SXMElections.com

Temporary Replacement Of Cpo

Due to the temporary appointment by the Honorable Minister of Justice Rafael A. Boasman of CPO Steven Carty who is assisting the management team of the Pointe Blanch Prison to restore order and  improve the situation at the prison, left the Philipsburg, Guana Bay, Hope Estate and Point Blanch areas temporarily without a Community Police Officer.

The police management team has therefore appointed CPO, Inspector Rensley V Read more

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Boasman’S ‘Lizzy Lizard’ Most Checked-Out At Library

PHILIPSBURG – “Exciting reading happens in March and February for International Women’s Day and Black History Month. Early in the year I’m also very curious about the performance of books published in St. Maarten,” by House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP), said Jacqueline Sample, president of HNP.

Libraries, book distributors, and bookstores may provide some objective information about the performance of books. Philipsburg Jubilee Library (PJL) has a list of HNP books checked out by library customers from 2014 to 2016.

“Lizzy Lizard was checked out the most among the 12 HNP titles that were borrowed a number of times from PJL in 2016,” said Sample.

Lizzy Lizard by Robin Boasman was taken out 20 times in 2016, outperforming other HNP books by at least 10 points Read more

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Consistency Rewarded At Annual Culture Time Awards 2016

PHILIPSBURG – Winners at the Annual Culture Time (ACT) Awards 2016 were rewarded for their consistency in their various fields, said producer and host of the island’s longest-running cultural program. Hosts Fabian Badejo and Dr. Rhoda Arrindell announced the 2016 winners in 18 categories on Sunday, March 5, during the hour-long program, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

“Culture Time Person of the Year 2016 is Shuja Reiph of Conscious Lyrics Foundation for his boundless energy and consistent activism in organizing Read more

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Mlk Jr School Joins Sxm Doet

DUTCH QUARTER – The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Primary School (MLK) will be part of the upcoming SXM Doet project, which will take place on March 10 and 11. The project titled, “Beautification of Dr. MLK School” will involve the repainting of the entire school campus on March 11 from 7:00am.

This special volunteer initiative is being coordinated by Educational Assistant Alisha Brookes and School Management.

“I am looking forward to the approaching SXM Doet especially since this is the first year our school will be participating,” remarked School Manager of the Dr Read more

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Vnp Donates To Women’S Day Fundraising Event

PHILIPSBURG – President of Peridot Foundation Gracita Arrindell stated: “We are pleased to have recently received a donation from the Representative of the Netherlands in Philipsburg, (VNP) Mr. Chris Johnson, towards the fundraising International Women’s Day celebration organized by Peridot Foundation. The event will be held on Friday, March 10, upcoming from 8:00 to 10:00pm at the Sonesta Maho Pavilion.”

The VNP office, over the years has been actively supportive towards informative domestic violence awareness campaigns as well as International Women’s Day commemorative events.  Such an example is the support towards the launch in 2003, of the statue-symbol located at the Church hill roundabout by then VNP representative H Read more

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Police Using Whatsapp To Tackle Sexual Exploitation Of Children

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is using WhatsApp to tackle the sexual exploitation of children via social media.

Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on February 27, Head of the Corporate Communications Unit of the JCF, Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, said the WhatsApp group was created to encourage citizens to send all sexual videos and images of children directly to the police, in order to prevent undesirable sharing.

“Once the content is sent to the police, we will use our electronic devices to track the source and the persons who share the information and make our arrests Read more

Civil Servants Of The Secretariat Of Parliament Take Oath Or Pledge Of Office

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – On Friday, March 3, 2017 the civil servants of the secretariat of Parliament took an oath or pledge of office before the President of Parliament, MP Sarah Wescot Williams, during Parliament’s first ever oath and pledge ceremony for its staff members. Also in attendance for this occasion were Vice President MP drs Read more

