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Lenny Priest Wants Clarity About St. Maarten Medical Center

St. Maarten – Lenny Priest, leader of the One St. Maarten People Party (OSPP), has asked clarification from Public Health Minister Cornelius de Weever about the possible construction of a new hospital. In a letter dated August 6 (last week Wednesday), Priest notes that four years ago there was talk of an expansion of the existing St Read more

Marlin: “Up Is Ready To Rip The People Off”

National Alliance meeting draws a large crowd

St. Maarten - A large crowd came out to listen to the National Alliance party candidates as they launched their first political meeting in Sucker Garden on Saturday evening. NA-leader William Marlin called on the electorate to come out in numbers and vote for his party.

“Come August 29 make no mistake, don’t vote because of the green flags, because you were given 100 cents, vote because you need a decent honest government, with hard working ministers and parliamentarians who will look out for you every day Read more

Rival Afghanistan candidates sign agreement to cooperate

KABUL--Afghanistan's rival presidential candidates have agreed in writing to work together to form a government of national unity, both candidates told a news conference, following meetings with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday.
  A joint declaration signed by both candidates, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, did not provide details on the government framework, except to say that both sides would form commissions to work on its structure. "One of these men is going to be president, but both are going to be critical to the future of Afghanistan, no matter what," Kerry told reporters in Kabul.
  The joint declaration stated that the candidates would agree to a timeline for the electoral process and an inauguration date for the next president by the end of August Read more

ECB says Ukraine crisis threatens EU recovery

FRANKFURT--The Ukraine crisis has heightened risks to the euro zone's weak and uneven economic recovery, and a tit-for-tat sanctions war could compound the problem, the European Central Bank said on Thursday as it held borrowing rates at record low levels.

ECB President Mario Draghi cited instability across the Middle East as well as tensions between Russia and Western countries over the conflict in Ukraine among factors weighing on growth in the single currency area. Moscow has retaliated for European Union sanctions by halting imports of food from Europe.

At a news conference after the bank's monthly policy-setting meeting, he stressed the ECB was ready to resort to quantitative easing - printing money to buy securities - if the outlook for inflation fell further Read more

Police Force welcomes four-legged colleagues

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Police Force recently welcomed its two latest recruits, who are expected to have a big impact on drug- and firearm-related crime. They are sniffer dogs Rasja and Astorie, who, together with their handlers Igmar Woodley and Rickets Moesliken, recently graduated from their dog handling course in Aruba.

Woodley and Moesliken, who joined the force in 2009 and 2010 respectively, were patrol officers before becoming dog handlers. When they became aware the force had openings for dog handlers, they applied and were selected for the new posts.

Last month, they flew to Aruba to meet their canine partners and both dogs and their handlers had to complete a challenging training course at the Justice Training Centre Read more

Parliamentarians irked at De Weever’s ‘condescending’ remarks in meeting

~ De Weever will offer 'no apologies' for telling truth ~

PHILIPSBURG--Several Members of Parliament (MPs) condemned on Wednesday the manner in which Minister of Health, Labour and Social Affairs VSA Cornelius de Weever addressed Parliament during the Central Committee meeting, with some MPs saying the minister had been "condescending," "disrespectful" and 'sarcastic."

De Weever responded by saying he had "sat quietly" and "took it all" from MPs in his three years going to Parliament to answer questions, while watching some MPs put on a "grand performance." De Weever said he would not sit and allow anyone to "play politics" with the work his ministry had done Read more

Dennis: Freedom interference claims ‘horribly exaggerated’

PHILIPSBURG--"Horribly exaggerated and absurd" was how Justice Minister Dennis Richardson described claims from the United People's (UP) party that his campaign guidelines for the August 29 Parliamentary Elections were interfering with freedom of expression and were in conflict with, among others, the Constitution.

Richardson, speaking at the Council of Ministers' Press Briefing on Wednesday, did not specifically name UP, but that party has been the only party that has come out publicly to voice its disagreement with the minister's guidelines.

He said, "How does securing the safe navigation of the limited number of roundabouts that we have constitute such a breach, while one can clearly see that the island is completely pasted in signs and billboards of political parties without any interference from the minister or the police? I don't subscribe to that point of view."

