it comes to reporting to regional and international institutions about Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are all related to national human development targets.

Makini Hickinson, Terrance Babtiste, both from the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications, Department of Statistics; and Andrea Ortega-Oudhoff, Ministry of General Affairs, Department of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BAK), were the three civil servants that attended the management lab training.

The training was carried out by Gary Goldman from Community Systems Foundations (CSF) at their offices in New York City Read more

Minister Of Tourism Connor Says Shooting Of Police A Wakeup Call. Prayers Are With Officer Benjamin, Family And Colleagues For His Recovery

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunications Hon. Claret Connor, says the shooting of a Police Officer in the line of duty is a wakeup call for the Sint Maarten community at large with respect to the scourge of crime plaguing the country.

"My prayers are with Officer Benjamin, his family and with the men and women who serve our country as law enforcement officials from all branches of the justice system Read more

Julius Garvey Speaks At Tribute To His Father

St. Maarten – The Freedom Fighters Foundation welcomes Julius Garvey, son of Marcus Garvey as one if its prominent guests on August 16 at its 16th annual tribute to Marcus Garvey. The Jamaican attorney Michael Lorne and French-side historian Daniela Jeffrey are also part of the lineup.

Marcus Garvey is considered the pioneer of Black Nationalism. He founded the United Negro Improvement Association (Unia) in 1914 Read more

Usp Board Member Fernando Clark About Transparency International Report: “Waste Of Time And A Big Waste Of Money”

St. Maarten –“Imagine your house gets robbed and you hire somebody to investigate it and after the investigation, the investigators tell you, you were robbed.”  Thus Fernando Clark, a board member of the United St. Maarten Party (USp) reacted to the Transparency International Integrity System Assessment for St. Maarten the organization presented on July 28.

Clark says the company came on the island and did an investigation and the report did confirm that there is corruption in St Read more

Pm Gumbs: “Your Island Needs You” Tearful Goodbyes To 27 Students At The Airport

St. Maarten -The ceremony to mark the departure of 27 students who left St Maarten yesterday to further their studies in the Netherlands is a timely reminder of what must be done to encourage them to come back and take up responsible positions in the public and private sector.

For the fourth straight year, it was a time for parents, guardians, siblings and close friends bid Bon Voyage, something that is not easy to do under the circumstances. It was a time for emotions that were in some cases uncontrollable Read more

National Alliance Prays For Officer's Recovery And Peace For Sxm

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The National Alliance family joins St. Maarten in praying for the full recovery of Officer Benjamin who was gunned down in the line of duty yesterday.

Officer Benjamin is an example of a good public servant and protector and we wish his family and colleagues much strength and faith in helping him to pull through this ordeal.

While we recognize that this type of violence is something that happens everyday in some part of the world, it came as a deep shock to the entire community in the vicious way that it occurred.

We pray for Peace for people of this 37 square mile island, St Read more

Tamara: Increase Chamber fee to fund surveillance camera system

PHILIPSBURG--Partial funding for the long-overdue camera surveillance system starting in Philipsburg and branching out to the rest of the country can be raised easily through a nominal fee increase for all St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) registrants, United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Tamara Leonard proposed in a letter to Parliament dated July 28 in light of the daring daylight robberies in Philipsburg.

   The letter, directed to Chairman of Parliament’s Justice Committee MP Johan Leonard, said Tamara envisioned a collaboration of the Chamber of Commerce, police, St Read more

Jamaica expanding cassava industry with Colombian help

KINGSTON, Jamaica--Government is moving to expand the cassava industry through partnerships with the private sector and the University of the West Indies, with support from the Colombian government.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller said the partnership between government and the manufacturer of Jamaican beer Red Stripe, which is using the tuber as part of its brewing process, has shown that the industry can grow.

Her administration is now eyeing other possibilities.