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GREAT BAY:---“Exciting reading happens in March and February for International Women’s Day and Black History Month. Early in the year I’m also very curious about the performance of books published in St. Martin” by House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP), said Jacqueline Sample, president of HNP.
Libraries, book distributors, and bookstores may provide some objective information about the performance of books. Philipsburg Jubilee Library (PJL) has a list of HNP books checked out by library customers from 2014 to 2016 Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Due to the temporary appointment by the Honorable Minister of Justice Rafael A. Boasman of CPO Steven Carty who is assisting the management team of the Pointe Blanch Prison to restore order and improve the situation at the prison, left the Philipsburg, Guana Bay, Hope Estate and Point Blanch areas temporarily without a Community Police Officer.
The police management team has therefore appointed CPO, Inspector Rensley V Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:---- On Friday, March 3, 2017, the civil servants of the secretariat of Parliament took an oath or pledge of office before the President of Parliament, MP Sarah Wescot Williams, during Parliament’s first ever oath and pledge ceremony for its staff members. Also in attendance for this occasion were Vice President MP drs Read more

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GREAT BAY:---- Winners at the Annual Culture Time (ACT) Awards, 2016 were rewarded for their consistency in their various fields, said producer and host of the island’s longest-running cultural program. Hosts, Fabian Badejo and Rhoda Arrindell announced the 2016 winners in 18 categories on Sunday, March 5, 2017, during the hour-long program which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
“Culture Time Person of the Year 2016 is Shuja Reiph of Conscious Lyrics Foundation for his boundless energy and consistent activism in organizing, on a regular basis, for more than 25 years, activities that have contributed to raising cultural awareness on St Read more

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Jamaican Reggae Artiste Edi Fitzroy Is Dead

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaican reggae singer, Edi Fitzroy, who made an impact on the industry with the hit Princess Black, died in hospital on Saturday. He was 62.

The artiste, whose real name is Fitzroy Edwards, was born in the community of Chapleton, in the central parish of Clarendon.

The son of a sound system operator, he later left for Kingston where he studied accountin Read more

Attorney Found Guilty Of Professional Misconduct – Disbarred

KINGSTON, Jamaica  –  A well-known attorney, who is also a senior member of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Harold Brady, has been disbarred from practicing in the country.

The decision that was made on Saturday by the disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council (GLC), resulted in Brady being struck from the list of licensed legal practitioners in Jamaica.

Brady was disbarred after he was found guilty of professional misconduct last week in relation to allegations that he misappropriated funds belonging to his client – the state-owned entity – the Factories Corporation of Jamaica.

Brady, who represented himself at the hearing, has strongly denied the allegations.

Brady was ordered to pay restitution to the complainants in a sum exceeding J$110 million.

He is among several attorneys now under investigation by the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council Read more

Caribbean Awaits Trump Moves On Climate Funding, Paris Deal

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Caribbean leaders worry that with climate change sceptic Donald Trump in the White House, it will be more difficult for small island developing states facing the brunt of climate change to secure the financing necessary to adapt to and mitigate against it.

Mere days after Trump’s inauguration, the White House ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to delete a page about climate change from its website Read more

Theo Seeks Meeting With Integrity Quartermaster

PHILIPSBURG--United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Theo Heyliger wants to meet with the Dutch Government-appointed quartermaster for the integrity chamber. He has submitted his request via the Office of the Dutch Representative in Philipsburg for a sit down with the quartermaster the next time he is in St Read more

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Parliament Meets Today On 3 Draft Ordinances

PHILIPSBURG--Three draft national ordinances will be before Parliament today, Monday, in a public session starting at 3:30pm. Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister William Marlin will table the ordinances.

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Library Board Seeks Termination Of Monique Alberts

~ In the meantime, she is suspended as Library Director ~

PHILIPSBURG – Last week the news broke in the media that the board of the library had suspended Monique Alberts as Director of the Library. She has held that position for over 7 years.

Alberts has been employed by the Philipsburg Jubilee Library (PJL) since August 2006, and has held the position of Director of PJL since February 2008.

According to information reaching 721news, in a meeting that took place on January 4, 2017 between Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Silveria Jacobs, the PJL Board, Alberts and several civil servants, Minister Jacobs implored those members of the Board who had exceeded their maximum tenure of eight years (Clayton Holiday and Udo Aron, among them) – as stipulated in PJL’s bylaws – to step down and start recruiting new board members.

