Palau community meeting

(Republic of Palau Consulate-CNMI) — This is to inform all Palauans residing in the CNMI who have contributed to the Palau Pension Plan that there will be a meeting on Oct. 24, Wednesday, 7 p.m. at the Minachum Atdao Pavillion, in Susupe, Saipan, with the representatives of CSPP to up-dates retirement matters.
Should you need more information or clarification, contact the Palau Consulate at 235-6804.

Utility aid

(Saipan Mayor’s Office) — The federally funded utility assistance program helps qualified residents pay for one month of their overdue power bill.
Application forms can be picked up at the Saipan Mayor’s Office at Afetna Square in San Antonio below the Department of Labor during regular working hours, Monday to Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, call Carmen C. Maratita at 235-7444 or 234-6280.

Thanksgiving donations

(Saipan Mayor’s Office) — Mayor Juan B. Tudela’s office is soliciting household goods like clothing and canned goods will be given to Karidat Social Services for the needy on Thursday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 15.
Traditionally, every year, Tudela signs a mayoral proclamation designating Thursday before Thanksgiving Day as “Feed Saipan Thursday.”
This year Tudela will sign the proclamation on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m. at his office in Afetna Square in San Antonio.
Donations will be greatly appreciated.
For more information, call Tony Benavente at 234-6208 or 235-7444.

Veterans Day

(Military/Veterans Affairs) — On Nov. 11, the nation will commemorate Veterans Day and pay tribute to all who served and are serving the U.S. armed forces.
This year’s Veterans Day Committee meets every Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Office of Military/Veterans Affairs on Capitol Hill, Building 1364. Everyone is encouraged and invited to attend.
For more information, call 664-2650.

Public library to co-sponsor literary activities

(JOETEN/KIYU PUBLIC LIBRARY) — The Joeten/Kiyu Public Library will be co-sponsoring with the NMI Council for the Humanities a special event at the Children’s Library on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 9 a.m. to about 3 p.m.
The library will present some of the recent print and non-print materials funded by a Native American Administration Grant to the Library Friends’ Children of Our Homeland Project.
This includes a publication for children and young adults in the vernacular by Emilio A. Ayuyu about his sketches from Alamagan, “Alamagan: Gi Inatan-hu.”
Other materials are translations of several publications including “Cultural Sites of the CNMI” by Genevieve Cabrera for Historic Preservation Office, into Carolinian by Jose Roppul; “Section by Section Analysis of the Covenant to establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” into Chamorro by Herman Q. Guerrero, Carolinian by Rosa Warakai and Jose Roppul; “We Drank Our Tears” by Pacific Star Center for young writers — Chamorro by Charlene Cruz, Carolinian by Rosa Warakai, Ana Somol and Jose Roppul; “Taotao Tagga’: Glimpses of his life history, recorded in his skeleton” by Gary M. Heathcote — Chamorro by Manuel F. Borja, Carolinian by Jose Roppul.
On display also are the “Estreyas Marianas: Chamorro” by Manuel F. Borja and a soon to be released Carolinian Affairs publication: “Titillap/Bwaay,” or Carolinian Chants and Stories.
Education videos in two languages done by several individuals in the CNMI in collaboration with the Chamorro/Carolinian Language Policy Commission and private businesses will be shown. Other works in the vernacular languages by Dolores Marciana and Carmen Taimanao will be on display.
Other partners, including Motheread, will provide materials for the general public — artwork by Noel Quitugua, Joe Kani, Sebastian Camacho, Albert Toves, and many others including crafts donated by the Carolinian Affairs Office.
Contact the library if you have questions about this event at 235-7322.

