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Pond Island:---  The TelEm Group Hurricane Committee and TelEm Group managers met Monday morning to finalize ongoing hurricane preparedness plans and also to provide information for personnel.
A decision has been taken to close all TelEm Group offices and locations as of 5:00 pm Monday, September 4th, 2017, and all day Tuesday, to allow personnel to make final preparations and to be in their homes for the passing of Hurricane Irma. Personnel was further advised to monitor the government radio station (107.9 FM), all radio stations and social media for further instructions on return to the workplace.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr Read more

Prime Minister Marlin Calls On Nation To Take Hurricane Irma Serious And To Prepare

SINT MAARTEN — (DCOMM) Prime Minister William Marlin as Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), had his second meeting with the EOC where he was briefed about national preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irma.

The country is now under a Hurricane Watch issued by the Meteorological Department of Sint Maarten (MDS).  Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate on Tuesdayevening, and residents and the business community are advised to complete preparations by Tuesday afternoon.

Hurricane Irma on Sunday afternoon was located over 700 miles from the Leeward Islands.  It is a major Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 115 miles per hour.

The Prime Minister would like to remind the Sint Maarten community that they should complete their Hurricane Emergency Preparedness plans; check the hurricane shutters/roof on your homes and businesses, and take stock of what needs to be done when the call is made to shutter the aforementioned.

Stay off the road network in order to allow clean-up crews from the Ministry of VROMI, contractors and emergency services to carry out their work unhindered.

Government Status:

Government offices will operate as normal on Monday.

School Closure Status:

Schools will be open on Monday.

Business Closure Status:

Businesses will operate as normal on Monday.

The EOC will meet on Monday to decide status of schools, businesses and government offices with respect to Tuesday.

Hurricane Shelters:

Shelters should only be used as a last resort as they will only open after a hurricane has passed, and will be open for only 48-hours Read more

Schools open on Monday EOC to decide on the statuses of School, Government Offices and Business with respect to Tuesday.

PHILIPSBURG(DCOMM):--- Prime Minister William Marlin as Chairman of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), had his second meeting with the EOC where he was briefed about national preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irma.

The country is now under a Hurricane Watch issued by the Meteorological Department of Sint Maarten (MDS) Read more

‘Dangerous’ Saint Lucian Fugitive Recaptured

GUADELOUPE - A ‘dangerous’ Saint Lucian fugitive, Henry Regan, has been recaptured in Guadeloupe, local media reports have said.

Reagan, who was serving a life sentence for murder at the Baie-Mahaut prison in Guadeloupe, was recaptured by law enforcement officers on Tuesday after escaping in July this year.

Vincentian prisoner, Peters Orvel, who escaped along with Reagan Read more

Exclusive: An Assessment On Healthcare On St. Maarten.

SZV funds being drained; Bricks and Blocks will not improve the Quality of Care on St. Maarten.

PHILIPSBURG:--- In this article SMN News will go into details to highlight the current status on quality of Healthcare on St. Maarten and what the Minister of Public Health Emil Lee has done thus far to change the gloom and doom facing the people of St Read more

El Pm William Marlin Llamó A La Población A Tomar Precauciones Ante El Posible Paso Del Huracán Irma Cerca De St. Maarten

FOTO Primer Ministro William Marlin

PHILIPSBURG.- El Primer Ministro William Marlin, se dirigió pidió hoy a la población a través de la radio y las redes sociales, a que tomen las previsiones pertinentes, ante la posibilidad del paso del huracán Irma a poca distancia de St Read more

Prime Minister/Minister Of General Affairs Hon. William Marlin

Thursday, August 31 – Ref. Hurricane Irma

Good Afternoon Radio Listeners as well as those tuned in via the Internet,

I would like to address the matter related to Hurricane Irma.  Irma is located several hundred miles away from the Caribbean.  At this point in time it does not pose a threat to Sint Maarten.

The Meteorological Department of Sint Maarten, as well as the Fire Department’s Office of Disaster Management, are closely monitoring the progress of this system and will issue the necessary advisories when those are required.

In the meantime, I call on residents to review their Hurricane Emergency Preparedness Plans; check hurricane shutters and roofing to make sure these are all okay in the event an advisory is issued to take action.