According to reliable information obtained by 721news newsroom, in that same meeting on January 4, Minister Jacobs addressed the persons, who were representing board members, and informed them that they were illegally executing orders Read more

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Voting Papers Arrive Late Abroad, On Time On Islands

THE HAGUE--The late or non-arrival of voting papers of Dutch voters abroad has raised concerns. Democratic Party D66 candidate Eelco Keij is taking action and D66 Member of the Second Chamber Sjoerd Sjoerdsma is seeking clarity from the Dutch Government. The voting papers arrived timely in the Dutch Caribbean.

721News General Notification

Due to the moving from the previous company to the new company server, which is handling our website at this moment, we have encountered some minor technical issues resulting in some of our readers being unable to access our website via a mobile device (phone or tablet). Accessing via laptop and PC was never an issue. This minor problem has now been resolved.

The decision for us to move to a different company was to get better service, and most importantly to secure our website against hackers, who do not have anything to do than to attack people’s websites on a daily basis Read more

Aline Hanson Extends Condolences

SAINT MARTIN — I was very sorry to learn of the death of Mr. Boniface Hodge, whom we all knew as Titan. Originally from Grand Case, he was much appreciated for his kindness, generosity and availability.

Titan had worked in the neighborhood council No. 2, where he had given his time and where he had invested himself for the good of the community. He liked to get involved in the life of the city. He had also worked in neighborhood associations, always eager to make his contribution to the territory.

Titan left too early Read more

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Condoléances

« J’ai été très peinée d’apprendre le décès de monsieur Boniface HODGE, que nous connaissions tous sous le nom de Titan. Originaire de Grand Case, il était très apprécié pour sa gentillesse, sa générosité et sa disponibilité.

Titan avait œuvré au sein du Conseil de quartier n°2, où il avait donné de son temps et où il s’était investi pour le bien de la communauté. Il aimait s’impliquer dans la vie de la cité, il avait aussi œuvré dans des associations de quartier, toujours désireux d’apporter sa contribution au territoire Read more

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Exclusive:--- Minister Of Vromi Requested The Resignation Of Smhdf Board Members.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of VROMI Christopher Emmanuel dispatched a letter to the board St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHD) requesting that the three government-appointed board to members tender their resignation. The names of the government appointees are Anthony Brown, Jason Peterson, and Roxanne Howell.
SMN News learned that several residents living in the Belvedere homes have filed complaints to SMHDF that their homes are filled with mold, there are leakage and other damages to the homes and SMHDF has refused to do anything about the dilapidated homes Read more

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Board Members outlived their time-span.

PHILIPSBURG: --- The outlived board members of the Philipsburg Jubilee Library chose to suspend the Director of the Library as of February 1st, 2017 after the board members were advised by the Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs to go home and that new members be appointed to the board.
According to information SMN News obtained the Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs called a meeting with the board members, the director and some civil servants during the month of January since government subsidizes the Philipsburg Jubilee Library and it was in that meeting she learned that the board members have been sitting for 10 years instead of 8 Read more

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Minister Jacobs: Not Just A Marketing Issue, Not Just A Culture Issue, It’S A St. Maarten Issue

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Silveria Jacobs in Wednesday’s, March 1, Council of Ministers Press Briefing, updated on issues within Division of Public Education.

After having received a list of grievances last year 2016, from the various public schools, meetings were held with both management and teachers, and those grievances were brought forward to the ministry, Minister Jacobs informed.

Areas of complaint covered, lack of a discipline policy; serious issues with discipline within schools; children with learning disabilities; adherents to the school curriculum; lack of parental involvement; day to day maintenance of school premises, among others.

The Department of Education, Department of Youth Affairs, Head of the Division Inspection and Exams Head of the Division Public Education, and the Secretary General hosted a meeting where these concerns were brought forward and brainstorming and action planning took place on how to facilitate solving some of these grievances.

“The plans are currently underway, some of them in the beginning phases, others as they are long-term still need to begin Read more

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