“As this new industry develops, I look forward to the opening, soon, of a new cassava processing plant in Elim, St Read more

Notices August 6

School Uniforms and Books

Sundial School makes known that parents/guardians can pass by Caribbean Embroidery and Screen Printing (542-7362) on the Cannegieter Street to have their child(ren) fitted for uniforms and place orders for the 2015/2016 school year. School books for the upcoming school year 2015/2016 can be picked up on August 10 and 11(1 and 2 Forms) and August 12 and 13 (3rd&4th Forms).

MAC Store

Methodist Agogic Resource Centre is open daily from 9:00am to 4:00pm Read more

Officer critical after being shot in neck responding to robbery

~ One robber shot, caught; other on the run ~

By Judy H. Fitzpatrick

PHILIPSBURG--Bike patrol Police Officer Gamali “Benji” Benjamin was shot in the neck and reportedly also the head while responding to an armed robbery at Oro Diamante on Front Street around 1:00pm Wednesday.

Benjamin was in critical condition and clinging to life at SMMC up to late last night andreports indicated that efforts were being made to fly him abroad for further medical attention.

One robber was shot and captured and a second is on the run Read more

Laws Commission gives green light to reform RSA

~ Collectivité owes CAF 1.3M euros per month for RSA benefit ~

MARIGOT--The Laws Commission verbally approved reform of the social benefit Revenu Solidarité Active (RSA) presented by the Overseas Ministry for St. Martin in the National Assembly on July 17 and written confirmation should be received from Parliament in due course, Second Vice-President Ramona Connor said Wednesday.

With President François Hollande endorsing its reform during his official visit here in May, the Collectivité is already proceeding with adapting RSA to the fiscal revenues of the Collectivité and modifying the criteria to apply for it.

As it stands, RSA is based on fiscal law and revenues of France but the Collectivité argues it cannot realistically apply figures used in France for St Read more

style="text-align: center;">Bullets remains in Officer Benjamin brain, he is currently in a comatose state at SMMC.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Members of Parliament ran for their lives on Wednesday when a bicycle patrol identified as officer Gamali Benjamin was shot in the vicinity of the Parliament Building in Philipsburg on Wednesday morning. Bystanders said some MP's tried to find cover as they beleive that the gunmen were coming after Members of Parliament. MP Sarah Wescot Williams, MP Theodore Heyliger, MP Franklin Meyers and MP Lloyd Richardson ran for cover in one of the private rooms of parliament SMN News was told Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on Wednesday said the nation was shocked with the callous act carried out by an individual resulting in law enforcement Officer G. Benjamin being shot while performing his duty to protect and serve the people of Sint Maarten.
On behalf of the Council of Ministers, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Officer G Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:----  Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, and Transport & Telecommunications Hon. Claret Connor, recently attended the 31st Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition (CANTO 2015) of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication (CANTO) in Miami, Florida.
The conference and exhibition was held under the theme “Improving Lives through Broadband Innovation.”
The key note speaker, the Hon Read more

President Of Parliament Condemns Attack On Law Enforcement Official. Mps Prayers With Officer And Family

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson on Wednesday condemned the attack on a Police Officer while he was carrying out his duty to the community.

The police officer was shot and seriously wounded as he and a colleague were responding to a call of an armed robbery at a jewellery store on Front Street Read more

Mp Franklin Meyers: Fighting Crime A Priority, But Financing A Hurdle

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Police Officer Gamali Benjamin is a credit to the St. Maarten Police Force and deserves commendation for his bravery in facing the robbers on Front Street on Wednesday afternoon, says United People's (UP) party Deputy Leader Member of Parliament Franklin Meyers.

He wished the young officer speedy recovery and strength and sent words of comfort to the officer's family, colleagues in the Police Force and his friends.

~Wishes Police Officer Benjamin speedy recovery~

"The shooting of the young, brave police officer is, to say the very least, heart wrenching Read more

Minister Of Telecommunications Connor Attends 31St Canto 2015 About Improving Lives Through Broadband Innovation

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, and Transport & Telecommunications Hon. Claret Connor, recently attended the 31st Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition (CANTO 2015) of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication (CANTO) in Miami, Florida.