The relevant Government agencies will continue to monitor the progress of Hurricane Irma and the public are also advised to do the same.

Prime Minister of Sint Maarten Hon Read more

St. Maarten National Basketball Association Season Opens In September

~ Because of the weather basketball season will start on the 12 of September ~

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The 2017/2018 basketball season officially kicks off on September 12th, 2017 and the St. Maarten National Basketball Association plans on streaming many of the games live, and is encouraging the community to visit them on the worldwide web at www.sxmnba.com.  Games will be played over a six month period on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays mainly.

721 News spoke with Alex Ferdinand, President of the St Read more

Mid Isle Inducts Two New Members

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — At their recent fellowship at the Blue Bitch Bar, The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle inducted two new members into their Rotary Family.

Rotarian Louis Wever sponsored Richard Panneflek for membership into Mid Isle. Richard is a Government officer with the Government of St. Maarten. Richard has lived on St Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament George Pantophlet says that he must applaud the Minister of Finance Richard Gibson and his cabinet for making it possible to have consecutive balanced budgets for 3 years, no small feat and also presenting it on time to Governor drs Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- At their recent fellowship at the Blue Bitch Bar, The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle inducted two new members into their Rotary Family.
Rotarian Louis Wever sponsored Richard Panneflek for membership into Mid Isle. Richard is a Government officer with the Government of St. Maarten. Richard has lived on St. Maarten for over 30 years, he has been a civil servant for 30 years with the Justice Ministry, most of which has been spend in law enforcement Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Members of the U 2 Can Move Fitness group braved the rain and came out in support of the Belvedere Zumbathon last Saturday.
U 2 Can Move membership continues its physical awareness drive to encourage movement, especially for the groups that otherwise would lead a sedentary lifestyle.
Our message is quite simple. Movement is an indispensable part of a healthy lifestyle. It is a necessary part of life, period. Too often we associate physical movement with strenuous exercise or an imposing gym Read more

It is important to evaluate our representatives in Parliament on an annual basis and not wait until election time. Therefore, SMCP is developing a parliamentary report card that will indicate how well or how poorly our MPs are doing in the following six areas: attendance, participation, representation, supervision, legislation, and interaction. In the first letter to the editor on this topic, we covered the reason for and the nature of the report card and presented an extensive description of the first benchmark attendance Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr. announced on Wednesday that St. Maarten has made history by being able to submit a balanced budget that got positive comments from the CFT on time. Gibson Sr. said article 100 of the country’s constitution clearly states that the country must submit its budget to parliament by September 1st Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of VSA Emil Lee confirmed on Wednesday that a baby was born on St. Maarten with symptoms related to microcephaly. The Minister is not too happy with the media reports on the first ever suspected microcephaly case on St. Maarten because he believes it regards the privacy of the family that has found themselves in a bad situation Read more

U20 National Basketball Team Captures Historical Win

Airport Road – On Monday August 28th, the U20 National Basketball team returned from Antigua after defeating  St. Kitts, where the team won 82-76 in the LIBA tournament. In 2015, the St. Maarten National team came in second place, but this year, they brought home the championship. The MVP was Mr. Jamal Ireland, an 18 year old student of the Milton Peters College.

“The Minister told Ireland and the rest of his team that she expects to see great things from the entire team.” Majority of the team will still be in school and under 20, allowing them to still be eligible to play at the next LIBA tournament.

Head of the Department of Sports, Jonelle Richardson, also congratulated the team, their coaches, the referee and physio therapist, who travelled with the team Read more

Airport Road:--- On Monday, August 28th, the U20 National Basketball team returned from Antigua after defeating St. Kitts, where the team won 82-76 in the LIBA tournament. In 2015, the St. Maarten National team came in second place, but this year, they brought home the championship. The MVP was Mr. Jamal Ireland, an 18-year-old student of the Milton Peters College.
“The Minister told Ireland and the rest of his team that she expects to see great things from the entire team.” Majority of the team will still be in school and under 20, allowing them to still be eligible to play at the next LIBA tournament.
Head of the Department of Sports, Jonelle Richardson, also congratulated the team, their coaches, the referee and physio therapist, who traveled with the team Read more

