Yang will visit Saipan on Sept. 29-30 to learn more about the NMC-CREES food science program, and to teach the “Making Noni at Home” workshop.
The workshop, which requires no registration or participation fee, will be held on Sept. 29, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Room D-1 at the NMC As Terlaje campus.
During the visit to NMC, food scientist Dr. Jang Ho Kim plans to meet with Yang to discuss the possible development of a viable noni industry in the CNMI.
The noni plant is a small evergreen tree that produces a fruit prized for its medicinal properties. The noni fruit has been used to improve and enhance health for thousands of years by people in various parts of Southeast Asia and Polynesia.
“The NMC-CREES’ Food Science program has already been helping local farmers and producers with noni value-added processing,” said Kim. “With the workshop, we hope that more people in the community will become interested in producing and processing noni juice.”
“In addition to juice, the noni fruit has been used to make other products, such as wine and tea,” added Kim.
To register for the workshop, contact Dr. Jang Ho Kim at 234-5498 ext. 1715 or e-mail jangk@nmcnet.edu.
PREL scholarships
HONOLULU (PREL) — Pacific Resources for Education and Learning and the University of North Texas Department of Library and Information Sciences, in collaboration, seek to increase the number of diverse library professionals in the geographically dispersed U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands.
The joint effort will provide full scholarships to qualified Pacific Island students.
The Library Education for the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific project is funded by a $999,700 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through its Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.
Twenty-three Pacific Island students enrolled in UNT’s online master’s program in library and information sciences will be offered scholarships.
For questions or additional information, contact Jane Barnwell at barnwellj@prel.org or (808) 441–1320.
IT&E, Shell adopt MINA’s 14th bin
(Mariana Islands Nature Alliance) — Thanks to IT&E and Isla Petroleum and Energy, Ada Gymnasium now has two sets of recycling and mixed waste bins for athletes and fans to use. Ericco enterprises delivered the second set of bins this week bringing the Adopt-a-Bin program to a total of 13 recycling stations; nearly doubling MINA’s original goal of just seven locations for Saipan. The bins are funded through a grant from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program. Adopting organizations pay for one year of trash collection services thereby reducing the amount of litter left on the ground that eventually washes into surrounding waters.
“As a petroleum company, environmental stewardship is important to us, especially with the recent unfortunate events in the Gulf,” said Jeff Boyer, general manager of IP&E. “We want to highlight the fact that the industry as a whole is very proactive in looking after the environment. What better way than by partnering with our sister company IT&E which is also keen on environmental protection. MINA’s Adopt-a-Bin program is a simple yet effective way to keep our islands clean.”
As part of their responsibilities, employees from both adopting businesses will be taking part in the 2010 International Coastal Cleanup Day this Friday, and cleaning the area around their bins at Ada Gymnasium and the beach area across the street. This event promises to be even larger than last year.
“Many of our sponsored teams and athletes participate in sports events at the gym. So whether its basketball, baseball, softball, badminton or soccer our athletes serve as examples to the community every time they make use of the bins during practice,” said Nola Hix, IT&E marketing associate.
IT&E adopted its first bin for the gym in July.
For more information, visit www.minapacific.org and click on the Goals & Project page or contact 233-Reef, or kathyjuk@gmail.com.
Retirees meeting
(CRA) — The Commonwealth Retirement Association is having a general membership meeting this Thursday, Sept. 23, at the multi-purpose center at 6 p.m.
Important matters will be discussed regarding the Retirement Fund. Those active employees with the government who are members of the Defined Benefit Plan are welcome to attend.
For more information, contact Juan M. Sablan at 287-5877.
Tropical storm warning in effect for Agrihan
(EMO) — Here’s the latest information on tropical storm 13W as received from the National Weather Service on Guam and compiled by the CNMI Emergency Management Office:
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, the center of tropical storm Malakas (13W) was located near latitude 18.4 degrees north and longitude 144.7 degrees east or about 70 miles west-southwest of Agrihan, 75 miles west-northwest of Pagan and 240 miles north-northwest of Saipan and 345 miles north of Guam.
Malakas was moving west-southwest at 5 mph. A gradual turn toward the west was expected over the next 24 hours.
Maximum sustained winds were 40 mph. Malakas was expected to slowly intensify through Wednesday. Tropical storm force winds extended out up to 65 miles from the center.
A tropical storm warning remained in effect for Agrihan in the Northern Islands.
EMO will monitor the movement of Malakas and will issue bulletins as soon as they become available.
You may monitor the official bulletins which will be available through local media sources and NOAA Weather Radio Broadcast on 162.5 megahertz, or you may call 322-0220 or CNMI 211.
Red flag at 2 Saipan, 1 Tinian sites
(DEQ) — The Division of Environmental Quality says water samples collected from Jeffries Beach and Old Man By the Sea on Saipan as well as Tinian’s Leprosarium Beach II contained excessive concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria that exceeded the CNMI’s marine water quality standards.
DEQ has given these locations a red flag and advises the public not to fish or swim within 300 feet of the locations for the next 48 hours or until otherwise notified.
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