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88 kids under court mandated protection

PHILIPSBURG--There are 88 minor children under court-mandated protection as of this month, according to the Court of Guardianship.

Of those 88 children, 34 are still living at home with their parents, but will receive regular protection checkups. Seven children are with foster families and 47 are in foster homes operated by a number of foundations.

Court of Guardianship head Richelda Emmanuel told Parliament’s Justice Committee on Tuesday afternoon that Government was responsible only for the upkeep of children under court-mandated protection.

Children placed in foster homes by parents or guardians are not covered and their upkeep remains the responsibility of their parent or legal guardian as outlined in the Civil Code of the country Read more

Court awards damages to SZV chief financial officer

PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance has awarded damages to the tune of NAf. 62.052 to former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Social and Health Care Insurance SZV John Mario Zaandam, it emerged Tuesday. Zaandam had filed a lawsuit against his former employer after SZV had decided not to renew his one-year contract, which expired November 1, 2014.

Zaandam contested the legality of his dismissal and requested the Court to order SZV to continue the labour agreement and reinstate him in permanent employment Read more

>Belair:---  The consensus among the over 200 attendees at Leadercast 2015 hosted by Victorious Living Foundation, was that Leadercast was inspiring, impressive, enlightening and rejuvenating. "It was really a pleasure and an inspiration to attend Leadercast once again. I was very impressed with the professional reception of the staff and the organization of the whole event. I am proud to see our local people so involved in professionalizing and upgrading in all fields of production and service Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--– Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor, recently presented the I-CAN Foster Home a pumpkin that he received from the school garden at the Seventh Day Adventist School that he visited last week.

"I would like to thank the Seventh Day Adventist School for the donation of the pumpkin grown in their school garden Read more

Electoral Council may soon consider penalty for party

PHILIPSBURG--The Electoral Council may soon be forced to consider imposing a financial penalty on one of the eight political parties registered for the 2014 Parliamentary Election that has failed to submit its annual report to the Council.

All registered political parties had up to February 1 to submit all their donation registries and annual financial reports to the Council as required under the National Ordinance on the Registration and Financing of Political Parties. To date, one party is in default of its legal obligations.

Electoral Council Chairman Attorney Bert Hoffman told The Daily Herald the Council would inform the party via letter that it must get its financial business "in order or face penalties." The Council still has to decide on the exact amount of the penalty.

Hoffman declined to give the name of the defaulting party, only saying they know who they are Read more

Tourism organisations host taxi driver workshop

COLE BAY--The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau and Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) jointly launched a week-long training programme called “The successful taxi driver workshop” on Monday at the Carl & Sons conference facilities in Cole Bay.

Some 22 taxi drivers were present for the start of the workshop, and will have to attend every eight-hour-daily course up to Friday in order to successfully complete the workshop.

The workshop provided is targeted to the workers because of their close and frequent contact with tourists, and their position to form a first impression Read more

Semsamar announces plans for its 30th anniversary celebration

MARIGOT--The Semsamar board announced a number of events will take place in June for its 30th anniversary celebration at a press conference Monday.

The mixed capital company was formed by public and private partnerships on June 20, 1985, and now operates in St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and French Guiana.

The anniversary will not only highlight Semsamar’s achievements over 30 years in the development of St. Martin but also promote its social objectives. As President Wendel Cocks points out, the company is not only concerned with construction of housing but equally interested in enhancing the way of life for tenants and residents in housing through social programmes and activities Read more

Ministers to face MPs this week about missing info

PHILIPSBURG--Ministers of the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet are to be called before Parliament's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations to provide information the committee has requested for several months.