Ministry Ecys And Witu Meeting Held

Philipsburg — Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Ms. Silveria Jacobs held a meeting with representatives of Windward Island Teachers Union (WITU) on Monday, August 28th 2017. WITU’s board was represented with a delegation of 5 members; the President of the WITU Mrs. Claire Elshot-Aventurin, the Vice President,  Mrs. Corinne Lejuez-vanPutten Putten, General Secretary Ms Read more

Rotary Club Of Sint Maarten Accepts Donation From Nagico

-Sponsors Medical Conference for the Third Year -FREE PUBLIC MEETING ON CANCER PHILIPSBURG, SINT MAARTEN – August 28, 2017 – The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten proudly accepted a large donation from NAGICO Insurances in support of the upcoming Oncology (Cancer) Conference. The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten, in conjunction with the Windward Islands Medical Association, will be holding a conference for medical professionals on the state of Cancer and care/treatment on St Read more

Sarah Sopesa El Caso Del Sg Brown Con Una Serie De Preguntas A Los Ministros Pertinentes.

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten. – La parlamentaria Sarah Wescot ha manifestado preocupación por las informaciones que indican que el SG de VROMI, Louis Brown ha sido despojado de la mayoría de sus responsabilidades mediante un memorando del Ministro de VROMI. La parlamentaria que tiene un vasto conocimiento de la estructura del gobierno y que fue el actor político clave en la redacción de la actual estructura organizativa se ha dirigido al ministro de VROMI, así como al ministro de Asuntos Generales, responsable de personal y organización.

Sin más explicaciones por parte del ministro con relación a esta drástica decisión, todo tipo de teorías son simple conjeturas.

De ahí mis urgentes preguntas al Ministro de VROMI y al Ministro de Asuntos Generales:

Tal vez, hay algo que decir para volver a evaluar la estructura del gobierno en cuanto a su eficacia en este tiempo Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Ms. Silveria Jacobs held a meeting with representatives of Windward Island Teachers Union (WITU) on Monday, August 28th, 2017. WITU's board was represented by a delegation of 5 members; the President of the WITU Mrs. Claire Elshot-Aventurin, the Vice President, Mrs. Corinne Lejuez-vanPutten Putten, General Secretary Ms Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- United Telecommunications Services (UTS) has sponsored 150 HYPE Agendas 2017-2018 for the students of the Charlotte Brookson Academy (CBA) for the Performance Arts. Thanks to the UTS sponsorship each student at the school will receive a complimentary copy of the Agenda to use for this academic year.

UTS Marketing and Communication Officer Ivy Lambert officially handed over the Agendas to the school on Monday, August 28.

CBA Director Claudette Forsythe-Labega said an Agenda is essential to the school life of students and she urged students to make good use of the HYPE Agendas and to ensure that they note down their school assignments and reminders.

Lambert said UTS is pleased to sponsor the Agendas for the students and expressed hope that it is put to good use Read more

Sarah Weighs In On The Matter Of Sg Brown With A Series Of Questions To The Relevant Ministers.

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — MP Sarah Wescot has weighed in on the news that the SG of VROMI, Mr. Louis Brown has been stripped of most of his responsibilities by a memo from the Minister of VROMI. The MP who has vast knowledge of the structure of government and was  the key  political player in the drafting of the current organizational structure has addressed the Minister of VROMI as well as the Minister of General Affairs, responsible for Personnel And Organization.

The MP explains:

Without further explanation by the minister for this drastic act, all kinds of theories will be conjured.

Hence my urgent questions to the Minster of VROMI and the Minister of General Affairs:

Maybe, just maybe there is something to say for  re-assessing the structure of government as to its effectiveness in this day and age Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- The much anticipated 2nd edition of Where’s Where in St. Maarten (WWSM) was released to the public in an official launch held at the Jubilee Library in Philipsburg on Friday, August 18th. The first copies of “Where’s where in St. Maarten” were offered to the Director of the library, Mrs. Monique Alberts and Assistant Circulation Supervisor, Daniel Helligar. To highlight the community aspect of WWSM, several community leaders spoke at the event such as Rhoda Arrindell, Cassandra Richardson and vice president of the University of St Read more