Shell recognizes Delta staff for ‘safety days’

SHELL “safety days” sets aside time to review, demonstrate and recognize safety knowledge throughout the Shell companies around the world, its media release said.
This year included live drills at the service stations and review of safety findings from earlier in the year.
During this review, five Delta Management Corp. staff members were recognized for their ability to demonstrate excellence in safety: Robert Mendiola, Justina Yul, Connie San Nicolas, Wayne Sandmeirer and Jarvin Mendiola.
Robert, Jarvin and Justine, all long-time Delta staff, were part of a team which extinguished a fire at the Susupe Shell station when the outside ice machine caught fire.
Each was commended by DPS fire division and Shell for their prompt action.
This specific act is just one among the others they perform daily to insure our customers and staff are safe at our shell stations.
Connie has been an icon at the San Roque station for six years and has consistently demonstrated her knowledge and abilities in making that station of the safest on the island.
Wayne, a relative new comer to Delta, demonstrated his abilities and skill right away. He soon took a leadership role in improving safety around the Saipan Delta sites.
Also Connie and Robert were top finishers in Delta’s “staff knowledge” test, given earlier this year. Each scored 100 percent on the 50 question exam.
Each team member also attended a variety of “hearts and minds” safety sessions which fosters safety for staff members and their families at home. Heart and Minds sessions included first aid, electrical safety and fire safety.
“Safety is paramount in our every day life in the petroleum business, there is no room for error, the consequences for errors are extreme, especially in the service station or retail concentration,” said Jim Arenovski, Ppesident of Delta Management Corp., which operates three Shell sites in Saipan and four in Guam. “Hundreds of customers visit our stations every day and they expect our stations and our staff to be safe.”
Arenovski credits his Saipan manager, Shirley Mendiola, for keeping the staff up to date and trained for the many situations that can occur at the sites.

Red flag raised at 2 sites

(DEQ) — The Division of Environmental Quality analyzes water samples collected from Saipan’s recreational beaches and storm drainages every Wednesday.
Samples collected from Garapan Beach Drainage and Hopwood School Beach contained excessive concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria — enterococci — that exceeded the CNMI’s marine water quality standards.
These bacteria can indicate the presence of human and animal waste in the water.
However, studies have shown that storm water runoff in tropical environments may also contain these bacteria from the natural environment, which may not be directly associated with public health concerns.
To adequately address public health concerns, DEQ has given these locations a red flag and advises the public not to fish or swim within 300 feet of these locations for the next 48 hours or until otherwise notified.

Emmanuel College gears up for November opening

Emmanuel College of the Northern Mariana Islands will open next month for a group of local nursing students who have earnestly been waiting for classes to start, a media release said.
The college, the first private higher learning institution in the Micronesian region and one that offers the fastest way to become a nurse, is now processing the registration forms of its first batch of students, all Saipan-based.
Classes are scheduled to start on Nov. 19.
“We were approved by the Board to open registration and we are now ready for enrolment,” said Emmanuel College nursing program director Cherry Castro, adding that more than a hundred inquiries were received from the CNMI and overseas.
“Inquiries from outside the Northern Marianas mostly came from parents on the mainland U.S. who want to send their kids to a nursing school in a U.S.-based college,” she added.
Castro is a medical doctor and a registered nurse with a master’s degree in nursing and long years of experience in the healthcare profession.
EC-NMI also received many inquiries and applications from Korean and Chinese students, according to college president Sedy Demesa.
Demesa holds a doctorate in healthcare administration, a master’s degree in public administration and has an undergraduate degree in medical technology. She is an instructor accredited by the Bureau of Private Post-Secondary Education in California.
Demesa has strong ties with China and Korea-based education specialists that will handle information dissemination programs about the nursing school in their respective countries.
EC-NMI will initially limit the size of classes to 30 students, and will offer scholarship grants to three deserving local students through the Ben Fitial Foundation.
“We are looking at a ratio of 1 scholar for every 10 students,” said Demesa.
She said the scholars, as well as the paying students, will be thoroughly screened as part of efforts to reach the goal of a 100 percent program completion rate.
Emmanuel College has also devised payment plans for tuition and other fees to make its 11-month extensive nursing program accessible to as many students as possible, said Eli Arago, EC-NMI board member and auditor.
Other officials of Emmanuel College are: Ding De Lima, board member, who has a master’s degree in nursing, a BS degree in nursing from the University of the Philippines, and is an instructor accredited by the Bureau of Private Post-Secondary Education in California; and Ramon Dizon, also a board member, who handles the business office and the information system management department.