Richardson said he followed "the tradition" of granting for the campaign "a general dispensation of rules and regulations" that by law would have to be followed by those engaging in political campaigns with some conditions attached to ensure that aspects that are in play, such as traffic safety, public order are, or can be adequately taken into consideration Read more

Theo: Dp Only Interested In Piggy-Backing, Not Governing

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten — Leader of the United People (UP) party Theo Heyliger on Wednesday asked the general public to ask themselves a very important question: What kind of political party chooses to contest an election and says it doesn't want to win which means it has no interest in governing and doing good by the people? The answer, Heyliger said, is the Democratic Party of St Read more

Outpouring Of Sympathy For Deceased Unionist Pantophlet

St. Maarten – Unionists and politicians expressed their respects to unionist Patricia Pantophlet who passed away last weekend in Colombia at the age of 57.

“Deeply saddened by the passing of a great trade union leader, Patricia Pantophlet, sister of the General Secretary of the Windward Islands Teachers’ Union, Roxsana Pantophlet,” Witu-President Claire Elshot wrote.
“Affectionately known to all as Patsy, she has left a legacy with her contributions to the workers’ organizations in defending the rights of civil servants as President of Windward Islands Civil Servants Union (WICSU) Read more

Youth empowerment: entrepreneurship

Dear Editor,

What is our attitude towards entrepreneurship on St. Maarten, should it not reflect the environment created to foster Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMEs)? According to Russell S. Sobel, in the Concise Encyclopaedia of Economics, "an entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. An entrepreneur is an agent of change. Entrepreneurship is the process of discovering new ways of combining resources.

When the market value generated by this new combination of resources is greater than the market value these resources can generate elsewhere individually or in some other combination, the entrepreneur makes a profit Read more

Duty officer: Fire Department was dispatched immediately

~ Call 919 for faster fire response ~

PHILIPSBURG--"Call 919 in case of a fire, not 911," is an important message from the Fire Department.

Although 911 may also be utilised, calls are taken by a controller. When people dial 919, the calls are answered by fire officers who are on duty 24/7 and have specific training and knowledge that a non-Fire Department controller does not have.

Calling 919 enables the fire officer to ask specific questions that will help determine whether the fire is a threat to life or property, or whether it is caused, for example, by someone burning garbage.

In the case of the house fire in St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The >National Alliance family is deeply saddened by the passing of trade union stalwart, humanitarian, vocal community activist and woman-of-grit Patricia Pantophet, 57, in Bogota Colombia, where she was flown for medical attention in early July. Pantophlet was the sister of >National Alliance number two candidate Member of Parliament George Pantophlet Read more

Winair Now Offers Door To Door Courier Service

AIRPORT ROAD, Simpson Bay - WINAIR is pleased to announce another value-added service for its clients, door-to-door courier service.

WINAIR currently provides Cargo Express services and Speedmail and now has enhanced this service by adding pick-up and delivery anywhere in St. Maarten.

Customers can have packages or speed-mail picked up for shipping or delivered to their home or business.

Caribbean Vis/Pass Consultancy, 40 Cannegieter Street, Philipsburg Read more

Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams Wishes Departing Students Much Success For their Departure on Sunday.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams is wishing the almost eighty students who will be leaving for the Netherlands to pursue their studies an excellent and successful journey and much success during their studies. "It is always heartening to see young students going abroad to stand on their own feet and pursue an education Read more

Editorial - The right balance

The signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between Labour Minister Cornelius de Weever and five businesses to train and hire unemployed persons (see Saturday paper) is certainly a positive development. It regards a combined total of 23 trainees annually, which may not be much compared to the many jobless youngsters out there. However, each case that can be helped to achieve gainful employment, and thus kept from roaming the street with all possible consequences, should be considered a worthwhile investment Read more

80 students bid farewell, leave to pursue studies

AIRPORT--Some eighty students left home to continue their tertiary education in the Netherlands after an emotional goodbye amongst family, friends and dignitaries at SXM Airport on Sunday. Friends and family gathered for the bittersweet milestone departure, which brought on a range of mixed emotions. Last-chance pictures and videos were captured amidst tears, long hugs and bright smiles. The well-wishers enthusiastically waved goodbye to the students until they were out of sight. SXM Airport, in collaboration with Domino's Pizza, bade the students farewell during the third annual "Bon Voyage" event, providing music, entertainment, pizza, snacks and a photo booth they were free to use Read more