The conference and exhibition was held under the theme "Improving Lives through Broadband Innovation."

The key note speaker, the Hon Read more

Les Fruits De Mer Share Media Expertise At 20Th International Meeting Of Birdscaribbean In Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Every two years, bird educators, scientists and conservationists from throughout the Caribbean and beyond gather for BirdsCaribbean's International Meeting.

At this year's meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, over 200 international delegates from 33 countries/islands gathered to share the latest in Caribbean bird science, conservation and education. Representing St. Martin, Les Fruits de Mer co-founder Mark Yokoyama facilitated two media-related workshops during the meeting and released a free ebook, Look Sharp! Promote Your Organization with Great Photography.

Birds—Connecting Communities and Conservation was the theme for the meeting, and the event photography workshop presented by Mark Yokoyama focused on forging that emotional connection through the power of great images Read more

Hype School Agenda Released Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Hype agenda is now out, just in time for the start of the new school year.

On Wednesday morning the locally produced agenda was presented to the Governor of St. Maarten his Excellency Eugene B. Holiday and the Minister of Education the Honorable Rita Bourn-Gumbs and well as corporate sponsors of the agenda such as WIB, Telem, NAPA, RBC Bank and others Read more

Parliament Meet On Health Care Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Central Committee of Parliament met in public session on Wednesday.

Members of Parliament received a presentation on the National Ordinance on Public Health Care.

The presentation was made by a team from the department of Health headed by Drs. Fenna Arnell.

However members of Parliament had several questions as well as expressed areas of concern within health care. MP the Honorable Leona Romeo-Marlin was particularly concerned about the spread of infectious diseases.

DP leader the honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams in her remarks spoke about the complexities of the ordinance and its importance.

She also noted that the execution and monitoring of the legislation has been placed on a lower level in some cases, even below the legislation itself.

MP the Honorable Janchie Leonard also had various questions particularly in the area of control and enforcement.

As a former Police Officer the MP stated that this forms an integral part of the overall execution of the ordinance Read more

Police arrest armed restaurant robbers

COLE BAY--Police on Monday arrested three men who had just committed an armed robbery at a restaurant on Wellington Road in Cole Bay minutes earlier.

The men were detained around 5:00pm on August 3. Acting Police spokesperson Steven Carty said two masked men brandishing firearms had robbed the restaurant. The men stormed into the establishment, grabbed money from the cash register and ran outside where a vehicle had been waiting.

The description of the vehicle and its plate number were given to the police central dispatch and the culprits were spotted and stopped on Union Road where they were arrested Read more

Elshot says education issues are not addressed in governing programme

PHILIPSBURG--The recently submitted governing programme failed to address some critical issues in the country's education system, according to Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) President Claire Elshot.

She said on Tuesday that the governing programme "is lacking" when it comes to addressing issues in education. She said "a lot" had not been "dealt with" in the programme, particularly with regard to personnel.

"What they outlined was with regard to the infrastructure and buildings, but nothing with regard to the care of the students and teachers," Elshot said.

She said the union and its members were concerned about the constant "deterioration" and "weakening" of educators' health care package, whereby medication was being substituted with generic ones.

The union is also concerned about the elimination of the early retirement or VUT package for retirement and authorities' failure to increase teachers' vacation allowance equal to the amount paid in other parts of the Dutch Kingdom Read more

Notices August 5

Wednesday, August 5

HEART LECTURE

Organised by JCI St. Maarten and the Methodist church

Place: Methodist church Front-street

Time: 7:30pm

Lecturer: Cardiologist Mrs Emiko Bird –Lake.

NOTICES

Writing Session

Samenwerkende Fondsen (Cooperating Foundations) invites interested persons to a project writing session, Friday, August 7 at Philipsburg Jubilee Library, from 3:00 – 5:00pm. For more information on see the website of the Samenwerkende Fondsen or call your local project advisor 586-0808).

Female Soccer Team

FC Soualiga is looking for ladies to join their female soccer team Read more