The committee became displeased two weeks ago with the sluggish pace of government's response and issued a 48-hour deadline for all information to be submitted Read more

Prosecutor’s Office Still Brain Storming on which Law Enforcement Agency will conduct SZV Card selling Investigation.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Public Prosecutor's office is yet to take a decision as to which law enforcement agency will conduct the SZV card selling scam confirmed press prosecutor Tineke Kamps. Kamps told SMN News that they are at the beginning stages of the investigation. She said one of the set-backs the prosecution has was to  decide whether or not KPSM or the Landsrecherché would handle the investigation. Kamps said that at this point she could not divulge which of the justice department will conduct the investigation but she did say that some things are happening.
In the meantime, management of SZV filed a criminal complaint against the employee whom they suspended for allegedly selling SZV medical insurance cards Read more

GEBE Supervisory Board sends home COO for Irregularities and Mismanagement – Reliable Sources --- Allegations against Gartner Proven, No Sanctions Taken (UPDATED)

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The supervisory board of GEBE dismissed the Chief Operations Officer (COO)Romelio Maduro of the company on Tuesday. According to information coming from a board member they had to take the decision when they found gross irregularities and mismanagement of the company. Maduro became COO about three years ago. No details of the irregularies or mismanagement have been disclosed.
Ever since Maduro took office the company have been making the news almost every week in a negative light.
Another person the supervisory board is looking at is the Chief Financial Officer Rene Gartner whom they were investigating for the abuse of the company's credit card.
SMN News wrote that story some weeks ago when the board found out that Gartner bought airline tickets to the Netherlands with GEBE credit cards for his personal use.

SMN News learnt that Maduro was called in on Monday where  he attended a short meeting with the Human Resources Manager and then left,  The source said that Maduro was informed of the Board's decision on Tuesday and since then he did not return to work up until Monday morning when he attended a short meeting then left the premises Read more

>PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor, endorses the upcoming Rotaract District 7020 Conference 2015 which will be taking place here under the banner, "Helping Hands, Touching Hearts, Changing Lives."

Rotaract is a service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30 who are dedicated to community and international service Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- SMN News received two phone calls on Monday  from two adults in Colombia who wanted to know if there is any restaurant or club by the name of "Lucky Shot" on St. Maarten. The two adults said that since the Minister of Foreign Relations of the Kingdom and Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs announced that they have decided to waive the visa requirements for Columbians travelling to Curacao and St Read more

Minister Connor To Be A Presenter At Rotaract District 7020 Conference 2015

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor, endorses the upcoming Rotaract District 7020 Conference 2015 which will be taking place here under the banner, "Helping Hands, Touching Hearts, Changing Lives."

Rotaract is a service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30 who are dedicated to community and international service Read more

Minister Connor Presents School Garden Pumpkin To I-Can Foster Home

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor, recently presented the I-CAN Foster Home a pumpkin that he received from the school garden at the Seventh Day Adventist School that he visited last week.

"I would like to thank the Seventh Day Adventist School for the donation of the pumpkin grown in their school garden.

I am happy to have been able to present to I-CAN Foundation the pumpkin for their supper Read more

Parliamentary Committee For Kingdom Affairs And Inter Parliamentary Relations Preparing For Holland Talks

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Parliamentary committee for Kingdom affairs and inter parliamentary relations meet on Monday morning.

During their meeting the committee which is chaired by MP Sarah Wescot-Williams handled matters pertaining to the upcoming Tri Partite and IPKO meeting which are scheduled to take place in Holland from May 25th to the 29th.

Chairlady Wescot-Williams also confirmed during the meeting that the tentative agenda for the meeting has been received.

There is however one area of urgency and that is with relevant and important information that is needed from government.

MP's the Honorable Cornelius de Weever and Leona Romeo Marlin is adamant that government not only come to parliament to provide the vital information needed in order to prepare for the Tri Partite and IPKO meeting but also that they come with the information and not just tell parliament where they can find it.

President of Parliament Dr Read more

Candlelight Memorial

A large gathering reflected on this year’s theme “Supporting the future” at the annual St. Maarten AIDS Foundation and Helping Ourselves in a Positive Environment HOPE International Candlelight Memorial at Carl’s Unique Inn on Sunday. The event was attended by several government officials, including Health Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs and Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever, donors, well-wishers and supporters from all walks of life Read more

George queries whether SZV, APS, govt reach agreement

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) George Pantophlet wants to know whether an agreement has been reached amongst government and the Social and Health Insurance SZV and the General Pension Fund APS.