Up Cautioned About Holding Elections During Hurricane Season

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The board of the United People's Party (UP) is grateful that minimum affects has been experienced with the passage of Tropical Storm Bertha on Friday night into Saturday, and that there was no major incidents. "However, several campaign posters came down due to gusty winds associated with the tropical storm. Our leader the Honourable Theodore Heyliger cautioned the Honourable Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams about hosting elections during the hurricane season for these same reasons Read more

National Alliance Deeply Saddened By The Passing Of Patricia Pantophlet

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The National Alliance family is deeply saddened by the passing of trade union stalwart, humanitarian, vocal community activist and woman-of-grit Patricia Pantophet, 57, in Bogota Colombia, where she was flown for medical attention in early July. Pantophlet was the sister of National Alliance number two candidate Member of Parliament George Pantophlet Read more

Former Mayor Fleming Endorses Wife And Speaks Of Island Unity

St. Maarten - Former St. Martin Mayor Albert Fleming shared his vision for the unification of the northern French side and southern Dutch side of the island. “I am a people person and I love my country,” said Fleming. “Things on the French side are not going well because of the direction the politicians took on article 74 without having done a study. That’s one of the reasons why I left government because we don’t have the structure. We are in the crossroads of an extremely difficult situation financially, especially as a result of when the euro went into effect,” Fleming explained Read more

Notices July 31

Friday, August 1 FUN DAY Back to school flight simulator club fun day. For children and adults A full day of flying fun on simulators Time: 9:00am to 5:00pm Place: John Larmonie Center (across from Vlaun Auto/next to Great Bay Sport Auditorium) Price: US$10 per pilot or $15 for pilot and your first officer and $7 each additional trainee friend. Facebook: Jerry loveflysxm Email: \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots Read more

Notices August 1

Friday, August 1 FUN DAY Back to school flight simulator club fun day. For children and adults A full day of flying fun on simulators Time: 9:00am to 5:00pm Place: John Larmonie Center (across from Vlaun Auto/next to Great Bay Sport Auditorium) Price: US$10 per pilot or $15 for pilot and your first officer and $7 each additional trainee friend. Facebook: Jerry loveflysxm Email: \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake met with members of the Progress Committee paid on Thursday afternoon in what turned out to be a farewell meeting as it was the last time that the committee would be meeting with the Ministry VROMI. The committee was put in place after Sint Maarten became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the task of reporting on the plans of approach that are legally needed to ensure a proper functioning country status. The Committee has demonstrated its satisfaction with the work that has been done and has recommended that the Ministry puts in place some form of an external reporting committee or bureau, which can continue to monitor and report to the Minister to ensure that the good work that has been achieved through the cooperation and supervision by the Progress Committee doesn't decline. The Committee was moreover very pleased to have received the Project Plan Domain Affairs, which is a policy document pertaining to the granting of government land in long lease Read more

MARIGOT:--- Former St. Martin Mayor Albert Fleming, in an exclusive interview, shared his vision for the unification of the Northern French side, and Southern Dutch side of the island. "I am people person and I love my country," says Albert. "Things on the French side are not going well because of the direction the politicians took on article 74 without having done a study. That's one of the reasons why I left government because we don't have the structure. We are in the crossroads of an extremely difficult situation financially, especially as a result of when the euro went into effect Read more

Former Mayor Albert Fleming Calls For Unification Of St.Martin North And South With The Support Of Up Party Candidate #5 Josianne Artsen

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Former St. Martin Mayor Albert Fleming, in an exclusive interview, shared his vision for the unification of the Northern French side, and Southern Dutch side of the island. "I am people person and I love my country," says Albert. "Things on the French side are not going well because of the direction the politicians took on article 74 without having done a study. That's one of the reasons why I left government because we don't have the structure. We are in the crossroads of an extremely difficult situation financially, especially as a result of when the euro went into effect.  Buying power with the euro is tremendous against the dollars, and that's why people don't come to French side to shop as much as they did in the past Read more