In a press release on Sunday, Pantophlet said the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT on several occasions had urged government to come to an agreement as to how it will pay the arrears of these funds Read more

Confiscation of PCs, phones bottleneck for Police Force

PHILIPSBURG--The confiscation of items such as computers and telephones was cited as one of the main bottlenecks for the Police Force in a Council for Law Enforcement report on the daily confiscation of items by the police.

The report was one of two the Council presented to Justice Minister Dennis Richardson on Friday. According to the report, these items “are not centrally managed or registered. With the absence of an administrator, there is no overview of such items and the storage is scattered.”

The report also said management safeguarded insufficiently the interests of security and transparency in the confiscation of these items Read more

Egyptian court seeks death penalty for ex-president

CAIRO--An Egyptian court on Saturday sought the death penalty for former president Mohamed Mursi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood in connection with a mass jail break in 2011.
  Mursi and his fellow defendants, including top Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, were convicted for killing and kidnapping policemen, attacking police facilities and breaking out of jail during the uprising, against then-president Hosni Mubarak. The court's request drew condemnations from Amnesty International and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
  A final ruling is expected on June 2 Read more

Find it soon!

Dear Editor,

In a democracy, elections are the main catalyst for change or status quo in most conservative societies. It seems extremely difficult to accurately describe the stagnation here in what we like to call "country St. Maarten". Not so long ago, a few months short of a year, everyone was euphoric during the elections, while predicting a victory for their colour/party. And as elections go in St. Maarten, the last one was no different with the candidates doing their utmost to convince the voters, and of course, the unintended character assassinations Read more

St. Maarten Soccer Association elects Singh as new president

COLEBAY- Sudesh ‘Johnny’ Singh was elected president of the St. Maarten Soccer Association Saturday.  Three candidates postulated for the position including Singh, president Nicky Owen and vice-president Elton Jones.
   Singh won with seven out of the nine votes cast. Singh has a long history of being involved in football as a player, referee and coach on the island and was president of the local Futsal Association.
  Elected to the board were Noris Richards of FC Veendam, Danaë Daal of Oualichi Women’s Soccer Association,  Dwain Wright and Natasha Wright of Flames United Sports Club, Stanley York of FC Superstars and  Orien Allen of C&D Connections.
  Concacaf representative Marco Leal and members of the St Read more

Minister TEATT visits Seventh Day Adventist School Garden – Promoting Lifelong Healthy Eating Habits

>PHILIPSBURG:----   Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor earlier in the week visited the school garden of the Seventh Day Adventist School in Cole Bay. Minister Connor, was very impressed with what the elementary school children along with their teachers have been able to achieve, and pointed out that school gardens help promote lifelong healthy eating habits.

The school garden is part of the community school and teaching kids how to grow vegetables and fruits is part of the curriculum.

In general school gardens are cultivation areas or so-called 'school laboratories.' The aforementioned provides agricultural knowledge and skills, and makes the teaching of Science and Environmental Education more relevant and effective.

It also may benefit pupils, as the future food producers and provide some nutritional support to them.

These gardens mainly produce vegetables and fruits, and some may include small-scale animal husbandry and fishery, beekeeping, ornamental plants, and shading, and small scale staple food production.

"School gardens are gaining prominence in all parts of the world according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization Read more

>Dawn Beach:---  St. Maarten, May 15, 2015: During a meeting held at the premises of the property on May 14, Princess Heights Luxury Boutique Hotel was officially awarded with the "Certificate of Recognition for Exceptional Guest Ratings and Reviews" by the international online travel agency Hotels.com, part of Expedia Inc., one of the most important online travel corporations in the world.
This certificate recognizes accommodation properties which receive the highest guest reviews and ratings as part of the feedback that guest leave at hotels.com regarding the service provided by the property they booked.

"This latest award is an affirmation of the commitment and dedication of every staff member at Princess Heights Read more

Minister of Telecommunications Connor Congratulates all working in Telecom and ICT sectors in WTISD Message

>PHILIPSBURG:----  Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor on Sunday, 17th of May congratulated via a press statement all telecommunication sector workers on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), which is being internationally observed today.

The theme for WTISD is "Telecommunications and ICTs: Drivers of innovation." 17th of May has been identified as a day to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide.

"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all telecommunication workers as well as all those working in ICT in this WTISD message Read more